March 22, 2006 Santa Clara, CA and Las Vegas, NV -- At this week's TelecomNEXT show in Las Vegas, Entrisphere introduced a "complete" Gigabit passive optical network (GPON) access platform along with optical network terminals and optical network units (ONT/ONU) targeting multi-tenant unit/multi-dwelling unit (MTU/MDU) and FTTX applications.
Supporting 2.5-Gbit/sec downstream and 1.2 Gbit/sec-upstream bandwidths and based on the ITU G.984 standard, the company's GPON access system includes network platforms, software, network terminals, and management systems. Based on its BLM 1500, T-Series, and EntriView product lines, the company says the "all-packet, end-to-end" platform is aimed at North American carriers as they deploy GPON networks to provide converged, IP-based "triple play" services over optical fiber.
The core of the GPON platform includes optical line terminals (OLTs), ONTs, ONUs, and management systems, as well as software upgrades to expand existing IP service-aware features such as IGMP multicasting, VLAN stacking and tagging, and security upgrades. The software additions also make the system ready for IMS integration.
The company says it has enhanced existing key features of GPONs including higher density Gigabit Ethernet (GbE) uplinks and integrated voice gateways for increased TDM and VoIP support. The platform's hardware and software components build on the existing base of BLM 1500, T-Series, and EntriView systems, all of which have been deployed at major carriers for copper and BPON networks, according to Entrisphere.
The company says its GPON ONTs and ONUs serve single family homes, businesses, residences in MDUs, businesses in MTUs, and fiber-to-the-curb (FTTC) applications. All applications meet North American standards in addition to G.984, including NEBS Level 3, GR-303/TR-08, and "five nines" reliability and environmental hardening. By adhering to G.984 standards, the OLT/ONTs are designed to be interoperable with other G.984-compliant GPON systems. The EntriView Element Management System (EMS) has also been upgraded to manage the GPON network elements.
New features include SIP-based VoIP service on all of the company's ONTs and ONUs, coupled with integrated voice gateways to legacy Class 5 switches and H.248 softswitches in the BLM 1500. (As an alternative to using an integrated gateway, the system interoperates with external SIP and H.248 voice gateways.)
Also at TelecomNEXT, Entrisphere introduced two modular fiber-fed remotes that the company says "support all triple play and legacy communications services while slashing the cost of delivering them across a range of applications and environments." The BLM T500 and BLM T550 ONUs are the first in the company's T5 Series of "fiber-fed remote" devices, designed to allow carriers to extend the benefits of fiber-based services to business and residential customers in FTTB/C/N and MTU/MDU applications.
According to the company, the T5 Series ONUs are packet-based remotes with the same IP service-aware features that are embedded in the BLM 1500 multi-service access platform (MSAP). The company says the T5 Series delivers operational flexibility "to carriers pushing fiber deep into the network" while allowing re-use of existing copper infrastructures, whether in-building or in a local loop. The company says the ONUs enable delivery of fiber bandwidth over shorter copper loops "in all circumstances," including environments where it is not possible or economical to pull fiber all the way to the customer. Designed for indoor or outdoor wall mounting in FTTB and MTU applications, the high density T5 enclosures support IPTV, POTS, VoIP, high speed data, ADSL2+, VDSL2, DS1, Ethernet, RF video, HiCap data and other services.
Also at TelecomNEXT, Entrisphere introduced its BLM T151 and BLM T300 ONTs as further additions to its T-Series products. According to the company, the T151 enables "fast and cost-effective" delivery of voice, data, and video services to small and medium-sized businesses or branch offices. The T300 is a fixed configuration ONT that delivers voice, data, and video to small MDUs (up to four homes).
Designed to support carrier migration to fiber-fed services for smaller commercial customers, the T151 supports both legacy and future services. Featuring two DS1 ports, four POTS ports, one 10/100 Ethernet port, and a video port, the T151 allows carriers to maintain existing T1 and circuit-switched voice services while migrating their customers to Ethernet data services. The Ethernet port supports provisionable speeds up to 100 Mbit/sec for tiered business data services; the video port enables carriers to roll out revenue-enhancing services such as video conferencing or HDTV. The T151 includes features that ease installation, including a removable cartridge design and up to 100 ft. power drops using 48 VDC power.
The T300 ONT provides eight POTS lines, four Ethernet ports, and four addressable RF taps. The company says the terminal allows carriers to bring fiber to an existing demarcation point and then extend high bandwidth services over short lengths of in-building wiring. The company says the unit's addressable video taps make it easy for carriers offering analog video service and to remotely turn the service on and off as customers move into and out of apartments.
"Entrisphere has been very aggressive in delivering solutions that enable carriers to meet their most important service and deployment challenges," concludes Don McCullough, director of product marketing at Entrisphere. Â "High-bandwidth, cost-effective, service-aware access systems have been hallmarks of [our] products since the beginning."