We recently announced our partnership with Tibit Communications to bring you a game-changing solution for 10G PON deployments. In this article, we explore the solution a bit further, demonstrating some of the cost and operational advantages of this solution’s approach.
Background and Challenges
The cost of next-generation PON technology continues to fall, and is now approaching the same price level as legacy GPON/EPON technologies. For fiber access network operators feeling the pinch of GPON’s bandwidth limitations, this is a welcome development. Since the new 10G EPON and XGS-PON standards utilize different wavelengths, they can even be laid over existing services and fiber infrastructure, facilitating a gradual migration to higher speeds.
However, there are significant physical limitations to this approach using the traditional network architecture. In this configuration, network operators would likely need to deploy a new 10G OLT chassis. This hardware occupies a large physical footprint at the head-end and requires a steep capital outlay. Furthermore, its high power consumption would contribute to high operating costs going forward. For a network operator who needs to add only a few 10G PON drops, this physical and financial reality has made it difficult to justify the investment.
The Solution
However, there is now a viable alternative: the MicroPlug OLT SFP+.
As shown above, this revolutionary design fits all of the functionality of a traditional OLT chassis in a compact SFP+ optical transceiver form factor. As such, it can be plugged into an available 10G Ethernet switch port, effectively turning that port into a PON OLT. Meanwhile, the other ports on the switch are free to use for other applications (mobile backhaul, PTP Ethernet, or many more).
Therefore, by deploying PON services with the MicroPlug, network operators can truly scale according to demand, all the way up to large-scale deployments. In that case, a fully loaded rack of 576 OLT ports this can translate to a roughly 60% footprint reduction and 60% reduction in power consumption for every OLT chassis replaced.
The MicroPlug OLT pairs with a MicroPlug ONU at the customer end, which adds additional deployment flexibility. Its open design renders it compatible with the multiple chipsets that power many of the leading ONU models available today.
If you’re interested in seeing these benefits for yourself, contact us today to learn more about the evaluation process. Additionally, stay tuned to our blog for more information regarding additional benefits to this solution.
