AT&T Selects Vendors For U-verse G-PON Fiber Deployment In New Residential Construction Areas

San Antonio, TX - AT&T Inc. has announced that Alcatel-Lucent and Ericsson have been selected to provide equipment for the planned deployment of Gigabit Passive Optical Network (G-PON) in "new build" areas of AT&T affiliates' local service territories as part of the overall U-verse(SM) network strategy. Financial terms of the awards were not disclosed.

G-PON is the newest standard for fiber-to-the-home technology, with capacity to deliver greater speeds than current-generation Broadband Passive Optical Network (B-PON) technology.

With its U-verse strategy, AT&T is deploying fiber-to-the-home technology, including PON, in new-build residential areas throughout the local communications service territories and will deploy a fiber-to-the-node network infrastructure in existing neighborhoods. Both of these network infrastructures enable delivery of the U-verse portfolio of IP-based services.

AT&T U-verse service offers customers a combination of next-generation digital television -- including access to more than 25 High Definition (HD) channels -- and high speed Internet access. The award-winning AT&T U-verse TV includes cutting-edge features that are unmatched in the market, while the new U-verse enabled AT&T Yahoo! High Speed Internet builds on AT&T's position as the nation's leading provider of broadband DSL.

The Alcatel-Lucent and Ericsson G-PON solutions consist of several passive optical network-based elements, including equipment for the central office and home terminals. Both suppliers will soon begin lab testing and certification by AT&T Labs before field testing, which will include configurations for general deployment in single-family residences, apartment and condominium complexes. Pending successful resolution of testing and certification, general deployment of G-PON is expected to begin in 2008.

SOURCE: AT&T