Calix raises $100 million for rural broadband communications equipment

Calix is announcing today that it has raised $100 million in venture funds and loans for its broadband communications equipment business.

The Petaluma, Calif.-based company has raised $50 million in equity from existing investors and $50 million in debt financing from Silicon Valley Bank. The company will use the funds to invest in an expansion and to tap into growth opportunities afforded by the federal $7.2 billion broadband stimulus program, which is intended to provide high-speed Internet service to rural areas. Calix makes equipment that is used to deliver broadband over a variety of wired networks.

The company is adding three new directors: Michael Marks of Riverwood Capital, Adam Grosser of Foundation Capital, and Robert Finzi of Sprout Group. Besides those companies, other investors include Telesoft Partners, Azure Capital Partners, Meritech Capital Partners, Redpoint Ventures, Kinetic Ventures, Equanimous Ventures and some individual investors.

Calix offers a unified access service, meaning it ties together various communications services with broadband Internet service. It specializes in helping phone companies convert their phone networks from the phone system to the Internet, from narrowband to broadband, and from copper wires to fiber optic cable.

Calix already provides about 40 percent of the broadband service to rural service providers in the U.S. The company was founded in 1999. Competitors include Alcatel-Lucent, Adtran, and Huawei. In North America, Calix focuses on providing broadband equipment to smaller service providers. About 70 percent of the top 50 U.S. communications providers rely on Calix equipment.