ECI Telecom unveils indoor ONTs

January 31, 2005 Petah Tikva, Israel -- ECI Telecom has announced its new family of standards-based indoor optical network termination (ONT) devices for residences and businesses being served by broadband passive optical networks (BPONs). The new Hi-FOCuS B-Light family of indoor ONTs joins the existing family of outdoor ONTs to address network operator's needs for cost-effective, easy-to-install, indoor units.

As carriers expand their fiber deployments to the premises or curb, they need to attract new customers with more broadband services like bandwidth-intensive video, voice, and data applications. With ECI's wide range of customized features, carriers can offer customers and businesses broadband-rich services like very fast Internet, triple play, and VoIP. Other features include multiple POTS lines, E1/T1, IP video, RF video, as well as other options. At the same time, carriers seek low costs and installation flexibility.

"As the FTTP market expands, operators are looking for flexible solutions to address the diverse needs of their end customers," said Roland Montagne, head of the Broadband Division at French market analyst firm IDATE. "By offering service providers with more options, vendors such as ECI reinforce the business case for successful FTTP deployment. ECI once again shows leadership in this sector by providing telcos with a comprehensive ONT portfolio. This indoor unit will allow carriers to provide BPON service in a very cost-effective manner."

As part of ECI's fiber-to-the-premises (FTTP) solution, the Hi-FOCuS B-Light Indoor and outdoor ONT units interconnect various customer-owned devices, including telephones, PCs, and TVs to the operator's BPON. ECI's family of ONTs are based on the ITU G.983 standard, with a compact design that delivers simplified installation by reducing time and cost constraints while ensuring a very flexible offering to meet any carrier and customer demand.

"ECI is one of the few providers of broadband access solutions to have started deployment of FTTP equipment in commercial networks," said Ofer Reviv, vice president, marketing and sales support, of ECI Telecom's Broadband Access Division. "As we continue to see strong growth in this area, we are able to address this by expanding our product portfolio with even more flexible and cost-effective options."