SBC Communications, following in the footsteps of Verizon, has announced preparations to move ahead with ambitious plans to roll out fiber-to-the-premises (FTTP) technologies and services.
SBC signed on Alcatel as its primary FTTP supplier over the next four years, and will deploy the vendor’s 7340 FTTU platform, which consists of myriad passive-optical network elements. SBC is currently using the platform to serve about 6,000 homes in Mission Bay, Calif. SBC added that it plans to launch FTTP lab tests and field trials during the first half of 2004.
The agreement between SBC and Alcatel is non-exclusive. General Bandwidth disclosed that it is one of Alcatel’s partners, providing the voice portion of SBC’s FTTP trials.
SBC’s decision to move ahead follows a similar move by Verizon, which late last year announced its initial pool of FTTP vendors and released plans to pass about 1 million homes with the technology in 2004. Last May, Verizon, BellSouth and SBC announced that they had adopted technical standards for FTTP.