June 1, 2005 Naperville, IL -- BellSouth has selected Tellabs as the exclusive supplier for the fiber-to-the-curb (FTTC) portion of the carrier's next-generation network transformation. The BellSouth contract grants FTTC exclusivity to Tellabs through the end of 2006. The carrier said it selected Tellabs' FiberDirect platform for its ability to support high-bandwidth consumer services over a deep fiber network.
"FTTC solves the last-mile bandwidth dilemma and will enable the delivery of next-generation broadband services," comments Bill Smith, CTO of BellSouth. "The selection of the Tellabs FiberDirect solution for FTTC marks a key milestone in our advanced network deployment, that will bring unparalleled speed and capabilities to our subscribers, while allowing BellSouth to leverage previous investments in our network infrastructure."
According to a press release, BellSouth passes approximately 1.1 million homes with FTTC and has approximately 5.3 million miles of fiber within its network. With FiberDirect platform, the carrier says it will be able to provide homes and businesses with fiber access up to the last 500 feet, without sacrificing service offerings. According to Tellabs, this ability enables service providers to deliver broadband services, such as Voice over IP (VoIP) and high-speed Internet access, over a single platform.
"By advancing its installed base of fiber access with Tellabs, BellSouth gains cost and technology advantages in deploying next-generation services to its customers," concludes Krish Prabhu, CEO of Tellabs.