ALLEN, Texas -- Metro-Optix today announced that its CityStream 5000 optical bandwidth manager has gained "RUS Acceptance" and "Buy American" status from the Rural Utilities Service branch of the United States Department of Agriculture. Metro-Optix is now on the RUS List of Acceptable Materials that will allow rural telephone and utility companies to use RUS Loan Funds to purchase and deploy CityStream 5000 with government funding assistance. "We are very pleased about achieving another key milestone and we're now focused on closing several contracts with rural carriers that were pending RUS Acceptance," said Gary Brown, COO, Metro-Optix. "We also look forward to working with other rural telephone and utility companies who now have further incentive to consider our unique solution when they are going out to bid for transport and broadband products." RUS provides rural utility companies with low-interest financing for the purchase of telecommunications equipment from the RUS List of Acceptable Materials. The dedicated borrowers of the RUS have been providing solutions to problems associated with serving rural America for more than 50 years. Rural carriers are providing more access and a higher deployment rate of access and advanced services every day. Metro-Optix Inc.