Analyst: Adtran getting into FTTP

Adtran will soon enter the residential fiber access market with a new platform called the Total Access 5000, according to a note issued this week from Morgan Keegan analyst Simon Leopold.

Adtran did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Leopold believes the access equipment vendor, which has made a name for itself selling digital subscriber line access multiplexers (DSLAMs), bid to supply AT&T, BellSouth and Verizon Communications with gigabit passive optical networking (GPON) gear. Adtran did not make the Bells’ “short list” of vendors, Leopold wrote, “but has gotten carriers’ attention.” He expects Adtran to target non-Bell carriers with its new GPON gear, putting it in direct competition with Calix.

In the past, some analysts have suggested Adtran could be vulnerable to the trend of major carriers shifting broadband spending toward fiber access technologies for triple-play applications and away from traditional DSL. Adtran’s expected move into fiber access would appear to address that concern.

Leopold also expects Adtran to enter the market for carrier Ethernet equipment, leveraging its existing share of the HDSL, data networking and optical markets.

Earlier this month, Adtran entered the IP PBX market, targeting smaller, low-end customers to avoid direct competition with heavyweights Cisco Systems and Avaya.