JANUARY 26, 2009 -- EXFO Electro-Optical Engineering Inc. (search for EXFO) today introduced which it claims is a new-and-improved passive optical network (PON) power meter that will set new standards for FTTH testing.
Five years ago, EXFO debuted a PON power meter to meet the needs of early adopters of FTTH architectures. The dedicated handheld unit served as a pass-through device for simultaneous measurement and display of all PON signals--voice, data, and video. This patented, built-in technology facilitated service activation and troubleshooting tasks.
Today, EXFO is releasing the PPM-350C PON Power Meter, dedicated to BPON, EPON, and GPON configurations. This latest product boasts unique workflow management capabilities to enable more efficient and faster FTTH deployments, claim company representatives.
EXFO's new PON power meter provides a comprehensive, easy-to-use data storage interface designed with PON testing in mind. As such, test results can be stored and flagged according to optical line terminal (OLT), optical network terminal (ONT), or even test location. These results are subsequently stored in a protected data format to ensure the authenticity of each measurement.
Other features include a Job Editor mode, which allows the user to pre-configure upcoming jobs in the unit's memory to accelerate on-site testing. In addition, customization of file names can be easily accomplished prior to field testing--or back at the office--to increase efficiency, says the company.
All of these new features are hosted inside a robust and weatherproof case designed for heightened safety.
"Not only did we create the first test equipment for fiber-to-the home applications in the early days of this new technology, but our involvement in most of the field trials and deployments worldwide has enabled us to deeply understand the carriers' challenges," reports Etienne Gagnon, EXFO's vice president of product management and marketing. "The innovative features and functions that we're introducing with the PPM-350C PON Power Meter reflect how our understanding can resolve deployment issues that we're seeing in the field. Once again, EXFO has demonstrated its commitment to help customers facing day-to-day challenges with test equipment ideally suited to their needs," he adds.
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