Eastern Slope Rural Telephone Upgrades to Ribbon's IP and Optical Transport Solutions to Increase Network Capacity and Deliver Faster Broadband

WESTFORD, Mass., Jan. 27, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Ribbon Communications Inc. (Nasdaq: RBBN), a global provider of real time communications software and IP Optical Transport solutions to service providers, enterprises, and critical infrastructure sectors, today announced that Eastern Slope Rural Telephone, a regional provider of high quality communications services to customers in eastern Colorado, has upgraded its network with Ribbon's IP and Optical Transport solutions. The Ribbon Neptune IP Transport and Apollo Optical Transport solutions enable Eastern Slope to dramatically increase the capacity of its broadband network in anticipation of continued rapid growth and deliver faster broadband speeds to its residential and business customers. Ribbon worked with strategic partner, KGPCo on the project.

"Because our previous network was approaching end-of-life and had limited capacity, we needed to upgrade to an end-to-end next-generation system that would easily accommodate current and future growth without disrupting service to our existing customers," said Brian Miller, Manager at Eastern Slope. "The Ribbon IP and Optical Transport solutions met all of our requirements. In addition to delivering a highly scalable solution that easily accommodates future bandwidth growth, they also enable numerous benefits including allowing us to continue to support legacy TDM services and provide additional support for mobile backhaul and business services."

Miller continued, "We were also looking for a turnkey solution that would come with a high-level of support and the Ribbon team's world-class professional services organization was the perfect fit."

"Eastern Slope is already leveraging our market-leading Call Control solutions, so we are delighted to help them expand the capacity of their network and increase customer broadband speeds with our IP and Optical Transport solutions," said Elizabeth Page, U.S. Rural Market Director for Ribbon. "This is another great example of how existing Ribbon Cloud and Edge customers can also leverage our IP and Optical Transport solutions to expand and help future-proof their broadband networks, while enhancing end-customer offerings."

"KGPCo is excited to partner with Ribbon to help Eastern Slope upgrade their communications network," said Desi O'Grady, Senior Vice President of KGPCo. "KGPCo and Ribbon have developed a strong relationship that leverages our respective strengths to support our customers. From procurement to implementation, KGPCo worked closely with Ribbon to create a customized solution to meet Eastern Slope's requirements."

Ribbon's market-leading Neptune and Apollo platforms provide Eastern Slope with advanced Layer 2 Ethernet aggregation capabilities along with a next-generation Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing (DWDM) network to deliver faster data speeds. 

About Eastern Slope Rural Telephone
Eastern Slope takes pride in providing eastern Colorado with high-speed broadband internet access and quality telephone service. We are a cooperative in which our members have a solid sense of pride in our communities and our company. For more information visit esrta.com.

About Ribbon 
Ribbon Communications (Nasdaq: RBBN) delivers global communications software and packet and optical network solutions to service providers, enterprises and critical infrastructure sectors. We engage deeply with our customers, helping them modernize their networks for improved competitive positioning and business outcomes in today's smart, always-on and data-hungry world. Our innovative, end-to-end solutions portfolio delivers unparalleled scale, performance, and agility, including core to edge IP solutions, cloud-native offers, leading-edge software security and analytics tools, as well as 5G-ready packet and optical networking solutions acquired via our recent merger with ECI Telecom. To learn more about Ribbon visit rbbn.com.

About KGPCo
KGPCo provides service solutions as a premier provider of a comprehensive suite of communication network management, engineering, and implementation capabilities. With large regional distribution centers and local staging facilities across the country, combined with the latest systems architecture, KGPCo is an industry leader in advanced supply chain solutions, value-added distribution, and product/software integration services. For more information visit kgpco.com.

Important Information Regarding Forward-Looking Statements 
The information in this release contains forward-looking statements regarding future events that involve risks and uncertainties. All statements other than statements of historical facts contained in this release, including those regarding the expected benefits from use of Ribbon Communication's products, are forward-looking statements. The actual results of Ribbon Communications may differ materially from those contemplated by the forward-looking statements. For further information regarding risks and uncertainties associated with Ribbon Communications' business, please refer to the "Risk Factors" section of Ribbon Communications' most recent annual or quarterly report filed with the SEC. Any forward-looking statements represent Ribbon Communications' views only as of the date on which such statement is made and should not be relied upon as representing Ribbon Communications' views as of any subsequent date. While Ribbon Communications may elect to update forward-looking statements at some point, Ribbon Communications specifically disclaims any obligation to do so.

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SOURCE Ribbon Communications Inc.