AFCI Advanced Fibre Communications (MM)

AFC Takes Leadership Position in North American DLC Market PETALUMA, Calif., May 17 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- According to recent data published by industry analyst firm RHK, AFC(R) , The Acronym for Access(SM), has increased its digital loop carrier (DLC) market share in North America to nearly 45 percent-approximately six points higher than its nearest competitor. In RHK's "Annual Global DLC Market" report, published this spring, RHK Program Director Teresa Mastrangelo wrote: "In January 2004, AFC announced its acquisition of Marconi's North American Access business and closed the deal in late February. Based on this, AFC should significantly increase its market share position and likely become the leading vendor of access solutions in North America." By combining the DLC market share numbers of both AFC (26.2%) and Marconi's former North American Access business (18.5%) at the close of 2003, AFC entered 2004 with a market share of 44.7 percent, according to the report. "We're seeing aggressive deployment of DSL from remote DLC terminals by the nation's largest carriers," said Mastrangelo. "This is a growing trend that will benefit AFC, which has been selling its DLC applications into regional Bell accounts for some time now. Plus, its selection by Verizon for FTTP (fiber-to-the-premises) provides additional validation that AFC has paid its dues with regards to winning coveted RBOC business." "In this era of broadband," according to John Schofield, chairman, president and CEO of AFC, "one of the biggest hurdles carriers face is reaching those subscribers beyond the reach of their central office serving areas. AFC's portfolio of market-proven broadband access solutions solves this immediate problem, positioning carriers to quickly and cost-effectively deliver a richer suite of copper and fiber-based broadband services to every subscriber, regardless of their location." By specializing exclusively within the access network, AFC has become The Acronym for Access, delivering traditional services such as POTS (plain old telephone services) as well as new high-value services like DSL and IPTV (Internet protocol television). New innovative solutions from AFC also include FiberDirect(SM), a comprehensive FTTP portfolio enabling carriers to deploy FTTC (fiber-to-the-curb), FTTH (fiber-to-the-home) and FTTB (fiber-to-the-business). The following data points evidence AFC's commitment to both carriers and consumers. AFC has: -- An installed capacity of nearly 50 million lines via AccessMAX(TM) and DISC*S(R) -- 30 million access lines of video and FTTP deployed capacity via AccessMAX -- 1 million FTTC deep-fiber lines deployed via DISC*S "The access network's primary role is to deliver today's services at the lowest total cost, while readying to evolve to new service models with minimal cost of change," added Schofield. "Success in today's competitive environment requires access solutions with unparalleled performance, efficiency and versatility. AFC's commitment to the access network is demonstrated in how our customers have successfully evolved their business and service models based on our industry-leading solutions." About AFC Headquartered in Petaluma, Calif., AFC is a leading provider of broadband access solutions for the global telecommunications industry. With a customer base of more than 800 service providers worldwide, AFC continues to build and support the world's evolving broadband access network architecture. Advanced Fibre Communications, Inc., AFC, the AFC logo and DISC*S are registered trademarks of Advanced Fibre Communications, Inc. AccessMAX is a trademark and The Acronym for Access and FiberDirect are service marks of Advanced Fibre Communications, Inc. Copyright 2004. All rights reserved. Any other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. For more information, please visit AFC online at http://www.afc.com/ or call 1-800-690-AFCI. Except for historical information contained in this press release, the foregoing contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Rapidly changing technologies and market conditions may require changes to our products. Actual results may differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements based on a variety of risks and uncertainties, including the risks and uncertainties relating to the level and timing of customer demand for broadband services such as DSL, and AFC's ability to increase or maintain its market share. Information about potential factors that could affect AFC's financial results is included in AFC's Annual Report on Form 10-K and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, which have been filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. We undertake no obligation to revise or update these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after today or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. DATASOURCE: Advanced Fibre Communications CONTACT: Chris Heinemann of AFC, +1-707-792-4019, or Web site: http://www.afc.com/

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