ADC has teamed with Sumitomo Electric and Preformed Line Products (PLP) to engineer and market fiber-to-the-premise (FTTP/FTTX) systems to “major” telecom service providers.

ADC said it will contribute its fiber connectivity gear, including hardened outdoor cabinets, fiber termination storage and splicing and fiber connectorization equipment. Sumitomo will offer its fiber cable, including feeder, distribution and drop cable, along with passive optical components. PLP, meanwhile, will provide its access terminals and splice closures.

Fiber-based networks are growing in favor as carriers require more and more capacity to deliver high-speed data, video and voice services, the companies said. The alliance comes on the heels of an announcement in May from three major telcos — BellSouth Corp., SBC Communications and Verizon — that they have adopted a set of common standards for advanced fiber-based systems.

“This is a tremendous leap in helping carriers deliver fiber services not just to the edge of the network, but to the home, business and other locations,” said Pat O’Brien, president of ADC’s Connectivity Business Unit.

ADC is the latest vendor with major cable industry interests to form a FTTX partnership. Earlier this year, Motorola Broadband teamed with Quantum Bridge Communications to create a fiber-to-the-home network solution. That combo has already netted a deployment with QCOL, an independent cable operator that will use the FTTH network to serve areas of Pennsylvania, Maryland and West Virginia.