26 September 2003 Shanghai Lightwave--Salira Optical Network Systems, a provider of optical access systems, announced that GuangZhou Pantong Information Broadband Network, Ltd., known as Panyu Cable, has partnered with Salira Shanghai, Ltd. to cooperate in the development of the cable operator's advanced telecommunications networks. Panyu Cable has agreed to deploy the Salira 2000 Platform in the Panyu district of GuangZhou to deliver broadband services to business, residential, and governmental subscribers.
"The partnership with Salira to enhance Panyu Cable's communications networks is vital to our strategy of providing voice and data services in addition to our core video offering," said Ms. Xianhua Cheng, Panyu Cable's general manager. "Salira's products combine the operational simplicity of Ethernet with the high bandwidth capacity of optical transmission to deliver the advanced broadband services our customers are demanding."
Panyu Cable will use the Salira 2000 Platform to deliver a wide array of services including IP-based voice, video, and data applications. In addition to broadband services, Panyu Cable will use Salira's products to deliver IP-based broadcast television and advanced services like video-on-demand to its existing base of cable subscribers. Salira is conducting interoperability testing with an undisclosed head-end and set-top box manufacturer for the Panyu Cable deployment.
"Our strength has historically been in the business arena," says Jim Diestel, vice president of product marketing, Salira. "This is going to be our first foray into the residential space. We have done high density units in the past. But in China, the residential deployment looks very much like a small business; there isn't the same broadcast analog TV requirement that exists in the United States and much of Europe, so by virtue of having an already exisiting IP infrastructure we are able to successfully win the Panyu deployment."
The Salira 2000 Platform is an Ethernet passive optical network (EPON) consisting of the Salira 2500, a high density optical line terminal, and the Salira 2300, the industry's first multi-customer optical network unit. The initial Panyu deployment will involve five high density Salira 2500 systems with upwards of 10 PON blades per system, according to Diestel. (A starter system typically includes 1 or 2 PON blades.) Each PON blade then supports a family of Salira 2300 optical network units.
The early stage deployment, which has commenced, involves a few high-rise buildings. System deployment will continue for the next 12 to 18 months. The majority of subscribers are located within the 5 to 10-km range, but a few units are 20 km, the maximum distance that the Salira platform supports. The initial phase of the Panyu Cable deployment will serve 260,000 customers in the 1300 sq. km Panyu district, which has a population of 1 million.
Although the Panyu deployment is IP-based, the Salira 2300 can be configured to support varying combinations of TDM (E1/T1) and Fast Ethernet ports depending on customer demand for different services. The Salira Access Management system combines service creation, subscriber management and EMS functionality into one integrated software suite that greatly simplifies service provisioning and maintenance.
Headquartered in Santa Clara, California, Salira builds broadband systems that are used to deliver advanced voice, video, and data services to business and residential customers. Salira's systems give carriers the ability to offer traditional TDM services and advanced IP-based broadband services in one integrated system that facilitates the migration to a more efficient and economic network architecture. Salira Shanghai, Ltd. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Salira with responsibility for marketing and sales in the Asia Pacific region.
--Kathleen Richards