AFC Claims DLC Leadership

PETALUMA, Calif. -- According to recent data published by industry analyst firm RHK, AFC® (Nasdaq: AFCI), The Acronym for AccessSM, has increased its digital loop carrier (DLC) market share in North America to nearly 45 percent—approximately six points higher than its nearest competitor.

In RHK’s “Annual Global DLC Market” report, published this spring, RHK Program Director Teresa Mastrangelo wrote: “In January 2004, AFC announced its acquisition of Marconi’s North American Access business and closed the deal in late February. Based on this, AFC should significantly increase its market share position and likely become the leading vendor of access solutions in North America.”

By combining the DLC market share numbers of both AFC (26.2%) and Marconi’s former North American Access business (18.5%) at the close of 2003, AFC entered 2004 with a market share of 44.7 percent, according to the report.

“We’re seeing aggressive deployment of DSL from remote DLC terminals by the nation’s largest carriers,” said Mastrangelo. “This is a growing trend that will benefit AFC, which has been selling its DLC applications into regional Bell accounts for some time now. Plus, its selection by Verizon for FTTP (fiber-to-the-premises) provides additional validation that AFC has paid its dues with regards to winning coveted RBOC business.”

“In this era of broadband,” according to John Schofield, chairman, president and CEO of AFC, “one of the biggest hurdles carriers face is reaching those subscribers beyond the reach of their central office serving areas. AFC’s portfolio of market-proven broadband access solutions solves this immediate problem, positioning carriers to quickly and cost-effectively deliver a richer suite of copper and fiber-based broadband services to every subscriber, regardless of their location.”

By specializing exclusively within the access network, AFC has become The Acronym for Access, delivering traditional services such as POTS (plain old telephone services) as well as new high-value services like DSL and IPTV (Internet protocol television). New innovative solutions from AFC also include FiberDirectSM, a comprehensive FTTP portfolio enabling carriers to deploy FTTC (fiber-to-the-curb), FTTH (fiber-to-the-home) and FTTB (fiber-to-the-business).

The following data points evidence AFC’s commitment to both carriers and consumers. AFC has:

“The access network’s primary role is to deliver today’s services at the lowest total cost, while readying to evolve to new service models with minimal cost of change,” added Schofield. “Success in today’s competitive environment requires access solutions with unparalleled performance, efficiency and versatility. AFC’s commitment to the access network is demonstrated in how our customers have successfully evolved their business and service models based on our industry-leading solutions.”

Advanced Fibre Communications Inc. (AFC)