ECI Opens Up on BT

9:45 AM -- ECI Telecom Ltd. today announced its involvement in BT Group plc (NYSE: BT; London: BTA)'s current FTTP (fiber-to-the-premises) and FTTC (fiber-to-the-cabinet) rollout in the UK, where the Israeli vendor is supplying its Hi-FOCuS MSAN (multiservice access node) to the incumbent. (See BT Picks ECI for FTTP and BT Ramps FTTx Plans, Turns a Profit.)

Although Light Reading reported the Israeli vendor's engagement at BT in October 2009, this is the first time ECI has admitted its involvement in BT's latest fixed broadband infrastructure upgrade. (See BT Ups Its FTTP Target.)

ECI should be happy it can now talk about such a high-profile engagement, as the company clearly spent a great deal of time and R&D resources developing a multiservice access platform that's suitable for deployment in an "open" network environment, where competitive ISPs can use a network owner's infrastructure on an equal basis. (See ECI Touts GPON Advance.)

And that's important, as the open network model is becoming more common -- it is also being deployed in Singapore and Australia -- and is likely to be introduced in a growing number of markets where regulators insist on a level competitive playing field in a fiber-based fixed broadband market.

— Ray Le Maistre, International Managing Editor, Light Reading