SBC Communications announced a four-year primary supplier agreement with Alcatel for the SBC Fiber-to-the-Premises (FTTP) initiative. SBC is currently planning further lab testing, followed by field trials in the first half of 2004 that will include single-family residences, apartment and condominium complexes, and small business locations. However, SBC said that actual FTTP deployment depends on results of the final lab testing and field trials, as well as clarification of any regulatory guidelines that would apply to FTTP networks.
Alcatel's designation as a primary FTTP vendor comes after a six-month evaluation process conducted in conjunction with other major telecommunications carriers. The agreement is non-exclusive and financial terms were not disclosed.
"The potential of Fiber to the Premises is enormous, and we are very encouraged by the progress that has been made in development of this technology over the past six months," said Ross Ireland, Chief Technology Officer, SBC Communications.
SBC is currently running Alcatel FTTP solutions in Mission Bay, a mixed-use business/residential community in San Francisco, which will include nearly 6,000 residential units.
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- Speaking at the UBS conference in November 2003, Randall Stephenson, Senior Executive VP & CFO of SBC Communications, said his company does not believe FTTP makes economic sense as an overbuild solution. However, he said SBC would be opportunistic about deploying FTTP in new builds and to existing apartment buildings where it does not need to dig trenches.
In May 2003, BellSouth, SBC Communications and Verizon agreed on a common set of specifications for fiber to the premises (FTTP) local access networks. The common technical requirements is based on the existing ITU BPON standard.
