AT&T officially adds Ciena to domain suppliers

As rumored, AT&T today selected Ciena as one of two optical and transport equipment vendors as part of its so-called domain supplier program.

As part of that program, AT&T has chosen its preferred equipment providers in an array of areas, including wireline access, IP core and more. Cisco, Juniper and Alcatel-Lucent are among the vendors AT&T has tapped thus far. On the optical front, Fujitsu Communications is also expected to provide gear, alongside Ciena.

Ciena’s prospects were likely improved by its acquisition of Nortel’s optical business. The vendor set a road map for the joint product set in March, with the former Nortel Optical Multiservice Edge (OME) 6500, which manages and transports converged TDM, OTN, packet and wavelength services in 40 Gb/s and 100 Gb/s flavors suitable for large carrier deployments, playing a key role in its optical product line.

In a press release announcing the award, AT&T said it would use Ciena’s products, notably its coherent 100G wavelength capability and OTN switching platforms.

Vendors selected as part of the AT&T domain program aren’t guaranteed business but have the opportunity to work closely with AT&T as it plans out its future network. The carrier has said it expects its 2010 capital expenditures to total between $18 billion and $19 billion.