As expected, SBC has selected Alcatel to supply equipment for the RBOC's fiber-to-the-premises (FTTP) build-out.

Terms of the four-year, non-exclusive agreement were not disclosed.

SBC will trial Alcatel's 7340 FTTU (Fiber to the User) system, which consists of several passive-optical-network-based elements, including equipment for the central office, and business and home terminals. Field trials of the technology are planned for the first half of 2004.

Field tests will include FTTP technology configurations for single-family residences, apartment and condominium complexes, and small-business locations, SBC says. Ultimately, FTTP deployment will depend on results of the final lab testing and field trials, as well as clarification of any regulatory guidelines that would apply to FTTP networks, SBC says.

Alcatel was selected after a six-month evaluation conducted in conjunction with Verizon and BellSouth, two of the other RBOCs that, along with SBC, issued the FTTP specification and RFP earlier this year.

Alcatel's 7340 FTTU system is already deployed in an SBC trial in Mission Bay, Calif., where it is used in a mixed-use business/residential application that will include nearly 6,000 residential units.