On May 29, 2003, the three largest RBOCs (BellSouth, AT&T, and Verizon) announced that they had adopted a common set of technical specifications for the delivery of fiber-to-the-premises (FTTP). Since then, FTTP has become the "gold standard" in local access. Verizon is installing FTTP BPONs at a rate of 3,000,000 per year. It appears other major telcos are ready to jump on this bandwagon, and many smaller telcos are installing similar access architectures across the country. AT&T is installing FTTN (and some FTTP) at the rate of about 2,000,000 per year with a speed-up promised.
In the midst of all this success, we are about to see some major changes! The architecture is going to change; the players are going to change (more will be joining); and the rate of installation will increase! Why do we face change in this very successful program? What is the new architecture, and why is it being selected? What are the other major RBOCs going to do? This report will address these questions.
We have now been producing annual reports on FTTP since before the program was actually originated. This is the most comprehensive of those reports, and it has the most useful direct forecast information ever presented on FTTP. This latest incarnation of our efforts to keep our clients completely up-to-date on FTTP will focus on the following:
- The substantial progress to date for FTTP
- The changes we see coming for FTTP from new organizational structures
- Changes we see coming for the architecture
- Our forecasts for the future, including for RBOCs not now involved
The RBOCs, all three (now that the AT&T/BellSouth merger has been consummated) to greater or lesser extents, are now in the process of rolling out FTTP. Verizon has a monumental effort underway, and the other two are in various stages (lab tests, minor deployments, or preparing massive rollouts) of deployment. The RBOCs have actually moved into the video business in a massive way. As forecast in our 2005 and 2006 reports, two of the RBOCs are in the residential TV delivery business. Several relatively new technologies have been deployed in their entries into that business, and the RBOCs will use just about every imaginable combination of those technologies to achieve their objectives. This report covers all details of these activities.
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