infoTECH Feature

September 22, 2008

Calix 700GX Optical Network Terminals Deliver Active Ethernet, GPON, and BPON

Calix (News - Alert) today announced the availability of the 700GX family of optical network terminals (ONT), which support Active Ethernet standards in addition to the ITU-T passive optical networking (GPON and BPON) standards. The 700GX ONT family employs Calix’ auto-detect technology that enable customers to deploy BPON or GPON over the same ONT.
 
Calix has now extended this technology to add Active Ethernet support.
 
While, GPON suits mass residential and small business deployments, Active Ethernet is preferred for larger businesses that demand dedicated fiber access. Both these two technologies provide flexibility to implement on a single ONT. Thus service providers can now benefit from the ability to deliver and manage both PON and Active Ethernet technologies as one network rather than as separate networks.
 
“PON and Active Ethernet have falsely been cast as competitive technologies when, in fact, they are complementary,” said David Russell, solutions marketing director, Calix. “With the 700GX ONT, Calix is the first company to allow service providers an operationally and capitally efficient way to leverage the strengths of both technologies out of the same ONT. As with the rest of the Calix Unified Access Infrastructure, service providers can choose the right technology to fit their needs today, while maintaining the flexibility to adapt to new demands in the future.”
 
The new Calix 700GX ONT has auto-detect technology that allows providers to remotely provision and convert any subscriber from one technology standard to another. It does not also need any expensive truck rolls or upgrades at the customer premises.
 
Calix customers can install the 700GX ONT in conjunction with the Calix C7, E5-400, and F5 platforms already deployed in their networks, as well as with all standards-based GE switches or routers.
 
Those business customers that demand dedicated fiber access can be serviced using the Active Ethernet mode on the 700GX.
 
When in Active Ethernet mode, the 700GX can reach subscribers up to 40 km distant, enabling service to hard-to-reach customers.
 
“We are a big believer in GPON for most residential and business services, but we are seeing increasing demand and opportunity for delivering dedicated, symmetrical Ethernet services to our business customers,” said Zack Odell, director of operations at SCTelecom in Medicine Lodge, Kansas. “With the 700GX ONT, we have the flexibility to deploy and manage one network, independent of the service or technology demanded. Not only does this greatly simplify our network and inventory management, but also the integrated Active Ethernet support saves us thousands of dollars per business site relative to how we historically had to implement dedicated, symmetrical, fiber-based Ethernet services.”
 
“GPON is becoming the dominant FTTP technology in North America, but there are a number of applications where Active Ethernet is a more appropriate option,” said Vince Vittore, program manager for enabling technologies at Yankee Group (News - Alert). “This poses a dilemma for service providers that want to standardize access technologies across their networks and drive operational efficiencies, yet are under competitive pressure to meet growing service demands. As fiber-rich infrastructures become more prevalent across competitive boundaries, operational benefits like the flexibility to support both Active Ethernet and GPON technologies in one ONT provide a competitive advantage.”
 
 INTERNET TELEPHONY Conference & EXPO West 2008 — the biggest and most comprehensive IP communications event of the year — concluded September 18 in Los Angeles, California. Thousands of attendees flocked to the event for three valuable days of exhibits, conferences and networking opportunities. Mark your calendar now for ITEXPO East 2009, February 2-4, 2009, in sunny Miami, Florida.

Arun Satapathy is a contributing editor for TMCnet. To read more of Arun's articles, please visit his columnist page.

Edited by Tim Gray
FOLLOW US

Subscribe to InfoTECH Spotlight eNews

InfoTECH Spotlight eNews delivers the latest news impacting technology in the IT industry each week. Sign up to receive FREE breaking news today!
FREE eNewsletter

infoTECH Whitepapers