Business

OFS and Alloptic demonstrate FTTP services with 60% greater reach across the network

Sept. 12, 2003

12 September 2003 Norcross, GA, and Livermore, CA Lightwave -- OFS and Alloptic demonstrated the first extended reach Fiber-to-the-Premises (FTTP) Ethernet Passive Optical Network (EPON) this week at NFOEC in Orlando, FL. The demonstration was achieved with OFS' Access ADVANTAGE FTTP System and Alloptic's GigaForce solution to extend the reach of EPON to 16 km, 60% longer than conventional EPON solutions, claim the companies.

12 September 2003 Norcross, GA, and Livermore, CA Lightwave -- OFS, developer of fiber-optic products, and Alloptic, passive optical network (PON) equipment manufacturer demonstrated the first extended reach Fiber-to-the-Premises (FTTP) Ethernet Passive Optical Network (EPON) this week at NFOEC in Orlando, FL. The demonstration was achieved with OFS' Access ADVANTAGE FTTP System and Alloptic's GigaForce solution to extend the reach of EPON to 16 km, 60% longer than conventional EPON solutions, claim the companies. Voice, video, and data were demonstrated in a triple play combination that provides new revenue sources for service providers while maximizing reach with low-cost optics, thereby helping to reduce the initial investment.

The configuration consisted of Alloptic EdgeGEAR 2000 Chassis connected to Alloptic HomeGEAR Ultra over 16 km of the Access ADVANTAGE cabling system. The Access ADVANTAGE system leveraged OFS' zero water peak AllWave fiber cable, low loss splitters, and low loss LC connections to reduce channel insertion loss, which conserves up to 3.5 dB of optical power compared to a conventional cabling system. This optical power enables 60% longer reach than the 10-km rated distance to permit customers to use lower cost laser transceivers while maximizing service area coverage for each central office or head end. Applications include broadcast analog video at 1550 nm, Internet Protocol (IP) data, and two-way live voice using TDM at 1490- and 1310 nm.

"The Access ADVANTAGE solution is another first from OFS, providing a low loss system to extend reach while enabling maximum transmission capacity," explains Paul Neuhart, president, Optical Fiber cable and Connectivity Division, OFS. "It integrates all of the key advantages of OFS' cabling and apparatus products to help lower installation costs, maximize reach, bandwidth and revenue, reduce space requirements, and simplify fiber connectivity management, all helping to maximize return on investment for FTTP networks."

The Access ADVANTAGE system is a complete FTTP cabling system that features cable designs for multiple right of ways and offers OFS DryBlock technology to speed installation. A key component of the Access ADVANTAGE System is AllWave fiber, which opens the full spectrum to offer 50% additional bandwidth that can be used for low cost CWDM overlays to add premium business services and instant on-demand HDTV services. It also features compact fiber closures and low loss splitters, Blue Tiger jumpers to minimize bending loss in dense patching fields, and the LC connector, invented by OFS.

"We are pleased to be working with OFS on these pioneering achievements in EPON technology," adds Mike Moore, president and chief executive officer of Alloptic. "By extending the reach of our unprecedented bandwidth, we are able to offer the industry's most complete range of voice, video and data services to even more end-users. This translates directly to more revenue opportunity for service providers," he adds.

Alloptic's GigaForce System solves the "last mile bottleneck" that currently limits widespread broadband deployment. Using pure PON technology, based on Ethernet, the world's most widely deployed communications protocol, Alloptic delivers 1 Gbit/sec of symmetrical bandwidth to subscribers.