Tellabs GPON exits Verizon; Adtran adds GPON

The gigabit passive optical networking market is welcoming a new late entrant today in the form of Adtran, but the bigger GPON-related news today is that Tellabs has backed out of a GPON supply deal with Verizon Communications. The vendor, which is Verizon's lead broadband PON vendor, had to accept second supplier status for GPON at Verizon when the telco named Alcatel-Lucent its primary GPON vendor. Tellabs says it will continue to work in the GPON and BPON segments, so the rift appears to be only with Verizon. Tellabs issued a press release this morning that stated it was discontinuing "current GPON activities" with Verizon for "economic reasons."

With that in mind, Adtran's entry into the GPON market makes more sense. Both AT&T and Verizon had already announced GPON suppliers, so the market for large U.S. carrier deals seemed locked up--until this morning. It's not clear yet how Verizon will fill its second supplier need. Adtran is addressing the market by adding GPON line cards to its Total Access 5000 system.

For more:
- see this story about Adtran at Light Reading
- here's the press release from Tellabs

Related article:
- Tellabs also has been facing a BPON market decline