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that handles mainly carrier Ethernet hasto “do more” for FTTH. An example onthis year’s list is ADTRAN, which repeatedfrom last year because its MSAPsand routers (some with WiFi and networklogical layer 3 switching) helpenable many business plans for FTTH.Another is Pannaway.Likewise, there are about 600 organizationsdeploying FTTH now, so deployerseither have to be very large or have toshow us extra-special business innovationon the fiber front to make the cut.Broadweave, Connexion Technologies,GVTC, Hiawatha Broad band Communications,LTS Group, Shentel, Surewestand Zoomy Com munications met thesecriteria. Most notable of companies thataren’t on the list this year? AT&T.Also, companies like 3M, for whichfiber is a small but growing part of thebusiness, must continue to innovate andexpand their fiber-related offerings. Butthis year, it is tough to find a fiber sitethat does not include at least one 3Mproduct, and 3M offers welcome supportto the FTTH Council. So 3Mmade the list.We have a separate listing for distributors,scheduled for publication inlate fall. But several distributors such asAMT, EMBARQ Logistics, Graybar,Pace International, Multicom and TonerCable Equipment make the Top 100 aswell, by offering VAR services and particularlycompelling product lines – oreven developing their own products.We sometimes, but rarely, list divisionsof larger companies, where the divisionbrand name is particularly well-known.Carlon (a vendor of innovative ductsand raceways for fiber) is an examplethis year. But Enablence Technologies iswell enough known in its own right, sodetails of its new Wave7 Optics unit arecovered in the Enablence listing.New ListingsActiontec Electronics is new to the listthis year, even though it was founded 15years ago. Its residential broadband networkingrouter provides connectivity atspeeds of up to 100 Mbps and supportsremote management and troubleshooting.The router is the basis of the digitalhome architecture for Verizon’s FiOS.ARRIS, on the other hand, made thelist this year when it acquired C-COR,a company that was already there for itson-demand video technology.The extra attention to networkmonitoring hardware and software, andto customer service software, led us tonew Top 100 listings this year for CalientNetworks, EXFO, FiberZone, GreatLakes Data Systems, IneoQuest, Procera,and Spirent.DIRECTV and DISH Networksare both on the list this year, thanks todeployment of fiber-based distributionsystems within MDU complexes.Cable Sees a PON FutureIndeed, traditional franchise cable companieshave ratified PON in other waysas well. Many companies, both old andnew to our list, are also working on waysto allow such companies to deliver signalsall the way to the premises. The technology,generically, is called RF Over Glass,and it may be the near-term way for cableto match FTTH bandwidth. Companieson our list with announced RFOG productsinclude ADC, Alloptic, ARRIS, Antronix,Aurora Networks, Calix, Cisco(which calls its technology D-PON, forDOCSIS Passive Optical Network),CommScope, Corning, Enablence Technologies,Nokia Siemens Networks,Occam Networks, OFS, Tellabs, andTeraSpan. Will Comcast and other cableMSOs deploy enough PON networks tomake the list next year?1. Actiontec Electronics2. Antronix3. ARRIS4. Aurora Networks5. Calient Networks6. Design Nine7. Dish Network8. DIRECTV9. EXFO Optical Engineering10. FiberZone Networks11. Great Lakes Data Systems12. Greenfield Communications13. GVTCNew This YearMaking a DifferenceFor us, the key tiebreaker question, asalways, was this: Will this companymake a difference in the fiber broadbandindustry in the coming year? To put itanother way: Would the industry sufferif this company did not exist? Thus, afew component vendors such as AllianceFiber Optic Products, which designs,manufactures and markets high-performancefiber optic components such asthin-film CWDM and DWDM componentsand modules, make the list, eventhough their products are buried deep inFTTH vendor offerings such as splittersand ONTs, and few of our readers woulddeal with such firms directly. Other examplesare PMC-Sierra and TXP (anothernew listing this year). MRV sellscomponents but also has products solddirectly to network builders.So do Alpha Technologies and EmersonNetwork Power, whose batterybackup systems are increasingly crucialto residential fiber deployments.MetaSwitch would make the list if onlybecause so many FTTH network providersuse its hardware for VoIP. But itis also moving to enable better networkmanagement tools and a wide range ofnew broadband services.In a few cases, we made close judgmentcalls. New listing Antronix, for instance,is well known in the coax businessfor its splitters and other passives,and only recently entered the FTTH/14. Hiawatha Broadband15. IneoQuest16. Kabel-X17. MRV Communications18. Multicom19. Pacific Broadband Networks20. Procera Networks21. Prysmian22. Radiant Communications23. Spirent Communications24. TeraSpan25. TXP26. Tyco ElectronicsJuly 2008 | www.broadbandproperties.com | BROADBAND PROPERTIES | 33