Occam Networks Inc. is bringing gigabit Ethernet capacity to the fiber to the premises world via an upgrade to its broadband loop carrier, the BLC 6000.
The upgrade includes both a 22-port blade, called the 6312, that fits into the BLC 6000; and a residential optical network terminal called the ON 2240. These new “active” point-to-point FTTP products, which Occam this week is demonstrating at SUPERCOMM, are slated for availability in the fourth quarter of this year.
Russ Sharer, vice president of sales and marketing, says Occam is the first FTTP vendor to deliver gigE to the home or building, which he says will give carriers plenty of bandwidth headroom well into the future. “We don’t think today anyone will offer gigE to a house,” he says. “However, if you look at the direction the cablecos are going with DOCSIS – offering 40meg or 100meg to the home – PON products are going to run out of gas.” Sharer says BPON tops out at 16.6mbps and GPON hits its ceiling at 72mbps.
Although passive optical network (PON) technology has been popularized by Verizon Communications Inc., Sharer says that active Ethernet is in fact a more affordable way to do FTTx because it’s easier to deploy and troubleshoot. PON is more complex, he says, because the laser needs to know how to do TDM. Some say PON is less expensive because carriers don’t need network-based power, but carriers have existing remote cabinets, so they already have infrastructure in place to support power sources in the loop, he says. He continues that PON can result in “stranded splits” if a home builder – after the network has been installed – scales down the numbers of homes in a section of the development, for example. It’s more difficult to identify fiber cuts on passive optical networks, he adds. And unless the fiber is going into a greenfield deployment, Sharer says, a carrier can leverage an active star architecture, which is less expensive than PON.
“Our message is, look, if you’re going to have copper and fiber infrastructure, you can build those services off the same infrastructure,” he says. In addition to the new active FTTP support, Occam’s BLC 6000 can be used to offer DSL, POTS, T1 and optical Ethernet. The product is now deployed with 90 customers, primarily independent carriers in North America.
