FEBRUARY 10, 2009 By Stephen Hardy -- Motorola Inc. (search Lightwave for Motorola) announced today that it has broadened its Cable passive optical network (PON) portfolio with RF over glass (RFoG) capabilities through a strategic agreement with Alloptic, Inc. (search Lightwave for Alloptic). The agreement provides Motorola with "exclusive rights" to offer Alloptic's RFoG products to "leading cable operators worldwide."
According to Tom Anderson, director of product marketing for Alloptic, the "exclusive" aspects of the three-year agreement pertain to both parties. "[Motorola} has the exclusive ability to take Alloptic's products (RFoG and GEPON) into the largest Tier 1 carriers in North America, Europe, and Asia," he told Lightwave in an email. "Alloptic will not use other channels into those accounts."
Meanwhile, Motorola will only sell RFoG and GEPON products from Alloptic into those accounts. They also are precluded from partnering with other suppliers of these technologies when selling to the accounts covered in the agreement.
"This does not preclude Alloptic's other OEM partners from offering embedded Alloptic RFoG technology to the Tier 1 accounts," Anderson concluded. "However, they do not have access to Alloptic's complete solution portfolio such as DOCSIS Managed GEPON."
RFoG is designed to enable cable operators to deploy DOCSIS-based video, voice, and data services over an all-fiber network. (Search Lightwave for RFoG.)
"The strong interest in RFoG solutions by cable operators stems from their increased need to deploy new and operationally sensitive business and residential network architectures," said Dr. George Simmons, corporate vice president and general manager, Access Network Solutions, Motorola, Inc. "With this agreement, Motorola is now poised to enable customers' long-term all-fiber strategies with FTTH solutions that address their economic requirements and deployment timelines."
"Motorola's experience and extensive cable operator customer base, many of which are seeking to extend the reach of fiber in their networks, provide the perfect channel for Alloptic RfoG solutions," said Ric Johnsen, president and CEO, Alloptic. "We are pleased to have Motorola as a global distributor of Alloptic's FTTH product lines."
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