AFC Plans FTTP

PETALUMA, Calif. -- Advanced Fibre Communications, Inc. (AFC) (Nasdaq: AFCI) today announced it will be hosting a series of one-on-one meetings with customers and members of the media to discuss "FiberDirectSM," the Company's innovative Fiber-to-the-Premises (FTTP) solution that provides telephone companies with a direct path to FTTP deployment. Hosted by AFC executives, the meetings will take place at the Sheraton World Resort (www.sheratonworld.com) in Orlando, Fla., beginning September 8 and coinciding with the NFOEC 2003 conference.

The FCC's Triennial Review, advances in technologies that allow economical integration of a broad range of telecommunications services, and the growing demand for broadband services by Americans has prompted an initiative by some of the nation's regional Bell operating companies (RBOCs) to push fiber all the way to the home. Consequently, service providers have begun the transition from a pure TDM-based infrastructure-which is predominately copper-based-to a packet-based optical infrastructure. AFC's FiberDirect solution addresses these trends while maintaining support for legacy services that are widely deployed today.

AFC's development of FiberDirect began in 2002, according to John Schofield, chairman, president and CEO of AFC. "FiberDirect was developed in compliance with the standards the RBOCs are seeking. Our solution leverages a unique architecture, which we believe can provide compelling benefits to operators by lowering first-cost and operational costs," said Schofield.

At the foundation of AFC's FiberDirect solution is its market-proven AccessMAX(tm) platform. With just a simple addition of AFC's passive optical networking (PON) plug-in card, service providers can quickly upgrade their existing AccessMAX platforms to optical line terminals (OLTs). Schofield believes, and his claim has been supported by a number of industry analysts, that AFC has the largest installed base of FTTP-capable systems, with more than 100,000 AccessMAX platforms already deployed across the country.

"AFC's market leadership positions them to greatly simplify the transition from copper to fiber-optic access networks," commented Michael Kennedy, president and co-founder of Boston-based Network Strategy Partners. "Their carrier incumbency and installed base of AccessMAX systems is a distinct advantage in the FTTP opportunity."

AFC's AccessMAX OLT is compliant with the FSAN, ITU-T G.983 standard. The system's cost-effective optical node terminals (ONTs)-also developed by AFC-provide a full suite of narrowband and broadband subscriber services, including voice, T1, Ethernet and video.

"Our FiberDirect solution integrates voice gateway capability with the AcessMAX OLT, eliminating the need for a costly adjunct gateway device," added Schofield. "We believe that the simplicity and maturity of our voice interfaces are unmatched in the industry. We have the broadest support of Class 5 switches in the U.S., including the Lucent 5ESS and GTD-5, Nortel's DMS family, and Siemens' EWSD-each for GR-303, TR-08 and TR-57 interfaces."

Schofield believes that AFC may benefit from the FCC's Triennial Review. Supporting his confidence were the recent comments from FCC Commissioner Kevin Martin. On an August 22 conference call with Wachovia Securities, Commissioner Martin said, "Basically what we are trying to provide is significant regulatory relief for new investment and investment in new architecture and new equipment. ..."If you want to start talking briefly about fiber, the Commission provides significant relief if the fiber is deployed all the way to a customer's premises home."

AFC to Speak on Fiber-to-the-Premises at NFOEC 2003

AFC's Shimon Hochbaum is scheduled to present a paper, "Requirements for a Successful Residential Fiber-to-the-Home Network," on Monday, September 8. The two-hour session begins at 2:00 p.m. EDT in the Orange County Convention Center's Exhibit Hall.

In session C1: Fiber-to-the-Home, AFC's Arndt Kuchta-Schrader will discuss "PON Optimization in Residential Fiber-to-the-Home Applications." Mr. Kuchta-Schrader's session takes place Tuesday morning, September 9. The session begins at approximately 10:30 a.m. EDT and will be held in the Orange County Convention Center's Valencia Ballroom A.

Both Hochbaum and Kuchta-Schrader have been key contributors in the development of AFC's FiberDirect solution.

Advanced Fibre Communications Inc. (AFC)