Bridging the Digital Divide with Weatherized PON
A key problem facing our communities is that building FTTx and broadband fiber access is expensive and very time-consuming, even for high-density urban areas. Even more challenging and more expensive is building fiber access to close the digital divide for underserved and rural areas.
Access infrastructure challenges
One reason is that as the edge network advances, both physically and technologically, the right hub site may not exist. There are challenges associated with rolling out new hubs on a vast scale, such as varying mechanical installations, regulatory concerns, mounting rights, and the desire for unobtrusive aesthetics. Additionally, traditional Optical Line Terminals (OLT’s) must be backhauled to an Ethernet switch and/or router. Additionally, efficient use of real estate is a growing concern for network operators, who either host their own network equipment or lease power and space in street cabinets and colocation facilities. Ciena understands operators need to accelerate permitting, avoid deployment delays, and reduce costly site infrastructure. Operators also need a flexible solution to deploy PON out at the far edges of their network.
Optical Distribution Link (ODL) Challenges
In addition to business and operational concerns, the Passive Optical Network (PON) is limited by distance or optical reach, splits, and the number of homes passed. The OLT has a limit of 20 km - where 64, or fewer, Optical Network Units (ONUs) can be connected.
New tools to equip all operators bringing broadband, 5G and cloud for digital equity and inclusion
The disparity in digital access stems primarily from lack of cost-effective fiber-based infrastructure to close those gaps. One reason and a key driver of these gaps is the Present Mode of Operation (PMO) are network silo builds. Ciena understands this, which is why our Universal Aggregation solution is helping many operators to converge their access infrastructures on a single cost-effective router to the outdoor cabinet.
While this goes a long way to extend high-speed connection to many customers, even more is needed to reach and ease deployments for those in underserved areas. To help, Ciena is introducing new Weatherized PON outdoor tools to equip all operators to bring broadband to more places while eliminating costs and deployment time.
What is Weatherized PON?
Weatherized PON is engineered to accommodate direct outdoor deployments and avoid the associated costs of street cabinet and colocation facilities. Mountable on a pole, strand, wall H-frame, and residential dwellings, weatherized PON can be easily deployed where needed for residential broadband or Fiber to The Home (FTTH) and other applications, including Small Office, Home Office (SOHO).
In addition to Ciena’s 5131 routers, our Weatherized PON approach includes another ruggedized 3985 router, an industrial temperature micro-OLT (uOLT) or XCVR-SGPL04, and the 3806 ONU.
Both routers are purpose-built to address the needs of broadband providers and access infrastructure convergence in the most challenging outdoor and uncontrolled environments.
The 5131 and 3985 also converge mobile, business, and residential broadband service infrastructures.
The 5131 addresses the need for wireline and 10G PON services with 12 ports of 1/10/25GbE and PON, along with two ports of 100GbE. The weatherproof design reduces deployment and infrastructure costs while accelerating deployment for 4G and 5G applications, including FlexEthernet service isolation and hard slicing for ultra-low latency service isolation.
The even more compact 6 port 1/10/25G and PON 3985 supports wholesale mobile backhaul (MBH) and Cell Site Router (CSR) applications.
Weatherized PON brings clear demarcation and converged access closer to the customer. For your broadband shared fiber customers, simply pick a pole draw a 20Km circle around the pole, then connect 64 Ciena or third-party XGS-PON ONUs to start filling in those digital gaps. If you need to go further, no worries the industrial temperature uOLT goes far beyond 20kms.
Ciena’s versatile 3806 is an outdoor, weatherproof ONU with a fully compliant with XGS-PON transceiver. The Power over Ethernet (PoE)
2500Mb/s port goes far beyond table stakes 1GbE ports for SOHO or residential applications but can be software provisioned to the desired rate whenever needed.
Whether you live in the frigid harsh cold environment, a sunny hot environment, or any environment in between, weatherized PON has your customers covered! Close your digital divide gaps and eliminate cost and time by accelerating the ability to turn-up services on a pole near you. To find out today how to customize your edge and ask us how.
