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LONDON, April 12, 2010 - Actelis Networks®, the leading global supplier of Ethernet over copper solutions, today announced at Light Reading’s Ethernet Expo event that Kcom is delivering a complete portfolio of high-speed, Ethernet-based broadband services to its business, enterprise and public sector customers across the UK using Actelis’ ML600 series of intelligent Ethernet Access Devices (EADs) and Ethernet aggregation systems.

By leveraging the existing copper wires, made available through the UK’s Local Loop Unbundling (LLU) arrangement, Kcom is deploying advanced broadband services capable of delivering speeds up to 8.5 Mbps over a single copper pair—almost twice the bandwidth typically allowed by European regulators. The ability to deliver greater broadband rates using fewer copper pairs is made possible with Actelis’ patented EFMplus™ technology. Actelis demonstrated to UK regulatory agencies that its unique EFMplus technology is spectrally compliant and friendly, safely delivering significantly increased broadband rates without compromising neighboring services running over the same infrastructure.

“Actelis’ innovative Ethernet solutions are unmatched in the Ethernet marketplace, as no other Ethernet equipment vendor can provide and guarantee the same spectral compatibility and friendliness that Actelis continually demonstrates to EU regulators,” said Joe Manuele, senior vice president of worldwide sales and customer service at Actelis. “Built into every Actelis system, EFMplus provides carriers like Kcom with superior technology that is spectrally compatible and friendly to neighboring services. This allows Kcom to provide fiber-quality, high-speed Internet access but at a much reduced total cost of ownership to the public sector.”

The selection of Actelis Networks by Kcom was determined by the Silicon Valley-based company’s ability to deliver increased access speeds, improved resiliency and service availability. As a result, Kcom is able to increase levels of access speed very efficiently, providing ease of upgrade to its end-user customers.

“Actelis’ successful ability to work with UK regulatory officials has enabled Kcom to deliver super fast broadband speeds across the legacy copper network without any service disruption or additional prohibitive costs,” said Tony Reeve, product marketing manager at Kcom. “Actelis’ Ethernet solutions, supported by EF&I services provided by The Kenton Group, further enable Kcom to provide a broader portfolio of services that will help our customers achieve their business objectives to compete and succeed in their marketplaces.”

Compliant with IEEE (802.3ah), ITU-T (G.998) and ETSI standards, Actelis’ EFMplus technology, which delivers guaranteed Service Level Agreements (SLAs) to distances beyond 30km, ideally positions the company in the EMEA marketplace, according to John Larkin, managing director at The Kenton Group, which has been providing complete turnkey solutions to Kcom for more than five years.

“Working with Actelis, The Kenton Group can now support a wide range of broadband applications, including mobile, WiFi and DSLAM backhaul, as well as transparent LAN services, LAN interconnection and voice and video over IP. No other partnership delivers the rate, reach and guaranteed reliability of Actelis and The Kenton Group.”

Kcom has been an early adopter of Actelis’ Ethernet solutions, and is a longtime partner of The Kenton Group. The three companies have also combined on multiple projects to build high-speed private EFM networks that deliver next-generation broadband services to hundreds of schools across the UK, enabling access to new eLearning content and resources.

About Kcom
Kcom, part of the KCOM Group Plc, provides communication services for multisite enterprise and public sector organizations across the UK, and has a well-established reseller channel. As an independent provider of these services, supported by its BT Wholesale partnership, Kcom is able to offer advanced network capability and related added-value services, coupled with a flexible approach to delivering a different class of service to its customers. Some of Kcom’s customers include GVA Grimley, British Airways, North Wales Police, Specsavers, City of London, Phones 4U and Diva Telecoms.

About The Kenton Group
The Kenton Group delivers network access, demarcation and connection products and solutions for carriers, operators, service providers, enterprises and government agencies throughout the UK and EMEA markets. The group provides systems integration via its Microtel division, and deployment of network services via its Access Infrastructure subsidiary, which has already built fully managed private networks for many of the UK’s leading companies and local authorities.