Showing posts with label Technology. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Technology. Show all posts
I came across this nice tool on the FTTH Council (Europe) web site which demonstrates the speed of different broadband technologies.
You can select the different purposes of the broadband (consumer, business, society), the type of content and then just click start.
You can select the different purposes of the broadband (consumer, business, society), the type of content and then just click start.
Following on from a number of articles and presentations I have made about the TCO of PON v PtP, one of the points that is most relevant today is the power efficiency of the access solution.
In a presentation made by Alcatel Lucent at the FTTH conference in europe this year, they support my claim that the power consumption of PtP FTTH solutions is nearly 6 times that of a PON solution.
Estimate power consumption depending on the technology, and comparing PON against other existing technologies is as follows:
In a presentation made by Alcatel Lucent at the FTTH conference in europe this year, they support my claim that the power consumption of PtP FTTH solutions is nearly 6 times that of a PON solution.
Estimate power consumption depending on the technology, and comparing PON against other existing technologies is as follows:
- PON: 0.5 W/user
- VDSL: 2 W/user
- P2P: 3 W/user
Do a search on PtP v PON in goggle and you will find lots of information published by the point to point equipment vendors about the advantages their solution has over Passive Optical Networks (GPON or GEPON).
This presentation is one of mine which was delivered by a work colleague at the recently Paul Budde FTTH round table. It raises a number of technology issues in regards to the proposed National Broadband Network and which technology is best suited to the deployment.
This presentation has been born out of a very frustating arguement I had with several members of Whirlpool who were addement PtP is the ONLY technology which should be considered, and were coming up with some very silly arguements such as shining lasers down the fibre.
The five main myths I dispell are:
1. PtP offers 100Mbps to each sub, but PON does not because it shares bandwidth
2. PtP offers easy upgrade path, PON does not
3. PtP is cheaper because it uses cheaper optics
4. PtP has a dominant market share
5. PON is insecure and prone to DoS attacks
I hope you enjoy the presentation.
This presentation is one of mine which was delivered by a work colleague at the recently Paul Budde FTTH round table. It raises a number of technology issues in regards to the proposed National Broadband Network and which technology is best suited to the deployment.
This presentation has been born out of a very frustating arguement I had with several members of Whirlpool who were addement PtP is the ONLY technology which should be considered, and were coming up with some very silly arguements such as shining lasers down the fibre.
The five main myths I dispell are:
1. PtP offers 100Mbps to each sub, but PON does not because it shares bandwidth
2. PtP offers easy upgrade path, PON does not
3. PtP is cheaper because it uses cheaper optics
4. PtP has a dominant market share
5. PON is insecure and prone to DoS attacks
I hope you enjoy the presentation.
ZTE Corporation has launched a prototype of the world's first symmetrical 10G EPON equipment at the China FTTH Summit 2009 as well as OLT equipment that supports symmetrical 10G EPON and a series of ONU products.
Symmetrical 10G EPON technology is a new-generation PON technology with both upstream and downstream access rates reaching 10Gbps. It is the mainstream next-generation PON technical standard generally recognised by international standard organisations. Since its upstream bandwidth is 10 times larger than with asymmetrical 10G EPON technology, it is much more effective in terms of application capabilities and development potential.
Demand for optical access is being accelerated by the global trend towards broadband implementation. According to Ovum, 2008 saw a huge global volume of FTTX shipments led by the Asia Pacific region, with the Chinese market, particularly for EPON products, being particularly large. This has been a powerful boost for 10G EPON technology and the demand has encouraged PON developers to speed up product development and refinement. The launch of ZTE's symmetrical 10G EPON prototype marks the emergence of 10G EPON technology as the first mature standard of next-generation PON technologies.
Source: Light reading
Symmetrical 10G EPON technology is a new-generation PON technology with both upstream and downstream access rates reaching 10Gbps. It is the mainstream next-generation PON technical standard generally recognised by international standard organisations. Since its upstream bandwidth is 10 times larger than with asymmetrical 10G EPON technology, it is much more effective in terms of application capabilities and development potential.
Demand for optical access is being accelerated by the global trend towards broadband implementation. According to Ovum, 2008 saw a huge global volume of FTTX shipments led by the Asia Pacific region, with the Chinese market, particularly for EPON products, being particularly large. This has been a powerful boost for 10G EPON technology and the demand has encouraged PON developers to speed up product development and refinement. The launch of ZTE's symmetrical 10G EPON prototype marks the emergence of 10G EPON technology as the first mature standard of next-generation PON technologies.
Source: Light reading
Rod Tucker, Laureate Professor at the University of Melbourne and one of the members of the Expert Group who made the recommendation to government to abandon the National Broadband Network RFP and go it along with its own Fibre to the Premises solution, writes about some of the myths being discussed around Australia on Broadband.
Its an article posted on crikey that discusses points on wireless technology, broadband needs, DSL, HFC and PON architecture.
Its an article posted on crikey that discusses points on wireless technology, broadband needs, DSL, HFC and PON architecture.
Verizon Communications is exploring ways to use its Fios broadband service to give consumers ways to remotely control their thermostat and view their energy usage.
In a article by Cnet, company engineers are now designing energy management applications to work with their FIOS service
Google too is testing a home energy management application called PowerMeter, said simply getting a handle on that data helps the typical consumer reduce energy consumption 5 percent to 15 percent.
In a article by Cnet, company engineers are now designing energy management applications to work with their FIOS service
Google too is testing a home energy management application called PowerMeter, said simply getting a handle on that data helps the typical consumer reduce energy consumption 5 percent to 15 percent.
Melbourne, 19 March 2009 – NEC Australia today announced it has partnered with FTTH telecoms specialist OptiComm to supply core and access technology and services to enable OptiComm’s rollout of a Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTH/P) broadband network to more than 50,000 new homes and businesses, across a growing number of residential and mixed business property development sites around Australia. OptiComm is working with NEC to substantially increase this number of greenfield estates over the next five years and in time, roll out connectivity to existing homes and businesses as well.
A Hills Industries joint venture company, OptiComm specialises in the design, construction, provision, operation and maintenance of open access wholesale FTTH networks for residential and mixed business use developments. OptiComm offers fair and equitable access for retail service providers and currently has agreements with several ISPs and are finalising agreements with several others to deliver retail high-speed broadband and telephone services over OptiComm’s wholesale access FTTH networks.
OptiComm’s wholesale approach ensures residential and business consumers in an OptiComm connected area will be able to choose from a range of retail service providers to obtain internet, telephony and subscription television services at competitive prices. The combination of services over a wholesale FTTH network enables property developers to promote “futureproof highest speed broadband enabled estates with no overhead cables, no rooftop antennas” that are supported by multiple retail service providers.
For consumers, OptiComm’s NEC enabled FTTH network boasts the fastest broadband speed available in Australia, 100Mbps, and the same fibre will also allow consumers to access free to air TV including metropolitan and regional analogue and digital broadcast television channels. For Pay TV, OptiComm’s networks are approved to carry Foxtel, Austar and SelecTV subscription TV services. Consumers can also use high-quality standard telephone services and download or stream video on demand, and run a range of smart applications including IP video surveillance and smart metering, all delivered to the home over a single optical fibre.
OptiComm has selected NEC’s FTTH optical terminal equipment with 1 Gbps ports to satisfy business user’s escalating internet capacity needs without need for hardware change, the same equipment also caters for distributed business’s interconnectivity needs with OptiComm implementing a V-lan Point-to-Point service called “Eline” which is equivalent to a Metro Ethernet service.
“Just like electricity, gas and water infrastructure are essential in the construction of new housing, Fibre to the Home is no longer a nice to have, but a must for new residential and mixed use developments. Indeed, we’re seeing it being mandated by many of the large developers who have identified it as a disadvantage not to have high speed broadband connectivity in new homes,” said Phil Smith, General Manager, OptiComm.
John Norton, Executive General Manager, NEC Australia, said: “The market trend towards FTTH in greenfield sites is an absolute logical choice. The flexibility and future proofing that fibre delivers help to deliver prosperity, efficiencies and opportunities for communities into the future. FTTH is essential infrastructure that delivers real social benefits”.
“OptiComm selected NEC as our partner based on the outstanding performance of their technology compared to others we evaluated; NEC was able to bring to the table their vast experience in optical systems delivering voice, video and data applications. The other major decision factor was the strong local support and services capability from NEC Australia,” said Stephen Davies, OptiComm Operations General Manager, and Network Designer.
The FTTH network will implement NEC’s GPON technology, developed in Australia at the country’s largest telecommunications R&D facility and NEC has also been selected to supply and support Juniper core network equipment. OptiComm’s entire network, core, access and TV distribution infrastructure will be managed from NEC’s National Operations Centre in Melbourne.
“NEC is uniquely positioned to work with partners such as OptiComm to assist them roll out high-speed broadband infrastructure,” Norton said.
A Hills Industries joint venture company, OptiComm specialises in the design, construction, provision, operation and maintenance of open access wholesale FTTH networks for residential and mixed business use developments. OptiComm offers fair and equitable access for retail service providers and currently has agreements with several ISPs and are finalising agreements with several others to deliver retail high-speed broadband and telephone services over OptiComm’s wholesale access FTTH networks.
OptiComm’s wholesale approach ensures residential and business consumers in an OptiComm connected area will be able to choose from a range of retail service providers to obtain internet, telephony and subscription television services at competitive prices. The combination of services over a wholesale FTTH network enables property developers to promote “futureproof highest speed broadband enabled estates with no overhead cables, no rooftop antennas” that are supported by multiple retail service providers.
For consumers, OptiComm’s NEC enabled FTTH network boasts the fastest broadband speed available in Australia, 100Mbps, and the same fibre will also allow consumers to access free to air TV including metropolitan and regional analogue and digital broadcast television channels. For Pay TV, OptiComm’s networks are approved to carry Foxtel, Austar and SelecTV subscription TV services. Consumers can also use high-quality standard telephone services and download or stream video on demand, and run a range of smart applications including IP video surveillance and smart metering, all delivered to the home over a single optical fibre.
OptiComm has selected NEC’s FTTH optical terminal equipment with 1 Gbps ports to satisfy business user’s escalating internet capacity needs without need for hardware change, the same equipment also caters for distributed business’s interconnectivity needs with OptiComm implementing a V-lan Point-to-Point service called “Eline” which is equivalent to a Metro Ethernet service.
“Just like electricity, gas and water infrastructure are essential in the construction of new housing, Fibre to the Home is no longer a nice to have, but a must for new residential and mixed use developments. Indeed, we’re seeing it being mandated by many of the large developers who have identified it as a disadvantage not to have high speed broadband connectivity in new homes,” said Phil Smith, General Manager, OptiComm.
John Norton, Executive General Manager, NEC Australia, said: “The market trend towards FTTH in greenfield sites is an absolute logical choice. The flexibility and future proofing that fibre delivers help to deliver prosperity, efficiencies and opportunities for communities into the future. FTTH is essential infrastructure that delivers real social benefits”.
“OptiComm selected NEC as our partner based on the outstanding performance of their technology compared to others we evaluated; NEC was able to bring to the table their vast experience in optical systems delivering voice, video and data applications. The other major decision factor was the strong local support and services capability from NEC Australia,” said Stephen Davies, OptiComm Operations General Manager, and Network Designer.
The FTTH network will implement NEC’s GPON technology, developed in Australia at the country’s largest telecommunications R&D facility and NEC has also been selected to supply and support Juniper core network equipment. OptiComm’s entire network, core, access and TV distribution infrastructure will be managed from NEC’s National Operations Centre in Melbourne.
“NEC is uniquely positioned to work with partners such as OptiComm to assist them roll out high-speed broadband infrastructure,” Norton said.
SANTA CLARA, Calif. - PMC-Sierra, Inc. the premier Internet infrastructure semiconductor solutions provider, today announced the availability of complete systems for symmetric 10Gbit/s IEEE 802.3av EPON, including Optical Line Terminals (OLT) and Optical Network Units (ONU). The Company will demonstrate these second-generation 10G EPON platforms in conjunction with the Optical Fiber Communication Conference and Exposition (OFC), March 23-26, 2009, at the Manchester Grand Hyatt Hotel in San Diego. After showcasing its asymmetric 10G EPON systems in 2008, the upcoming demonstration will feature PMC-Sierra’s symmetric 10G EPON systems, delivering 10Gbit/s downstream and 10Gbit/s upstream performance.
“PMC-Sierra’s 10G EPON solutions and the increased availability of optics supporting 10G rates have enabled carriers to begin trials,” said Raphael Sankar, vice president of marketing for PMC-Sierra’s Fiber to the Home Business Unit. “This performance will allow carriers to provide new services, such as the next level of HDTV broadcasting and advanced business offerings, while further reducing capital expenditures. With this demonstration of symmetric 10G EPON, PMC-Sierra continues to solidify its leadership position in FTTH silicon solutions for EPON and GPON, and now 10G EPON.”
PMC-Sierra has developed complete systems for symmetric 10G IEEE 802.3av EPON Optical Line Terminals (OLT) and Optical Network Units (ONU). The PAS8011 system for 10G OLTs and the PAS9011 system for 10G ONUs integrate all the functionality required from an OLT and ONU running at 10G rates, including transceivers, and leverage PMC-Sierra’s market-leading EPON capabilities and analog expertise.
As the next generation of PMC-Sierra’s market-leading EPON devices, these solutions are interoperable with more than seven million EPON ONUs deployed worldwide that are based on PMC-Sierra’s devices. This enables a smooth and gradual upgrade from 1G EPON to 10G EPON, while lowering carriers’ capital and operational expenditures.
PMC-Sierra’s 10G EPON solutions include backward-compatible Service Dynamic Bandwidth Allocation (DBA), which enables configurable high system performance in a multi-service environment for access, wireless backhaul and cable TV networks. The solutions are IEEE standard compliant and interoperable, following carrier requirements.
A white paper called “10G EPON Brings Advantages to the Fiber Access Network,” details how 10G EPON technology will spur deployment of next-generation HD IPTV and other high-bandwidth applications, by Lior Khermosh, chief system architect for PMC-Sierra’s FTTH Business Unit, and Gilad Aloni, director of product marketing for PMC-Sierra’s EPON products, is available for download at http://www.pmc-sierra.com/ftth-pon (registration required).
“PMC-Sierra’s 10G EPON solutions and the increased availability of optics supporting 10G rates have enabled carriers to begin trials,” said Raphael Sankar, vice president of marketing for PMC-Sierra’s Fiber to the Home Business Unit. “This performance will allow carriers to provide new services, such as the next level of HDTV broadcasting and advanced business offerings, while further reducing capital expenditures. With this demonstration of symmetric 10G EPON, PMC-Sierra continues to solidify its leadership position in FTTH silicon solutions for EPON and GPON, and now 10G EPON.”
PMC-Sierra has developed complete systems for symmetric 10G IEEE 802.3av EPON Optical Line Terminals (OLT) and Optical Network Units (ONU). The PAS8011 system for 10G OLTs and the PAS9011 system for 10G ONUs integrate all the functionality required from an OLT and ONU running at 10G rates, including transceivers, and leverage PMC-Sierra’s market-leading EPON capabilities and analog expertise.
As the next generation of PMC-Sierra’s market-leading EPON devices, these solutions are interoperable with more than seven million EPON ONUs deployed worldwide that are based on PMC-Sierra’s devices. This enables a smooth and gradual upgrade from 1G EPON to 10G EPON, while lowering carriers’ capital and operational expenditures.
PMC-Sierra’s 10G EPON solutions include backward-compatible Service Dynamic Bandwidth Allocation (DBA), which enables configurable high system performance in a multi-service environment for access, wireless backhaul and cable TV networks. The solutions are IEEE standard compliant and interoperable, following carrier requirements.
A white paper called “10G EPON Brings Advantages to the Fiber Access Network,” details how 10G EPON technology will spur deployment of next-generation HD IPTV and other high-bandwidth applications, by Lior Khermosh, chief system architect for PMC-Sierra’s FTTH Business Unit, and Gilad Aloni, director of product marketing for PMC-Sierra’s EPON products, is available for download at http://www.pmc-sierra.com/ftth-pon (registration required).
NEC chosen for ultra-fast broadband network in Sweden
0 comments Posted Wednesday, February 11, 2009LONDON, UK — NEC Europe has today announced that it has been selected to provide a fibre solution for the Swedish network operator, Svenska Fibernät AB, that produces ten times faster broadband than the current network. The new network will provide Swedish property owners the opportunity to offer their tenants access to high-speed broadband.
Svenska Fibernät AB will immediately start to offer its customers NEC’s fibre solutions which are based on the AM3100 series multi-service access nodes (MSAN). MSAN supports gigabyte-capable passive optical networks (GPON) where the individual user can access broadband speeds up to 1 Gbps. This is much faster than alternative solutions and ten times faster than the typical network speed of 100Mbps.
“Customer demand for higher speeds makes it all the more attractive for network operators to invest in optical nets for high-speed communication,” says Richard Hanscott, Vice President of Network Solutions, NEC Europe.
Svenska Fibernät’s selection of NEC is based on the operator’s successful trial of NEC’s technology in the Uppsala region of Sweden. During this trial, it was specifically NEC’s flexibility and ability to quickly implement new functionality that appealed to Svenska Fibernät.
“By using NEC’s GPON system, we are able to save energy and reduce operational and maintenance costs, while simultaneously increasing the speed of the networks,” says Mikael Westerlund, Technical Manager at Svenska Fibernät.
The Svenska Fibernät team was very particular about choosing a solution that would be able to meet future demand without requiring comprehensive technical upgrades. NEC’s solution met this requirement as not only does it reduce the total cost of ownership but it also offers the opportunity of adapting to ever increasing service demands. The solution also allows for the possibility of increasing to even higher speeds in the future.
Svenska Fibernät AB will immediately start to offer its customers NEC’s fibre solutions which are based on the AM3100 series multi-service access nodes (MSAN). MSAN supports gigabyte-capable passive optical networks (GPON) where the individual user can access broadband speeds up to 1 Gbps. This is much faster than alternative solutions and ten times faster than the typical network speed of 100Mbps.
“Customer demand for higher speeds makes it all the more attractive for network operators to invest in optical nets for high-speed communication,” says Richard Hanscott, Vice President of Network Solutions, NEC Europe.
Svenska Fibernät’s selection of NEC is based on the operator’s successful trial of NEC’s technology in the Uppsala region of Sweden. During this trial, it was specifically NEC’s flexibility and ability to quickly implement new functionality that appealed to Svenska Fibernät.
“By using NEC’s GPON system, we are able to save energy and reduce operational and maintenance costs, while simultaneously increasing the speed of the networks,” says Mikael Westerlund, Technical Manager at Svenska Fibernät.
The Svenska Fibernät team was very particular about choosing a solution that would be able to meet future demand without requiring comprehensive technical upgrades. NEC’s solution met this requirement as not only does it reduce the total cost of ownership but it also offers the opportunity of adapting to ever increasing service demands. The solution also allows for the possibility of increasing to even higher speeds in the future.
For those interested in seeing photos of telecommunication networks, have a look at this web site. It depicts an installation of a Fibre to the Home service and all the effort they go to in making this connection.
The poster says he pays just 1,022 yen (A$17.50) per month for the first year but it goes up to 6,720 yen (A$114) per month in the second year. This is a little more than I had heard of in the past (typical A$45 per month for 100Mbps), but considering its unlimited downloads, this is still a great price.
http://www.dannychoo.com/adp/eng/1653/Japan+Optic+Fiber+Internet.html
The poster says he pays just 1,022 yen (A$17.50) per month for the first year but it goes up to 6,720 yen (A$114) per month in the second year. This is a little more than I had heard of in the past (typical A$45 per month for 100Mbps), but considering its unlimited downloads, this is still a great price.
http://www.dannychoo.com/adp/eng/1653/Japan+Optic+Fiber+Internet.html
TOKYO, JAPAN – January 20, 2009 – Teknovus, the leading provider of Gigabit Ethernet Passive Optical Network (G-EPON) chips for the deployment of triple-play services in broadband access networks, is presenting “10G EPON – The Next Step in FTTx Deployments” as part of FOE’s (Fiber Optics Expo) Technical Conference on Next Generation PON. In addition, Teknovus will be demonstrating its 10G EPON solutions during the exhibition.
Teknovus Corporate VP and General Manager for Japan, Ryoji Takaichi, will be the speaker at FOE. The presentation will focus on the Teknovus TK4721, the industry’s first EPON OLT (Optical Line Terminal) System-on-Chip with support for triple-lambda WDM multiplexing of 10G, 2.5G and 1.25G EPONs, as well as multi-service traffic managing and shaping.
“Japan is the leader in fiber access with the earliest and largest number of EPON deployments, as well as the first to adopt 2.5G Turbo-EPON,” according to Ryoji Takaichi, Teknovus Corporate VP and General Manager for Japan. “In addition, Japanese cellular and WiMAX service providers are deploying Teknovus’ EPON chips for backhaul applications, providing substantial operating cost reductions and increased bandwidth for improved user experience. Japan is also a leader in the testing of 10G EPON, which will accelerate FTTx multi-dwelling unit deployments and converged enterprise services. We expect to see field-trials of our 10G EPON before year-end 2009.”
Teknovus’ exhibit demonstrates triple-rate EPON MACs with support for 10Gbps, 2.5Gbps and 1.25Gbps downstream data rates as well as 1.25Gbps and 10Gbps upstream data rates, enabling carriers to reduce costs by supporting coexistence of 1.25G, 2.5G and 10G ONUs on a single fiber plant. Teknovus’ customers include leading equipment vendors from Japan, Korea, China, Europe and the United States who are supporting commercial deployments by more than 35 carriers including China Telecom, China Unicom, China Mobile, KDDI, K-Opticom, Korea Telecom, LG Powercom, Chunghwa Telecom, and Telecom Malaysia.
The Teknovus presentation will be available on the Teknovus website (http://www.teknovus.com) following the technical conference.
Teknovus Corporate VP and General Manager for Japan, Ryoji Takaichi, will be the speaker at FOE. The presentation will focus on the Teknovus TK4721, the industry’s first EPON OLT (Optical Line Terminal) System-on-Chip with support for triple-lambda WDM multiplexing of 10G, 2.5G and 1.25G EPONs, as well as multi-service traffic managing and shaping.
“Japan is the leader in fiber access with the earliest and largest number of EPON deployments, as well as the first to adopt 2.5G Turbo-EPON,” according to Ryoji Takaichi, Teknovus Corporate VP and General Manager for Japan. “In addition, Japanese cellular and WiMAX service providers are deploying Teknovus’ EPON chips for backhaul applications, providing substantial operating cost reductions and increased bandwidth for improved user experience. Japan is also a leader in the testing of 10G EPON, which will accelerate FTTx multi-dwelling unit deployments and converged enterprise services. We expect to see field-trials of our 10G EPON before year-end 2009.”
Teknovus’ exhibit demonstrates triple-rate EPON MACs with support for 10Gbps, 2.5Gbps and 1.25Gbps downstream data rates as well as 1.25Gbps and 10Gbps upstream data rates, enabling carriers to reduce costs by supporting coexistence of 1.25G, 2.5G and 10G ONUs on a single fiber plant. Teknovus’ customers include leading equipment vendors from Japan, Korea, China, Europe and the United States who are supporting commercial deployments by more than 35 carriers including China Telecom, China Unicom, China Mobile, KDDI, K-Opticom, Korea Telecom, LG Powercom, Chunghwa Telecom, and Telecom Malaysia.
The Teknovus presentation will be available on the Teknovus website (http://www.teknovus.com) following the technical conference.
In the context of a briefing with Cisco regarding their FTTH strategy, a colleague of mine in the FibreRing and Yankee Group analyst - Benoit Felten - was invited to a Telepresence conference last week. Participants were spread around Europe, with one in the UK, one in Vienna and one in Munich. There were a couple of his associates from the US too, but unfortunately they could not make it to a telepresence facility, so they were just webexing into the conference.
http://www.fiberevolution.com/2008/12/telepresent.html
Telepresense is not just some fantasy, it is reality and Cisco have over 150 rooms installed worldwide for their own needs. In the first year alone Cisco's travel budget went down by 25%. Imagine the savings a company could make if they had economical access to a true broadband network and could communicate with staff in full motion video at home.
As Benoit points out towards the end of his post, Telepresence requires a lot of bandwidth and symmetrical at that.
http://www.fiberevolution.com/2008/12/telepresent.html
Telepresense is not just some fantasy, it is reality and Cisco have over 150 rooms installed worldwide for their own needs. In the first year alone Cisco's travel budget went down by 25%. Imagine the savings a company could make if they had economical access to a true broadband network and could communicate with staff in full motion video at home.
As Benoit points out towards the end of his post, Telepresence requires a lot of bandwidth and symmetrical at that.
RF over glass or RFoG, is a technology receiving considerable attention as an access network solution to deliver RF-based services using a fiber-optic network. Both MSOs and telcos are using RFoG to increase usable spectrum (both upstream and downstream) for additional services, to optimize network bandwidth by separating video from data and voice services, and to increase the competitiveness of their networks through increased reliability and lower operating costs.
It is also emerging as a strong competitor to the more traditional in-building "5-Wire" Master Antenna television (MATV) systems and community access television (CATV) networks. While not a typical triple play FTTH solution, I am writing about this technology because it is basic Fibre to the Home that offers a painless and cost effective upgrade path to a full triple play solution.
Tom Anderson wrote an article for Broadband Gear on the technology:
What is RFoG compared to HFC?
RFoG is a deep fiber network in which the coax portion of the HFC network is replaced by a single-fiber passive optical architecture as shown in Figure 1 below. Downstream and upstream transmission uses different wavelengths to share the same fiber, typically 1,550 nm downstream and either 1,310 nm or 1,590 nm for the return path. Using 1,590 nm in the upstream direction allows the fiber infrastructure to simultaneously support a standards-based PON system, which operate with 1,490 nm downstream and 1,310 nm upstream wavelengths.
One of the most attractive aspects of RFoG is that it is compatible with the existing RF/DOCSIS/HFC network. RFoG works with the same:
* CPE - Set-tops, cable modems and EMTAs
* OSS/BSS systems
* Headend/hub equipment - Laser transmitters, EDFAs, return path receivers and CMTS
RFoG delivers the same services as an RF/DOCSIS/HFC network, with the added benefit of improved noise performance and increased usable RF spectrum in both the upstream and downstream.
Both RFoG and HFC systems can concurrently operate out of the same headend/hub. That makes RFoG an ideal solution for node-splitting and capacity increases on the existing network.
If Everything Is the Same, Why Deploy RFoG?
While service delivery methods and equipment are the same, the RFoG network has several advantages that include:
More downstream spectrum. RFoG systems support 1 GHz and beyond. This added spectrum can be used as the network operator chooses for added video channels, VOD/PPV services, data bandwidth and so forth.
More upstream bandwidth. Because of RFoG's improved noise characteristics (described below), the full 5-42 MHz return path spectrum can be used for data. Additionally, better RFoG systems not only support DOCSIS 3.0 with bonding, but also the low noise floor enables 64-QAM upstream transmission, dramatically increasing return path bandwidth.
Less maintenance. RFoG networks do not have active electronics such as nodes and amplifiers between the headend and the subscriber location. That means leakage and sweep testing is eliminated in the outside plant (OSP). It also means that OSP powering is not needed for the RFoG network. AC power, battery backup, emergency generators and all the associated truck rolls are eliminated for the RFoG portion of the network. It should be noted that RFoG transceivers are powered from the subscribers' site. Optional battery backup, if used, is inexpensive and can be maintained by the subscriber similar to the way in which alarm system batteries are maintained.
Along with the advantages of eliminating the OSP active electronics, the all-fiber RFoG network has another benefit: Fiber is more reliable than copper-based networks. Humidity, temperature, lightning, galvanic corrosion and other conditions all take their toll on coax and twisted-pair networks over time. Fiber, while not indestructible, is inherently immune from metallic problems. Alloptic's customers, who have been deploying RFoG for several years, are reporting decreases in maintenance rates of 90% and more compared to their HFC networks.
RFoG networks support other technologies. An advantage of RFoG networks is that its architecture supports technologies that can deliver additional services. The single-fiber passive optical network used by RFoG is the same as PON systems, whether BPON, GPON, GEPON, 10GEPON, or even DPON. By using the same fiber infrastructure a PON system can overlay the RFoG network, enabling advanced business services with gigabit bandwidth and rich Ethernet capabilities. Figure 2 illustrates how this is accomplished without disrupting existing services or subscribers.
How Is the RFoG Transmission Controlled to Prevent Collisions?
No new controls are needed when RFoG networks are deployed.
Downstream, control of the RFoG equipment is not required to deliver services. Services are broadcast through the RFoG network just as they are in a traditional HFC network. Instead of converting from optical to electrical RF in the node, the O-E conversion takes place where the RFoG transceiver is located, typically at or near the subscriber's location. RFoG transceivers are transparent to modulation techniques such as QAM or QPSK.
In the return path, RFoG transceivers operate in burst mode. With RFoG, the CMTS controls the cable modem in exactly the same way it does in an HFC network, allowing only one to transmit at any given time. In fact, the CPE controls when the RFoG device is transmitting. The RFoG transceiver detects RF transmission from the CPE and immediately turns the reverse path laser "on". When RF from the CPE stops, the laser turns "off." "Collisions" - two lasers being "on" simultaneously - are avoided because the lasers are extremely responsive. Laser on/off times are critical, requiring 1.6?sec operation to support DOCSIS 3.0 with channel bonding.
How Does RFoG Achieve Better Noise Performance Than HFC?
There are three ways RFoG has lower noise operation than HFC. First, RFoG networks have inherently lower noise. As shown in Figure 3 for return path transmission, an HFC network amplifies noise along with the signal level at each amplifier. An RFoG fiber network only has a single amplifier, maintaining the same signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) from end-to-end.
Second, the return path or upstream burst mode described earlier is key to exceptional noise performance in RFoG networks. Only one RFoG device transmitting on the network at any given time - when the CPE device is active - lowers ingress noise significantly. Non-transmitting transceivers squelch ingress noise.
Typically, the noise reduction is enough to reclaim the lower 10 MHz of the reverse path spectrum that is lost to ingress noise. In a 5-42 MHz return spectrum, this increases upstream spectrum by 27%.
There is another noise improvement with the advent of RFoG technology. Return path receivers that make use of low noise optical circuits have been optimized for RFoG networks. Combined with RFoG transceivers, these receivers are delivering return path noise performance more than 4 dB better than traditional HFC networks.
The low noise benefit can be used in several ways. For example, it enables 64-QAM rather than 16-QAM in the upstream direction, increasing bandwidth from 27 Mbps to 38 Mbps per 6 MHz channel. Another use is to increase the distance reached by the optical network.
Summary
RFoG is a relatively new technology that delivers a number of immediate benefits to network operators. In addition to the financial advantages, network technical performance is improved, giving engineers new tools to increase the competitive advantages of their networks.
Tom Anderson is the director of product marketing for Alloptic, an optical access solution provider headquartered in Livermore, CA.
It is also emerging as a strong competitor to the more traditional in-building "5-Wire" Master Antenna television (MATV) systems and community access television (CATV) networks. While not a typical triple play FTTH solution, I am writing about this technology because it is basic Fibre to the Home that offers a painless and cost effective upgrade path to a full triple play solution.
Tom Anderson wrote an article for Broadband Gear on the technology:
What is RFoG compared to HFC?
RFoG is a deep fiber network in which the coax portion of the HFC network is replaced by a single-fiber passive optical architecture as shown in Figure 1 below. Downstream and upstream transmission uses different wavelengths to share the same fiber, typically 1,550 nm downstream and either 1,310 nm or 1,590 nm for the return path. Using 1,590 nm in the upstream direction allows the fiber infrastructure to simultaneously support a standards-based PON system, which operate with 1,490 nm downstream and 1,310 nm upstream wavelengths.
One of the most attractive aspects of RFoG is that it is compatible with the existing RF/DOCSIS/HFC network. RFoG works with the same:
* CPE - Set-tops, cable modems and EMTAs
* OSS/BSS systems
* Headend/hub equipment - Laser transmitters, EDFAs, return path receivers and CMTS
RFoG delivers the same services as an RF/DOCSIS/HFC network, with the added benefit of improved noise performance and increased usable RF spectrum in both the upstream and downstream.
Both RFoG and HFC systems can concurrently operate out of the same headend/hub. That makes RFoG an ideal solution for node-splitting and capacity increases on the existing network.
If Everything Is the Same, Why Deploy RFoG?
While service delivery methods and equipment are the same, the RFoG network has several advantages that include:
More downstream spectrum. RFoG systems support 1 GHz and beyond. This added spectrum can be used as the network operator chooses for added video channels, VOD/PPV services, data bandwidth and so forth.
More upstream bandwidth. Because of RFoG's improved noise characteristics (described below), the full 5-42 MHz return path spectrum can be used for data. Additionally, better RFoG systems not only support DOCSIS 3.0 with bonding, but also the low noise floor enables 64-QAM upstream transmission, dramatically increasing return path bandwidth.
Less maintenance. RFoG networks do not have active electronics such as nodes and amplifiers between the headend and the subscriber location. That means leakage and sweep testing is eliminated in the outside plant (OSP). It also means that OSP powering is not needed for the RFoG network. AC power, battery backup, emergency generators and all the associated truck rolls are eliminated for the RFoG portion of the network. It should be noted that RFoG transceivers are powered from the subscribers' site. Optional battery backup, if used, is inexpensive and can be maintained by the subscriber similar to the way in which alarm system batteries are maintained.
Along with the advantages of eliminating the OSP active electronics, the all-fiber RFoG network has another benefit: Fiber is more reliable than copper-based networks. Humidity, temperature, lightning, galvanic corrosion and other conditions all take their toll on coax and twisted-pair networks over time. Fiber, while not indestructible, is inherently immune from metallic problems. Alloptic's customers, who have been deploying RFoG for several years, are reporting decreases in maintenance rates of 90% and more compared to their HFC networks.
RFoG networks support other technologies. An advantage of RFoG networks is that its architecture supports technologies that can deliver additional services. The single-fiber passive optical network used by RFoG is the same as PON systems, whether BPON, GPON, GEPON, 10GEPON, or even DPON. By using the same fiber infrastructure a PON system can overlay the RFoG network, enabling advanced business services with gigabit bandwidth and rich Ethernet capabilities. Figure 2 illustrates how this is accomplished without disrupting existing services or subscribers.
How Is the RFoG Transmission Controlled to Prevent Collisions?
No new controls are needed when RFoG networks are deployed.
Downstream, control of the RFoG equipment is not required to deliver services. Services are broadcast through the RFoG network just as they are in a traditional HFC network. Instead of converting from optical to electrical RF in the node, the O-E conversion takes place where the RFoG transceiver is located, typically at or near the subscriber's location. RFoG transceivers are transparent to modulation techniques such as QAM or QPSK.
In the return path, RFoG transceivers operate in burst mode. With RFoG, the CMTS controls the cable modem in exactly the same way it does in an HFC network, allowing only one to transmit at any given time. In fact, the CPE controls when the RFoG device is transmitting. The RFoG transceiver detects RF transmission from the CPE and immediately turns the reverse path laser "on". When RF from the CPE stops, the laser turns "off." "Collisions" - two lasers being "on" simultaneously - are avoided because the lasers are extremely responsive. Laser on/off times are critical, requiring 1.6?sec operation to support DOCSIS 3.0 with channel bonding.
How Does RFoG Achieve Better Noise Performance Than HFC?
There are three ways RFoG has lower noise operation than HFC. First, RFoG networks have inherently lower noise. As shown in Figure 3 for return path transmission, an HFC network amplifies noise along with the signal level at each amplifier. An RFoG fiber network only has a single amplifier, maintaining the same signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) from end-to-end.
Second, the return path or upstream burst mode described earlier is key to exceptional noise performance in RFoG networks. Only one RFoG device transmitting on the network at any given time - when the CPE device is active - lowers ingress noise significantly. Non-transmitting transceivers squelch ingress noise.
Typically, the noise reduction is enough to reclaim the lower 10 MHz of the reverse path spectrum that is lost to ingress noise. In a 5-42 MHz return spectrum, this increases upstream spectrum by 27%.
There is another noise improvement with the advent of RFoG technology. Return path receivers that make use of low noise optical circuits have been optimized for RFoG networks. Combined with RFoG transceivers, these receivers are delivering return path noise performance more than 4 dB better than traditional HFC networks.
The low noise benefit can be used in several ways. For example, it enables 64-QAM rather than 16-QAM in the upstream direction, increasing bandwidth from 27 Mbps to 38 Mbps per 6 MHz channel. Another use is to increase the distance reached by the optical network.
Summary
RFoG is a relatively new technology that delivers a number of immediate benefits to network operators. In addition to the financial advantages, network technical performance is improved, giving engineers new tools to increase the competitive advantages of their networks.
Tom Anderson is the director of product marketing for Alloptic, an optical access solution provider headquartered in Livermore, CA.
Alloptic, a global leader in the development of RF over glass (RFoG) and passive optical networking (PON) solutions for CATV, telecom, and private network operators worldwide, today announced that they have added 15 new RFoG customers this year. This brings Alloptic’s base of tier 1 through tier 3 MSO customers to 44. Listed among their new customers are Midcontinent Communications in North and South Dakota, NPG Cable in Missouri, and Allen’s TV Cable Service in Morgan City, Louisiana.
“Over the past six months, we have seen rapid growth in demand for our RFoG products,” said Shane Eleniak, VP of Marketing and Business Development for Alloptic. “The MSO market is increasingly interested in deep fiber solutions because of their low operating expenses and moreover, the strategic role of a single all-fiber network enabling additional residential and business services. Our customers are benefiting from years of field-proven RFoG expertise to reduce costs and improve network performance.”
“Cable HFC network operators need to consider opex factors as part of their competitive advantage,” according to Patti Reali, Gartner Research Director. “A single network, instead of separate networks will…improve their operational success. RFoG is expected to also deliver major improvements in powering of outside plant… as well as providing more environmentally 'green' solutions for operators.”
Alloptic was the first company to develop an RFoG product and it continues to introduce new technology to the communications industry, most recently with an RFoG-optimized return path receiver. Building on creative contributions such as Hybrid RF PON, temperature hardened ONT and OLTs, and native TDM over PON transport, Alloptic customers benefit from network innovations that deliver value to service providers around the globe.
In Australia there are a number of RFoG deployments, several of which Titan ICT consulting engineers have been involved in the design and deployment. It has enormous benefits over traditional coaxial based MATV systems, delivering superior quality reception and a substantially lower total cost of ownership.
“Over the past six months, we have seen rapid growth in demand for our RFoG products,” said Shane Eleniak, VP of Marketing and Business Development for Alloptic. “The MSO market is increasingly interested in deep fiber solutions because of their low operating expenses and moreover, the strategic role of a single all-fiber network enabling additional residential and business services. Our customers are benefiting from years of field-proven RFoG expertise to reduce costs and improve network performance.”
“Cable HFC network operators need to consider opex factors as part of their competitive advantage,” according to Patti Reali, Gartner Research Director. “A single network, instead of separate networks will…improve their operational success. RFoG is expected to also deliver major improvements in powering of outside plant… as well as providing more environmentally 'green' solutions for operators.”
Alloptic was the first company to develop an RFoG product and it continues to introduce new technology to the communications industry, most recently with an RFoG-optimized return path receiver. Building on creative contributions such as Hybrid RF PON, temperature hardened ONT and OLTs, and native TDM over PON transport, Alloptic customers benefit from network innovations that deliver value to service providers around the globe.
In Australia there are a number of RFoG deployments, several of which Titan ICT consulting engineers have been involved in the design and deployment. It has enormous benefits over traditional coaxial based MATV systems, delivering superior quality reception and a substantially lower total cost of ownership.
In another annoucement to coincide with the Fibre to the Home conference in the United States, Calix has released its latest access innovation, a first to market Extended Reach GPON technology based on ITU-T standards.
New amendments to the GPON standards enable service providers to dramatically increase their serving areas when deploying GPON FibertothePremises (FTTP) technology. The Calix Extended Reach GPON solution delivers this new functionality as a pluggable optical interface module (OIM) inserted into the existing optical line terminal (OLT) line cards on the Calix C7 Multiservice Access Platform (MSAP). The solution is supported by all Calix 700, 700G, and 700GX optical network terminals (ONT), the industry's broadest portfolio of residential, business, and multidwellingunit ONTs, including those already deployed in the field.
While it might be new and a first to market for a GPON vendor, like the recent Alcatel annoucements this functionality has been available for some years in the GePON space. Alloptic has been delivering extended reach GePON ONTs for a number of years with a range of up to 70kms, abet at a lower spit ratio.
New amendments to the GPON standards enable service providers to dramatically increase their serving areas when deploying GPON FibertothePremises (FTTP) technology. The Calix Extended Reach GPON solution delivers this new functionality as a pluggable optical interface module (OIM) inserted into the existing optical line terminal (OLT) line cards on the Calix C7 Multiservice Access Platform (MSAP). The solution is supported by all Calix 700, 700G, and 700GX optical network terminals (ONT), the industry's broadest portfolio of residential, business, and multidwellingunit ONTs, including those already deployed in the field.
While it might be new and a first to market for a GPON vendor, like the recent Alcatel annoucements this functionality has been available for some years in the GePON space. Alloptic has been delivering extended reach GePON ONTs for a number of years with a range of up to 70kms, abet at a lower spit ratio.
AlcaLu Intros Optical Monitoring and Connectivity Features
1 comments Posted Tuesday, September 23, 2008Paris - Alcatel-Lucent recently announced that it has added three new features to its 7342 ISAM Fiber-to-the-User (FTTU) system, covering optical monitoring, metro Ethernet connectivity and remote synchronization capabilities that will further strengthen the company's FTTH solution.
The inclusion of new optical monitoring features enables critical parameters to be measured and recorded for analysis over time. This allows early detection of degradation of optical components and optical fiber in the outside plant, often before service-affecting failures arise and customer satisfaction is impacted.
In addition to optical performance monitoring, the Alcatel-Lucent FTTU platform is now able to connect with metro Ethernet networks by providing a robust set of options for virtual private networking and Ethernet connectivity. This enables service providers to generate new revenue from Ethernet services using fiber to the home and business connectivity.
The third feature added relates to IEEE 1588 timing. This feature provides the necessary synchronization for remote placement of gigabit passive optical network (GPON) systems in outside plant and connectivity of DS1 services. Typically, DS1 connections are used for business termination and mobile backhaul. The addition of a robust set of business services options now enables providers to terminate business and residential subscribers over the same passive optical network.
"The new 7342 ISAM FTTU system capabilities, such as Received Signal Strength Indication (RSSI) optical test and measurement enhancements, support of emerging Metro Ethernet Forum (MEF)-based services, and IEEE 1588 timing for remote GPON OLT synchronization applications, demonstrate that Alcatel- Lucent continues to effectively meet the evolving challenges of operators in the highly competitive FTTx equipment market segment", said Ron Westfall, Research Director, Current Analysis. "Moreover, the new capabilities reinforce and sustain Alcatel-Lucent's proven ability to competitively differentiate its 7342 ISAM FTTU against rival offerings."
Alcatel-Lucent will be highlighting these capabilities and demonstrating the ability to transfer data at near gigabit rates during the North America FTTH Council's annual conference in Nashville, Tennessee, September 22-24 (Booth 907). This demonstration will illustrate GPON's capability to transfer a full-length HDTV DVD in approximately 2 minutes.
source: Alcatel-Lucent
Editor's Note: The interesting aspect of this announcement is in the GEPON world this is nothing new. Vendors such as Alloptic and Wave7 (with their new Trident7) have been able to provide optical power monitoring and MEF services such as ELINE for several years. Alloptic has also been providing this functionality as well as E1(DS1) with G.711 quality timing since its inception in 2001. This technology has been used extensively in business grade networks at carriers such as Silk (now Nextgen) Telecom here in Australia.
The inclusion of new optical monitoring features enables critical parameters to be measured and recorded for analysis over time. This allows early detection of degradation of optical components and optical fiber in the outside plant, often before service-affecting failures arise and customer satisfaction is impacted.
In addition to optical performance monitoring, the Alcatel-Lucent FTTU platform is now able to connect with metro Ethernet networks by providing a robust set of options for virtual private networking and Ethernet connectivity. This enables service providers to generate new revenue from Ethernet services using fiber to the home and business connectivity.
The third feature added relates to IEEE 1588 timing. This feature provides the necessary synchronization for remote placement of gigabit passive optical network (GPON) systems in outside plant and connectivity of DS1 services. Typically, DS1 connections are used for business termination and mobile backhaul. The addition of a robust set of business services options now enables providers to terminate business and residential subscribers over the same passive optical network.
"The new 7342 ISAM FTTU system capabilities, such as Received Signal Strength Indication (RSSI) optical test and measurement enhancements, support of emerging Metro Ethernet Forum (MEF)-based services, and IEEE 1588 timing for remote GPON OLT synchronization applications, demonstrate that Alcatel- Lucent continues to effectively meet the evolving challenges of operators in the highly competitive FTTx equipment market segment", said Ron Westfall, Research Director, Current Analysis. "Moreover, the new capabilities reinforce and sustain Alcatel-Lucent's proven ability to competitively differentiate its 7342 ISAM FTTU against rival offerings."
Alcatel-Lucent will be highlighting these capabilities and demonstrating the ability to transfer data at near gigabit rates during the North America FTTH Council's annual conference in Nashville, Tennessee, September 22-24 (Booth 907). This demonstration will illustrate GPON's capability to transfer a full-length HDTV DVD in approximately 2 minutes.
source: Alcatel-Lucent
Editor's Note: The interesting aspect of this announcement is in the GEPON world this is nothing new. Vendors such as Alloptic and Wave7 (with their new Trident7) have been able to provide optical power monitoring and MEF services such as ELINE for several years. Alloptic has also been providing this functionality as well as E1(DS1) with G.711 quality timing since its inception in 2001. This technology has been used extensively in business grade networks at carriers such as Silk (now Nextgen) Telecom here in Australia.
While not specific to the Fibre to the Home, the progress on LTE (the next generation of 3G data access) had been gathering pace in the past few months. I've included it as an article, because as part of my strategy for the National Broadband Network, 15% of dwellings in Australia (predominately the area outside the top 30 cities) would best be serviced by a wireless technology or community FTTH.
The growth of the LTE technology is most relevant because in Sydney recently, 3G and LTE vendor Ericsson showed off a prototype wireless base station and user terminal delivering throughput up at 160Mbps downstream and 40Mbps upstream. Colin Goodwin, strategic marketing manager for Ericsson did point out that it was “cheating gloriously” in the demonstration, with the notebook having a dedicated connection to the base station. However, in the real world, where the cell is shared, speeds would be significantly less which the company also demonstrated.
Even shared, this is more than adequate access bandwidth for regional communities - most of which would not have more than a single 155Mbps (data) backhaul to service the whole town. Many of our ADSL connections today have an extremely high contention ratio (over 100:1) for the backhaul, making the access speed somewhat irrelevant. So it would be quite reasonable to have a single base station with two or three cells serving a community of 1000 homes.
By 2013 Ericsson are suggesting bandwidth speeds of 1Gbps.
There are issues of course, such as spectrum width and availability, but the ITU is working on setting a global standard of 2.50-2.69GHz. At a local level, that spectrum has not be allocated in Australia.
http://www.goodgearguide.com.au/index.php/id;517118067
The growth of the LTE technology is most relevant because in Sydney recently, 3G and LTE vendor Ericsson showed off a prototype wireless base station and user terminal delivering throughput up at 160Mbps downstream and 40Mbps upstream. Colin Goodwin, strategic marketing manager for Ericsson did point out that it was “cheating gloriously” in the demonstration, with the notebook having a dedicated connection to the base station. However, in the real world, where the cell is shared, speeds would be significantly less which the company also demonstrated.
Even shared, this is more than adequate access bandwidth for regional communities - most of which would not have more than a single 155Mbps (data) backhaul to service the whole town. Many of our ADSL connections today have an extremely high contention ratio (over 100:1) for the backhaul, making the access speed somewhat irrelevant. So it would be quite reasonable to have a single base station with two or three cells serving a community of 1000 homes.
By 2013 Ericsson are suggesting bandwidth speeds of 1Gbps.
There are issues of course, such as spectrum width and availability, but the ITU is working on setting a global standard of 2.50-2.69GHz. At a local level, that spectrum has not be allocated in Australia.
http://www.goodgearguide.com.au/index.php/id;517118067
Over the past 8 years building Fibre to the Home solutions, I have regularly come up against the confused views of some vendors who suggest that Point to Point (PtP) fibre systems are more advanced, cheaper and scale better than Passive Optical Network systems. The most recent occurrence was last week, and despite providing one of my white papers on the subject which focused mostly on the cost of network equipment, the person had been convinced by a major equipment vendor that PtP was still the best solution for his 5000 home estate.
So I decided to look at the scaling issue of PtP and came up with some very interesting results.
Fibre Termination
Being a Fibre to the Home Network the first and fundamental requirement of the headend/communication room is to terminate fibre. When looking at the various arguments put forward by PtP vendors, they never discuss how you terminate the 5000 fibres required to service the homes.
Despite the claims by some equipment vendors you can terminate 2000 fibres in a single rack, the maximum amount you can practically install into a rack and still maintain a level of maintenance and management is 576. This comes from the fibre contractors and ODF vendors themselves. Yes I can hear it now: "Corning has a big fibre management frame that holds 1440 fibres." Yes they do, but have you ever tried to get that many fibre cables into the frame, or even the patch cords. In my experience it becomes impossible to use after about half full.
For 5000 homes you need at least nine Optical Distribution Frames. This does not even consider RF Video overlay which requires a second fibre for PtP solutions because the equipment doesn’t support wavelength combining for the reticulation of RF TV for Foxtel.
Switching Equipment
The next point of consideration is the switching equipment where again you cannot effectively manage more than 500-600 fibres in a single rack; so the most optical fibre ports you can put in one rack is 600, again 9 racks required. While you can get two Cisco 6513s into a single rack and support 1056 subs, this number of patch cords into an ODF is a mess and impractical, let alone into a rack with equipment. Fibre needs to be carefully managed, and it is generally placed into a fibre ducting system which uses a “waterfall”. These are 50x50mm vertical ducts which extend down from the ducting system next to each rack. In each of these ducts the vendors recommend 306 is the maximum number of 2.0mm optical patch cords you can install and maintain some level of manageability. Using two of these ducts (one each side of the rack) means 600 fibres to a rack.
Power and Batteries
Next on the list is the power and batteries required to run this network; 5000 homes connected to nine Cisco 6513 switches would need 36kWatts of power. The heating for this is 113000BTU/hr requiring a 50kW air conditioner which equates to another 30kWatts of power. So all up you need about 66kWatts of power, which would require a direct 32kV power feed and a 100kW transformer (if not two). The batteries to run this and give a typical 8 hours of backup (what we design into all the sites we do for clients) equates to some 800 batteries, adding another 40 racks.
The monthly power bill alone would be over $7000.
Space
All up you need 60 racks to support the required equipment, fibre management and power systems. This would typically require about 150sq metres of floor space. This is no small transportable communications hut like the ones we recommend to our clients. Its more like a house which will have to be built in accordance with council guidelines requiring a block of 300sq meters. The communications building alone would be worth $200,000 (including the land), instead of the typical $25,000 for a 12sq metre transportable. Alternatively leasing a building would add another $5000 per month to the overheads.
Active Field Equipment
One alternative approach is to use a distributed model, whereby the switching equipment is installed into Fibre Access Nodes placed strategically throughout an estate. While this may address the fibre management issue, it still consumes the same amount of power, requires more air conditioning and has a considerably higher installation cost. A street node with no active equipment, costs about $30,000 to supply and install (without equipment); with nine nodes this would cost $60,000 more than a central communications room. It is also much more complicated to maintain and offers less backup time due to the limited battery storage space.
Conclusion
I have gone through this issue many times with PtP vendors in residential applications. PtP does not scale when you consider what I have listed above. It is physically doable but at what cost?
So to those Ethernet switch vendors out there who believe they have a Fibre to the Home soluton because they have a switch with 100baseBX ports; thing about what you are recommending to your clients and consider some of these points above.
So I decided to look at the scaling issue of PtP and came up with some very interesting results.
Fibre Termination
Being a Fibre to the Home Network the first and fundamental requirement of the headend/communication room is to terminate fibre. When looking at the various arguments put forward by PtP vendors, they never discuss how you terminate the 5000 fibres required to service the homes.
Despite the claims by some equipment vendors you can terminate 2000 fibres in a single rack, the maximum amount you can practically install into a rack and still maintain a level of maintenance and management is 576. This comes from the fibre contractors and ODF vendors themselves. Yes I can hear it now: "Corning has a big fibre management frame that holds 1440 fibres." Yes they do, but have you ever tried to get that many fibre cables into the frame, or even the patch cords. In my experience it becomes impossible to use after about half full.
For 5000 homes you need at least nine Optical Distribution Frames. This does not even consider RF Video overlay which requires a second fibre for PtP solutions because the equipment doesn’t support wavelength combining for the reticulation of RF TV for Foxtel.
Switching Equipment
The next point of consideration is the switching equipment where again you cannot effectively manage more than 500-600 fibres in a single rack; so the most optical fibre ports you can put in one rack is 600, again 9 racks required. While you can get two Cisco 6513s into a single rack and support 1056 subs, this number of patch cords into an ODF is a mess and impractical, let alone into a rack with equipment. Fibre needs to be carefully managed, and it is generally placed into a fibre ducting system which uses a “waterfall”. These are 50x50mm vertical ducts which extend down from the ducting system next to each rack. In each of these ducts the vendors recommend 306 is the maximum number of 2.0mm optical patch cords you can install and maintain some level of manageability. Using two of these ducts (one each side of the rack) means 600 fibres to a rack.
Power and Batteries
Next on the list is the power and batteries required to run this network; 5000 homes connected to nine Cisco 6513 switches would need 36kWatts of power. The heating for this is 113000BTU/hr requiring a 50kW air conditioner which equates to another 30kWatts of power. So all up you need about 66kWatts of power, which would require a direct 32kV power feed and a 100kW transformer (if not two). The batteries to run this and give a typical 8 hours of backup (what we design into all the sites we do for clients) equates to some 800 batteries, adding another 40 racks.
The monthly power bill alone would be over $7000.
Space
All up you need 60 racks to support the required equipment, fibre management and power systems. This would typically require about 150sq metres of floor space. This is no small transportable communications hut like the ones we recommend to our clients. Its more like a house which will have to be built in accordance with council guidelines requiring a block of 300sq meters. The communications building alone would be worth $200,000 (including the land), instead of the typical $25,000 for a 12sq metre transportable. Alternatively leasing a building would add another $5000 per month to the overheads.
Active Field Equipment
One alternative approach is to use a distributed model, whereby the switching equipment is installed into Fibre Access Nodes placed strategically throughout an estate. While this may address the fibre management issue, it still consumes the same amount of power, requires more air conditioning and has a considerably higher installation cost. A street node with no active equipment, costs about $30,000 to supply and install (without equipment); with nine nodes this would cost $60,000 more than a central communications room. It is also much more complicated to maintain and offers less backup time due to the limited battery storage space.
Conclusion
I have gone through this issue many times with PtP vendors in residential applications. PtP does not scale when you consider what I have listed above. It is physically doable but at what cost?
So to those Ethernet switch vendors out there who believe they have a Fibre to the Home soluton because they have a switch with 100baseBX ports; thing about what you are recommending to your clients and consider some of these points above.
Recently Telstra has been make a number of changes to the Ellenbrook HFC network they took over from E-wire earlier this year. These changes have affected a number of services, but of particular concern has been the impact on Television reception.
Everyone should have received a letter from Telstra informing them of the changes occurring to the network and the requirement to retune your analogue television, digital Set Top Box, or LCD/Plasma TV with inbuilt digital tuner.
Despite this, I have received numerous calls and emails from residents wanting to know what is going on, so I have posted this article to provide assistance to the residents of Ellenbrook.
Before retuning any television or STB make sure you read the user guide and have a full understanding of what is required. This is particular so for us men. If possible get your 5 year old to help, they can probably do the tuning without reading the manual. :-)
Each manufacturer may use different terms to describe channels or frequencies, so I have tried to publish as much information as possible. Firstly, you need to understand the channels have all been shifted to what is termed Band V or UHF frequencies. This ensures you are not getting interference with local channels (which could cause ghosting) or causing problems with Foxtel services that are now reticulated via the HFC network.
The following table is what is called a channel or frequency plan. This lists the channel description, if it is a Digital or Analog signal, its band name, channel name, and frequency. Some TV sets will be tuned by the use of band name, others channel name and some you need to program the frequency. You can click on the table to zoom in.
Please note the channel name; as there are both C and S designators. The Telstra channels are C60 - C75. Do not use the S band settings which may be available on some television sets. Also some European TV sets may use a slightly different band name. The UHFxxE entries are the European channel names and their corresponding Australian names afterwards.
If after tuning your television or set top box you have problems in obtaining a good quality signal it is highly recommended to check or replace your coaxial fly leads. Cheap leads can severely impact the quality of the TV signal - particularly with the high frequency UHF channels being used. You should be using RG6 quad shield cable to get the best quality signal. Definitely do not use RG58 or RG11 cable.
If you are still having problems after this I suggest calling Telstra on the specialised Ellenbrook TV help line - 1800 305 723. Be patient, it took 19m 47s for me to get through this morning.
Although I have not yet confirmed this as fact, the Velocity channel plan should be the same, abet without the analog channels.
I hope this helps.
Everyone should have received a letter from Telstra informing them of the changes occurring to the network and the requirement to retune your analogue television, digital Set Top Box, or LCD/Plasma TV with inbuilt digital tuner.
Despite this, I have received numerous calls and emails from residents wanting to know what is going on, so I have posted this article to provide assistance to the residents of Ellenbrook.
Before retuning any television or STB make sure you read the user guide and have a full understanding of what is required. This is particular so for us men. If possible get your 5 year old to help, they can probably do the tuning without reading the manual. :-)
Each manufacturer may use different terms to describe channels or frequencies, so I have tried to publish as much information as possible. Firstly, you need to understand the channels have all been shifted to what is termed Band V or UHF frequencies. This ensures you are not getting interference with local channels (which could cause ghosting) or causing problems with Foxtel services that are now reticulated via the HFC network.
The following table is what is called a channel or frequency plan. This lists the channel description, if it is a Digital or Analog signal, its band name, channel name, and frequency. Some TV sets will be tuned by the use of band name, others channel name and some you need to program the frequency. You can click on the table to zoom in.
Please note the channel name; as there are both C and S designators. The Telstra channels are C60 - C75. Do not use the S band settings which may be available on some television sets. Also some European TV sets may use a slightly different band name. The UHFxxE entries are the European channel names and their corresponding Australian names afterwards.
If after tuning your television or set top box you have problems in obtaining a good quality signal it is highly recommended to check or replace your coaxial fly leads. Cheap leads can severely impact the quality of the TV signal - particularly with the high frequency UHF channels being used. You should be using RG6 quad shield cable to get the best quality signal. Definitely do not use RG58 or RG11 cable.
If you are still having problems after this I suggest calling Telstra on the specialised Ellenbrook TV help line - 1800 305 723. Be patient, it took 19m 47s for me to get through this morning.
Although I have not yet confirmed this as fact, the Velocity channel plan should be the same, abet without the analog channels.
I hope this helps.
Ericsson (NASDAQ: ERIC) announced today that it will show the world'sfirst 10Gbps Gigabit Passive Optical Network (GPON) system for IPTV,with four times the bandwidth of existing GPON systems, at NXTcomm08 in Las Vegas. Ericsson will also introduce the 8-port GPON board asthe latest addition to the EDA 1500 GPON system, effectively doubling its capacity and improving cost-effectiveness.
Ericsson's EDA 1500 is a deep-fiber access solution based on GPON technology. The EDA 1500 is a key component of Ericsson's IPTV accessinfrastructure, supporting advanced capabilities such as maximised bandwidth efficiency, guaranteed instant channel change, and robust security.
These demonstrations are industry milestones. The Ericsson EDA1500 GPON solution has the highest switch capacity on the market and now offers both the highest density and the fastest GPON available in the same physical footprint, with speeds up to 10Gbps. The doubled capacity of the 8-port GPON board means the EDA 1500 Optical Line Terminal can now serve more than 7100 homes; deployments will beginin early 2009. The 10Gbps GPON system will be available commercially once the technology standard is defined.
Håkan Eriksson, CTO for Ericsson, says: "Growing demand for apersonalized, interactive and high-quality television experience isdriving the demand for IP-based deep-fiber access networks, and GPON has emerged as a key enabling technology. This demonstration highlights our technology leadership and commitment to evolving wireline access networks that enable a richer communications experience."
"Ericsson is at the forefront of developing next-generation access technologies, allowing carriers to offer high-quality television services. Increased GPON capacity will help operators maximize theirnetwork investment, and ensure that new services demanding higherspeed and functionality can be introduced cost-effectively overtime." Ericsson's IPTV solution over 10Gbps GPON and the 8-port GPON board are featured at NXTcomm08 (Booth# SU 7416) in Las Vegas, June 17-19.
Ericsson is the world's leading provider of technology and servicesto telecom operators. The market leader in 2G and 3G mobile technologies, Ericsson supplies communications services and manages networks that serve more than 195 million subscribers. The company's portfolio comprises mobile and fixed network infrastructure, and broadband and multimedia solutions for operators, enterprises and developers. The Sony Ericsson joint venture provides consumers with feature-rich personal mobile devices.
Ericsson's EDA 1500 is a deep-fiber access solution based on GPON technology. The EDA 1500 is a key component of Ericsson's IPTV accessinfrastructure, supporting advanced capabilities such as maximised bandwidth efficiency, guaranteed instant channel change, and robust security.
These demonstrations are industry milestones. The Ericsson EDA1500 GPON solution has the highest switch capacity on the market and now offers both the highest density and the fastest GPON available in the same physical footprint, with speeds up to 10Gbps. The doubled capacity of the 8-port GPON board means the EDA 1500 Optical Line Terminal can now serve more than 7100 homes; deployments will beginin early 2009. The 10Gbps GPON system will be available commercially once the technology standard is defined.
Håkan Eriksson, CTO for Ericsson, says: "Growing demand for apersonalized, interactive and high-quality television experience isdriving the demand for IP-based deep-fiber access networks, and GPON has emerged as a key enabling technology. This demonstration highlights our technology leadership and commitment to evolving wireline access networks that enable a richer communications experience."
"Ericsson is at the forefront of developing next-generation access technologies, allowing carriers to offer high-quality television services. Increased GPON capacity will help operators maximize theirnetwork investment, and ensure that new services demanding higherspeed and functionality can be introduced cost-effectively overtime." Ericsson's IPTV solution over 10Gbps GPON and the 8-port GPON board are featured at NXTcomm08 (Booth# SU 7416) in Las Vegas, June 17-19.
Ericsson is the world's leading provider of technology and servicesto telecom operators. The market leader in 2G and 3G mobile technologies, Ericsson supplies communications services and manages networks that serve more than 195 million subscribers. The company's portfolio comprises mobile and fixed network infrastructure, and broadband and multimedia solutions for operators, enterprises and developers. The Sony Ericsson joint venture provides consumers with feature-rich personal mobile devices.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
