Broadband World Forum 2009

Ericsson Expands Presence in the AT&T U(ni)-verse Domain, with ADTRAN Along for the Ride

| Sep 10, 2009 | Broadband Infrastructure | Show Update

| Analyst: Erik Keith

Current Perspective: Positive
Vendor Importance: Very High
Market Impact: High

Event Summary

September 7, 2009 - Ericsson announced its selection as one of two suppliers for AT&T's Wireline Access products and services. Ericsson will be eligible to provide full system solutions within AT&T's wireline access network. Having already approved Ericsson's GPON FTTH solution for general deployment, AT&T will now embark on integrating Ericsson's DSL portfolio for FTTN and IP DSLAM solutions to support AT&T's U-verse offerings, such as IPTV, high speed Internet and VoIP over an all IP network infrastructure.

Analytical Summary

• Current Perspective: Positive on Ericsson’s garnering a strong stake in AT&T’s fixed access network domain (as defined by AT&T), as it provides Ericsson and new partner ADTRAN with a path to a dramatically expanded presence in one of the world’s largest FTTx network build-outs (initiated by SBC as Lightspeed), which under the U-verse consumer service banner, AT&T delivers advanced triple play services over VDSL2 (and ADSL2+) including true IPTV and multi-stream HDTV. Ericsson now stands well-poised to gain substantially in terms of both customer/market validation and critical, incremental revenue streams.

• Vendor Importance: Very high to Ericsson, because the AT&T contract not only provides Ericsson with the Tier 1 operator validation and new revenues mentioned above, but also with the potential for a major step forward in terms of market share gains, to the point where the company will contend even more directly with the established top three, specifically, Alcatel-Lucent, Huawei and ZTE, the only three vendors that possess double-digit market share in the global DSL equipment market.

• Market Impact: High on the overall fixed access market, because although Ericsson is already well-established as a strong contender in the global fixed access sector, this expansion with AT&T can serve as a stepping stone for increasing success by Ericsson, to the point where it will very likely challenge the Top Three even more effectively. From a technology/solution set standpoint, Ericsson’s EDA 1200 and 1500 series have been at the forefront of the FTTx/FTTH/GPON sector, and with expanded presence in AT&T, Ericsson’s chances for increasing market momentum are quite strong.

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Current Perspective

Positives and Concerns

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