Hitachi AMN1220 Fiber to the Premises System
Is First GPON Product to Receive
USDA-RUS Acceptance

ATLANTA, GA, May 24, 2007 – Hitachi Telecom (USA), Inc. today announced that the company’s AMN1220 GPON product has been accepted by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Utilities Service (RUS) for deployment under the Rural Development Broadband Loan and Loan Guarantee Program. The acceptance was effective on May 15, 2007.The Hitachi GPON system will be listed in the “ae – Access Equipment” category, FTTH Systems. Acceptance for the RUS program requires that the product is standards-compliant (ITU G.984.1 – 4 for GPON), has been deployed in a “revenue-generating service environment” with at least six months of operating experience, and is recommended by current customers.

RUS acceptance means that communities of up to 20,000 inhabitants can now install Hitachi’s AMN1220 GPON Fiber to the Premises solution using funding obtained under the USDA Rural Development funding programs. GPON offers the bandwidth to support – over a single fiber optic cable – multiple simultaneous HDTV channels, high-speed Internet access, and voice services.

According to Rick Schiavinato, Hitachi Telecom vice president of sales and marketing, “Hitachi’s acceptance was based on our track record of successful commercial  deployments dating back to June 2006.  Our AMN1220 GPON product was the first ITU standards-compliant, full-rate GPON solution to be deployed in commercial service in North America. And as the first GPON product to achieve RUS acceptance, we are now the only vendor that can offer smaller communities – under the RUS programs - a proven GPON fiber to the premises solution that can future-proof the communities’ broadband infrastructure.  These communities can now enjoy a bandwidth advantage over even large metro areas today, helping the communities to attract and retain industries and generate commerce.” 

The Broadband Access Loan program provides loans for funding the costs of construction, improvement, and acquisition of facilities to provide broadband service to eligible rural communities. The mission of USDA Rural Development is to increase economic opportunity and improve the quality of life in rural communities.  Please visit the USDA website  for more information on Rural Development funding programs: www.usda.gov/rus/telecom/index.htm.

About Hitachi’s Fiber to the Premises Products

Hitachi’s FTTP platform is a family of products that provides ultra high bandwidth communication services to residential, business and institutional subscribers using a single optical fiber direct to the subscriber’s premises. 

Hitachi’s GPON products for North America are compliant with ITU-T G.984 standards, providing further assurance that service providers will have maximum flexibility in implementing FTTP solutions as applications and capabilities develop in the future.

About Hitachi Telecom (USA), Inc.

Hitachi Telecom (USA), Inc., a subsidiary of Hitachi America, Ltd., develops, manufactures and markets telecommunications equipment for the North American market. The company offers ITU-compliant ‘triple play’ systems for Fiber-to-the-Premises applications, and ultra high-speed optical networking equipment such as DWDM and SONET systems.  For more information on Hitachi Telecom (USA), Inc., visit http://www.hitachitelecom.com.

Hitachi America, Ltd., a subsidiary of Hitachi, Ltd., markets and manufactures a broad range of electronics and semiconductors, and provides industrial equipment and services throughout North America. For more information on Hitachi America, visit
http://www.hitachi.us.

Hitachi, Ltd.

Hitachi, Ltd., (NYSE: HIT / TSE: 6501), headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, is a leading global electronics company with approximately 384,000 employees worldwide. Fiscal 2006 (ended March 31, 2007) consolidated revenues totaled 10,247 billion yen ($86.8 billion). The company offers a wide range of systems, products and services in market sectors including information systems, electronic devices, power and industrial systems, consumer products, materials and financial services. For more information on Hitachi, please visit the company's website at http://www.hitachi.com.