What began as a cheerleading session for fiber-to-the-home this week looks to have wedged Alcatel SA and Corning Inc. into an awkward space.

At the annual Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) Council conference in New Orleans, the equipment manufacturers reportedly were asked to support opposing camps -- one led by keynote speaker Kevin J. Martin of the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the other led by key customer BellSouth Corp.

The fight is over the definition of FTTH, which has important regulatory consequences. The FCC says FTTH services require a fiber loop that runs all the way into the customer's home.
BellSouth wants the definition of FTTH to be widened to include not only fiber links into houses, but also fiber to the curb (FTTC).

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