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Alcatel Taps Into FTTU Market By Susan Rush French telecom equipment maker Alcatel is going after the triple play market - voice, video and data - with its new fiber-to-the-user solution. The 7340 FTTU leverages the Alcatel 7300 Advanced Services Access Manager broadband network access platform and enables providers to deliver voice, video and data services over a single connection, says Peter Hayman, senior marketing director for Alcatel's Advanced Systems Group. Alcatel intends to first roll out the product as a fiber-to-the-home solution, but plans to expand into the small business market -- thus the fiber-to-the-user rather than the fiber-to-the-home reference in the product's name. The 7340 FTTU is targeted at greenfields (or new-build residential communities), large overbuilders municipalities, RBOCs and utilities. The product, which is based on the Broadband Access Passive Optical Network (BPON) standard, will enable Alcatel's customers to compete with MSOs in the delivery of broadband entertainment and business services, says Hayman. The company began trials with a number of undisclosed providers last November, and intends to rollout the product commercially by July of this year. "We see this market taking off and solving a lot of problems," says Hayman. The cost of deploying single fiber has gotten cheaper and people are willing to pay for broadband and video content, he says. The wild card for this market is the advanced services that will be offered in the future such as home surveillance and distance learning, believes Hayman. Alcatel is one of the founding members of the Fiber-to-the-Home Council formed last July. The goal of the organization is to educate, promote and accelerate the deployment of FTTH in North America. The organization also is spearheaded by Corning Inc. and Optical Solutions Inc. Membership is open to companies in the following types of businesses: telecommunications, computing, networking, system integration, content providers, service providers, utilities, municipalities and real estate developers.
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