NEW YORK, Dec. 22 -- Verizon took another step forward in its plan to begin deploying fiber- to-the-premises (FTTP) systems next year by completing the selection of equipment manufacturers and suppliers for the project. Verizon Network Services Group President Paul A. Lacouture said the latest vendor selection completes the second major phase of the project, begun earlier this year when Verizon, BellSouth and SBC adopted technical standards and issued a joint request for proposals to equipment suppliers. The four vendors announced today they will provide fiber optic cabling and other outside plant equipment, also known as the "passive" elements of the FTTP system. The vendors are: Corning Cable Systems, a subsidiary of Corning Inc., of Corning, N.Y.; ADC, of Eden Prairie, Minn.; Preformed Line Products Co., of Cleveland, Ohio; and Tyco Electronics, of Harrisburg, Pa. They join four other companies that Verizon selected and announced last month: Advanced Fiber Communications Inc. for the central office electronics; and outside plant suppliers Sumitomo Electric Lightwave, Pirelli Communications Cables and Systems North America and Fiber Optic Network Solutions (FONS). For more information; www.verizon.com/news