Verizon, a provider of broadband and other wireless and wireline communications services, has initiated the development of new, much smaller optical network terminals and has begun to deploy at new FiOS (News - Alert) installations in apartment complexes.

 

The electronic devices connect Verizon's (News - Alert) fiber-optic network to the wiring inside a customer's home and convert light pulses into electromagnetic signals that are fed to the broadband home router and TV set-top boxes that provide the FiOS TV and broadband services.

 

These ONTs are small in size and they can be placed under desks or on shelves and simplify the installation of Verizon FiOS Internet and FiOS TV services. One of the two new devices, the Alcatel-Lucent (News - Alert) I-21 1M-K indoor ONT, measures just 1-1/4 inches high, 8-1/2 inches wide and 5-1/2 inches deep. The other device, the Motorola ONT 1000 GTI indoor ONT, is slightly larger.

 

Eric Cevis, vice president of Verizon Enhanced Communities, said “Space is a precious commodity in apartment buildings, and these new, smaller ONTs were specifically designed with that in mind." 

 

"We've downsized the equipment and minimized the hassles for property owners, making FiOS an even more attractive service offering for residents of multidwelling units," added Cevis.

 

"Space is a precious commodity in apartment buildings, and these new, smaller ONTs were specifically designed with that in mind," commented Eric Cevis, vice president of Verizon Enhanced Communities, the Verizon business unit that markets and sells communications, broadband and entertainment services to single-family communities, multiple dwelling-unit communities, and small and medium commercial sites. "We've downsized the equipment and minimized the hassles for property owners, making FiOS an even more attractive service offering for residents of multidwelling units."

 

Vincent O'Byrne, technology director at Verizon's product and technology development labs in Waltham, Mass. States that the new ONTs were designed to meet a challenging set of specifications and were developed to better serve the multiple-dwelling unit market.

 

"Building owners and residents alike will appreciate the simplicity these new ONTs bring to the installation and use of FiOS services," O'Byrne said. "By running fiber from the point of entry to the new, smaller ONTs, installers can make fewer runs of coaxial and computer cables. As a result, the whole installation experience will be cleaner and simpler for the customers."