Table of Contents:

Definition and Overview

1. The Case for Fiber-Optic Access

2. How ATM PONs Work

3. Benefits of ATM–PONs

4. Technology Comparison with xDSL

5. Full-Service Access Network Initiative

6. Major Players

7. The Future of ATM PONs

Self-Test

Glossary

PDF of this tutorial

Japan's Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation (NTT) is recognized as a leading telecommunications carrier in the creation of high-speed optical-network access systems. Its leadership is demonstrated by its involvement in the FSAN Initiative as well as by its own cutting-edge research and development and collaboration with other carriers. NTT already has deployed narrowband and video-distribution FTTH and broadband ATM–PON systems. In 1999, it will introduce a fully FSAN–compliant, FTTB/C ATM–PON system.

According to a press release issued by NTT and BellSouth in June 1998, the two companies announced that they would work together. NTT and BellSouth announced they would deliver a high-speed optical-network access platform, pooling their respective research and development resources to advance the availability of affordable FTTH technology. In June 1999, BellSouth unveiled plans to install a FTTH system to the Atlanta area using FSAN–compliant ATM–PON technology.

In the news release about the Atlanta installation, BellSouth announced that suburban Atlanta residents will be the first in North America to experience the nearly unlimited speed and bandwidth of passive optical networking delivered directly to their homes. BellSouth's vision for FTTH is for customers to buy communications appliances for voice, video, data or imaging applications at retail stores and plug them into their home optical telecommunications network. The BellSouth fiber network, by talking to the appliance, would deliver the necessary provisioning. Both BellSouth and NTT believe that customer orientation and demand will drive down the cost of FTTH equipment and accelerate its worldwide availability. Historically, both BellSouth and NTT have pioneered fiber-optic technology. In the late 1980s, BellSouth launched an FTTH trial near Orlando, Florida. Historically, NTT has actively promoted FTTH, particularly in the area of interface specifications for high-speed optical access systems. NTT's FTTB/C project, to be launched in 1999, will replace copper cable with fiber throughout most of NTT's subscriber system.