Definition of FTTH and Broadband Access Terms Released by the Fiber to the Home Councils.

LAS VEGAS -- Today the Fiber to the Home Councils of Asia Pacific, Europe and North America announced completion of a new resource to provide world-wide standardization of terminology used in the fiber-to-the-home industry. The FTTH Council - Definition of Terms is the result of collaborative work between the three Councils. The document provides definitions for commonly utilized industry terms describing access network terminology. Definitions agreed to among all three Councils provides clear and concise descriptions that are both adequate and useful to the global telecommunications industry.

"As the industry has grown, so has the optical fiber terminology in use among FTTH professionals, analysts and journalists," notes Joe Savage, President of the FTTH Council North America. "It has become increasingly more important to know that when a term is used, it means the same thing - whether you're deploying in Canada, Japan or Germany."

FTTH Council Asia Pacific President Shoichi Hanatani agrees. "It became difficult to compare industry research on different regions or between different studies of the same region. The industry needs a reference tool that provides common definitions for terms used on a global scale. It was a very good exercise for all three regional organizations to compare notes and to come to agreement on definitions for these terms."

Hartwig Tauber, president of the FTTH Council Europe, says the document will be a great help to anyone doing research or writing white papers for the industry. "Finally there is a go-to resource that provides a common ground for understanding various elements of the FTTH industry. Whether it is a definition of FTTH itself, or what we mean by a network, this document will enable everyone to talk the same language, no matter what country or region they are from."

As a result, The FTTH Council - Definition of Terms provides precise terminology used throughout the world. Professionals writing white papers or conducting market research will have global definitions for terms such as fiber to the home, fiber to the building, cable plant topology and much more.

The FTTH Council - Definition of Terms may be downloaded at www.ftthcouncil.org, www.europeftthcouncil.com and www.ftthcouncilap.org and will also be available at the FTTH Council North America's annual conference is Las Vegas, NV, October 2 - 5, 2006 in the Fiber Powered Pavilion on the exhibitor floor at booth 440.

About the FTTH Council North America

Celebrating its 5th anniversary, the Fiber-to-the-Home Council is a non-profit organization established to help its members with planning, marketing, implementing and managing FTTH solutions. Council membership includes municipalities, utilities, developers, and traditional and non-traditional service providers, creating a cohesive group to share knowledge and build industry consensus on key issues surrounding fiber to the home. Communities and organizations interested in exploring FTTH options may find information on the FTTH Council web site at www.ftthcouncil.org. Information on the 2006 FTTH Conference & Expo may be found at www.ftthconference.com.

About the FTTH Council Europe

The FTTH Council Europe www.europeftthcouncil.com is a market development organisation with a mission to accelerate the availability of fibre-based, broadband access networks to consumers and businesses. With few exceptions, Europe lags well behind the US and Asian tiger economies in the availability of high speed broadband services. The Council believes that the development of fibre-based access networks is fundamental to the deployment of such services, and hence to reaping their benefits for European citizens and businesses. The Council's charter is to work with European governments, policy-makers and opinion leaders qualify and quantify the benefits to be gained from fibre-based broadband access networks, and to identify and help to erode the barriers to their development. Council members are drawn from the telecoms (vendors), broadband content and academic sectors.

About the FTTH Council Asia-Pacific

The FTTH Council Asia Pacific is a non-profit organization whose mission is to educate, promote and accelerate FTTH and the resulting economic and quality-of-life enhancements across the Asia Pacific region. Formally registered in February 2005, and with over 40 member organisations spread across the Asia-Pac region; this Council maintains close links with sister organisations in Europe and North America. The Council is a group of leading telecom, networking, and infrastructure companies whose mandate is to promote the extension of fiber access across the Asia Pacific region including Greater China, Korea, Japan, SE Asia, India, Thailand and Australia/New Zealand.