Expansion of CraftSmart product line enables operators to deploy fiber more economically to lower-density suburban and rural communities and homes

Clearfield, Inc. (NASDAQ: CLFD), the leader in community broadband fiber connectivity, today announced the CraftSmart® FiberFirst 6-inch Pedestal, a compact, secure, above-ground access point ideal for operators looking to expand their fiber footprint into less densely populated areas and communities. As NTIA BEAD funding starts to flow, having economical Build America, Buy America (BABA)-qualified products that can streamline the delivery of fiber broadband services in rural communities will be a clear competitive advantage and help operators expand fiber networks further. Clearfield’s Labor Lite approach to product design ensures that the CraftSmart FiberFirst 6-inch Pedestal can be deployed by any level of field technician in the outside plant environment.

“Over the next five years, fiber broadband will be deployed to more homes than ever before, meaning operators will be expanding their networks to the harder to reach places and homes – homes where the economics of delivering fiber service did not work in the past,” said Clearfield’s Chief Marketing Officer, Kevin Morgan. “The compact form factor, the wide range of deployment scenarios supported, and the optimized design to support craft-friendly fiber deployments allows the CraftSmart FiberFirst Pedestal to expand the operator’s toolkit as it looks to build out its fiber footprint.”

Clearfield’s CraftSmart product line provides physical fiber protection for delivering a turn-key passive solution from the central office/headend to the customer premises. The CraftSmart FiberFirst 6-inch Pedestal delivers a small, cost-effective, non-metallic enclosure – tested to meet industry standards for strength, reliability, and environmental concerns. Designed and tested to withstand harsh environmental conditions, as well as UV, chemical and impact resistance, the FiberFirst 6-inch Pedestal includes a built-in multi-use metal frame optimized for mounting the small footprint SeeChange® Terminal, in addition to accommodating other small profile Clearfield products, such as the Clearview® xPAK cassette, inside of the pedestal.

As a part of the CraftSmart family of pedestal offerings, the 6-inch Pedestal provides another option to ensure that Clearfield’s customers can leverage products purpose built to streamline the deployment of fiber broadband into any environment and situation, without adding operational or capital expense for products that are not sized for the opportunity. Clearfield’s craft friendly, Labor Lite product designs are field-engineered to deliver what providers need to solve pain points – and in this case, delivering to the needs of lower density suburban and rural deployments.

Orders for the CraftSmart FiberFirst 6-inch Pedestal can be placed starting in November. The product will be on display at the SCTE Cable-Tec Expo in Denver at Clearfield booth #1139. More information on the CraftSmart FiberFirst 6-inch Pedestal can be found here and at www.SeeClearfield.com.

About Clearfield, Inc.

Clearfield, Inc. (NASDAQ: CLFD) designs, manufactures, and distributes fiber optic management, protection, and delivery products for communications networks. Our “fiber to anywhere” platform serves the unique requirements of leading incumbent local exchange carriers (traditional carriers), competitive local exchange carriers (alternative carriers), and MSO/cable TV companies, while also catering to the broadband needs of the utility/municipality, enterprise, data center and military markets. Headquartered in Minneapolis, MN, Clearfield deploys more than a million fiber ports each year. For more information, visit www.SeeClearfield.com.

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