SEPTEMBER 3, 2009 – Transmode has launched its Multi-Service Mobile Backhaul Solution. The WDM-over-fiber platform is designed to provide “hybrid” native support of both TDM and Ethernet traffic and support multiple synchronization streams per wavelength. It therefore enables a smooth migration to Ethernet or all-IP backhaul networks and cost-effective support of 3G and LTE multimedia service roll outs, Transmode asserts.
The new Multi-Service Mobile Backhaul Solution supports fiber-based backhaul that will help carriers overcome synchronization and bandwidth problems so that they can more quickly and confidently roll out new 3G, LTE-based, and 4G services, Transmode says. The ability to maintain multiple synchronization signals to the cell sites in a mobile network enables the operator to simultaneously support a mix of 2G (TDM), 3G (ATM/Ethernet), and LTE/4G (Ethernet) radio base station equipment and legacy E1/T1, FE/GbE, and STM-1/OC-3 for one or more mobile operators. Transmode adds the multi-service characteristic enables a gradual migration and the possibility selectively upgrade capacity in dense areas without affecting the core network architecture. It also makes it equally well suited to support migration to all-IP also in the fixed network, the company believes.
The Multi-Service Mobile Backhaul Solution comprises three main components:
1) Access
- Collects E1/T1 and Ethernet signals in up to 8 synchronization groups, on a single wavelength from Mobile cell sites and co-located DSLAMs
- Consists of different 1u Access nodes that can support varying capacity demands
- Supports up to 16x E1/T1 + 4x Fast Ethernet/Gigabit Ethernet (linerate) per 1u unit, with cascade facility for very high capacity nodes
2) Hub
- Aggregates E1/T1 traffic from access nodes into STM-1/OC-3 signals
- Hand-off of collected Fast Ethernet and GbE signals for further transport
3) Backhaul
- WDM-based Layer 1 and Layer 2 transport solution for SDH/SONET and Ethernet traffic to appropriate control points and switching centers
"Transmode is helping mobile operators achieve an effective LTE migration strategy by offering both the deterministic performance required for effective synchronization and the ability to support multiple synchronization streams on a single wavelength," said David Dunphy, Managing Partner of Telecom Strategy Partners. "This solution lets operators migrate to the Ethernet and IP fiber-based backhaul networks cost-effectively in support of 3G and 4G mobile broadband services while eliminating the need to keep costly E1/T1 circuits in place for reliable synchronization."
Transmode new offering is designed to natively support both legacy TDM and new Ethernet backhaul traffic over a single wavelength, while supporting up to eight synchronization streams that can be either physical layer TDM synchronization, Synchronous Ethernet, or packet synchronization. This simplifies making a gradual migration to 4G and the all-IP network and cost effectively scales to meet the fast growing traffic requirements of mobile data and multimedia traffic while providing operators with simplified OAM&P procedures, in Transmode’s view. This hybrid approach is used by many of the microwave vendors, which provides the advantage of using a similar approach in both microwave and fiber based mobile access, leading to a more simplified access network and lower operational costs, Transmode says.
Added Dunphy, "Achieving a business case that supports the profitable roll out of multimedia-intensive mobile broadband services for 3G and LTE requires migration from TDM toward the optimization of an all-IP network. Transmode's solution offers a way to do that cleanly without sacrificing network performance or call quality."
The Multi-Service Mobile Backhaul solution will be introduced in Q4 2009.