Verizon to deploy Calix AXOS E9-2 this quarter as part of NG-PON2 rollout

Calix, Inc. (NYSE: CALX) says that Verizon will use the access systems and software company's AXOS E9-2 Intelligent Edge System as the service provider rolls out of NG-PON2 technology during the first quarter of this year. The first deployment of NG-PON2 using the Calix NG-PON2 hardware and software will occur in Tampa, FL.

Calix will supply both the NG-PON2 optical line terminals (OLTs) for the central office or node and the optical network terminals (ONTs) for the customer premises, a company source tells Lightwave. Successful development of appropriately priced tunable ONT transceivers has been considered a gating factor for NG-PON2 deployments (see "NG-PON2 tunable transceiver work shows signs of progress"). Calix, in a press release, said it had managed the "inclusion of the industry's first compliant NG-PON2 optics" to help make the pending deployment happen.

The company also will supply its AXOS RPm (Routing Protocol module for Layer 3) and the AXOS SMm (Subscriber Management module for disaggregated Broadband Network Gateway). The software modules enable subscriber management, aggregation, and OLT functions in a single point in the network closer to the subscriber, Calix explains. The result is lower costs, a simplified network architecture, and greater flexibility, the company says.

Verizon's upcoming deployments are the culmination of an RFP and technology evaluation process that eventually led to a team of Calix and Ericsson facing off with ADTRAN for the service provider's NG-PON2 business (see "Verizon narrows NG-PON2 choices to Ericsson/Calix and ADTRAN"). Whether ADTRAN is being left at the altar or will take part in other deployments was unknown at the time Calix made its announcement. ADTRAN also has reported progress on ONT tunable optical transceiver development (see "ADTRAN describes NG-PON2 tunable ONT transceivers (sort of)").

NG-PON2 supports multiple wavelengths of 10 Gbps each over the same network. "Several years ago, we determined that we were going to need a better network to meet our growing customers' demands for bandwidth and higher throughput. We saw that the single wavelength systems (e.g., 10G EPON and XGS-PON) were only possible interim solutions and that we needed a longer term solution. NG-PON2 is a platform that will meet the customers' envisioned needs for the next decade or more given its many evolution paths as well as bringing many operational benefits to simplify the network. It represents a paradigm shift in the design of access networks," said Vincent O'Byrne, director of technology planning at Verizon via the Calix press announcement. "NG-PON2, allows us to converge our many service networks into a single unified intelligent network, and simplify our operating model by integrating the OLT and subscriber management system."

"We also need to drastically shorten the time it takes to deploy new services," said Lee Hicks, vice-president of technology at Verizon, via the same release. "The best way to achieve these goals is through leveraging breakthrough technologies like NG-PON2 and the automation of manual functions across the network. Innovative partners like Calix are enabling us to leap frog the competition and consolidate multiple network elements into one platform and automate many of our most critical network functions. We are excited to now begin this transformation, starting in Tampa, Florida, and expanding into other markets."

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