Are You Ready for a Temperature-hardened Optical Line Terminal?

Ethernet Passive Optical Networks (EPON) solutions continue to prove themselves in various network deployments. Tom Anderson explains how operators, both public and private, can deploy the new temperature-hardened C9516 EPON Optical Line Terminal in equipment rooms where the environment is not carefully controlled.

C9516_EPON_SolutionYes, it’s true: 10G Ethernet Passive Optical Network (EPON) technology is out of the evaluation labs and proof-of-concept phase. It is ready for the world of scaled network deployments. This development brings a new set of requirements for adapting 10G EPON technology to the realities of the network, such as:

  • Limited fiber where it is most needed
  • Deployments outside of controlled environments
  • Scattered clusters of end users
  • Other challenges to the practicality and economics of large optical line terminals (OLT)

As I discussed in other blog posts, CommScope addresses these issues in several ways with the recent introduction of a down-sized and temperature-hardened OLT, the C9516. We believe it is the cable industry’s first 10G EPON OLT in its class, proving that Layer 2/Layer 3 and DOCSIS Provisioning of EPON (DPoE) functionality can be cost-effectively produced in a smaller package without sacrificing features or benefits.

The C9516 OLT can be used in several applications. One such application is when there is limited fiber between the headend/hub and multi-dwelling units (MDUs). Traditional PON deployments put the OLT in the headend/hub and use one fiber for every 32 or 64 end-users. So, if it is a 300-unit MDU, then at least five to 10 fibers from headend/hub to the MDU are required. When fiber is available, that is a perfect solution; however, not when construction costs to add additional fiber are prohibitively expensive.

By deploying a C9516, a building can be served with one or two fibers from the headend/hub to the MDU. The OLT can be mounted in an equipment room or closet where temperatures are not carefully and expensively controlled or in a fiber-to-the-floor technique used to provide service throughout the building. This is one example of deploying the C9516, but there are others.

2015_INTX_LogoLet’s discuss those other examples during the Internet and Television Expo (INTX) this week in Chicago. The C9516 EPON OLT will be on display in our booth (No. 935) at McCormick Place. Stop by and I’ll introduce you to the solution. We can discuss other examples on how the C9516 solution can be deployed.

How would you use a temperature-hardened OLT to ease your deployment challenges?