OE Solutions CWDM bi-directional pluggable modules target CPRI and OBSAI/Finisar unveils multi-rate serial 40-Gbps CFP-FR optical module, other products, at ECOC

OE Solutions Co. Ltd. has announced the production of single-fiber bi-directional SFP optical transceivers for CPRI and OBSAI standards with CWDM wavelengths. For the OBSAI application, the rates are 6.144, 3.072, 1.536, and 0.768 Gbps. For the CPRI application, the rates are 6.144, 3.072, 2.4576, 1.2288, and 0.6144 Gbps.

CPRI is the Common Public Radio Interface, which specifies the internal interface of radio base stations between the radio equipment control and the radio equipment. OBSAI is the Open Base Station Architecture Initiative.

The SFP optical transceivers can operate at all the CPRI and OBSAI data rates up to 6.144 Gbps within industrial temperature ranges, OE Solutions asserts. OE also offers the option of selecting a single-wavelength approach.

According to John Kwak, director of business development at OE Solutions, “Customers can now fully realize the cost and design benefits of utilizing CWDM wavelengths in a single-fiber solution. Having a single-wavelength option, customers can deploy a single-fiber bi-directional link with only one CWDM wavelength and double the number of links.”

Finisar Corp. (NASDAQ: FNSR) is using ECOC as a springboard to launch several new products, including what the company asserts is the first CFP-FR module that offers error-free operation at 40 Gbps. Other new products making their debut at ECOC include an 80-km SFP+ optical transceiver module and a GPON version of its “PON on a stick” product, an outgrowth of its acquisition of Broadway Networks in September of last year (see "Finisar acquires PON transceiver vendor Broadway Networks").

Designed for 40-Gbps client-side network applications, the CFP-FR module has an MSA pluggable form factor and power consumption below 8 W. In addition to supporting 40GBase-FR operation, it also will support SONET OC-768 and OUT-3, say Finisar sources. Finisar will use EXFO's FTB-8140 Transport Blazer to demonstrate its performance quality. The company will also demonstrate interoperability with a 300-PIN module. The CFP-FR is also plug-in compatible with SR4 and LR4 CFP modules, the company adds.

Meanwhile, the 10-Gbps DWDM 80-km SFP+ optical transceiver module is positioned as an alternative to DWDM XFP transceivers. It offers the same performance as XFP modules with lower power consumption and a smaller footprint, Finisar says. The SFP+ transceiver features internal dual CDRs for enhanced jitter performance, limiting electrical interface APD receiver, and an XFI-compliant interface.

Finally, the new “GPON Stick” offers the functionality of a standard GPON ONT within an SFP transceiver package. This enables switches, routers, and similar CPE to be connected to GPONs for fiber-to-the-business and wireless backhaul applications. The device is not being demonstrated at ECOC, and company sources declined to say when the product would reach general availability.

NeoPhotonics adds 40-km, 80-km SFP+ optical transceivers /MEL plans mechanically locked tunable SFP optical transceiver

NeoPhotonics Corp. (NYSE: NPTN) has added longer-reach SFP+ transceivers to its line of modules that meet 40-km (ER) and 80-km (ZR) reach requirements and support various communication protocols. The new SFP+ optical transceiver modules complement NeoPhotonics existing 6-Gbps SFP+ transceivers for Common Public Radio Interface (CPRI) and 10-Gbps SFP+ modules for 10 Gigabit Ethernet and OC-192/STM-64 SONET/SDH transport.

SFP+ transceivers without integrated CDR are designed to support 10-Gigabit Ethernet transport and comply with IEEE 802.3-2005 and 802.3-2008. Versions with an integrated CDR support OC-192/STM-64 SONET/SDH and comply with the ITU-T Recommendation G.709 for Optical Transport Network (OTN) at the OTU2 line rate.

All of the company’s transceivers are designed to meet Telcordia GR-468 CORE qualification requirements and cover the extended operating temperature range of -5 to +85ºC (E-Temp), NeoPhotonics asserts. Both RoHS5 and RoHS6 versions are available as well. The SFP+ ER and ZR transceivers are available in sample quantities.


MEL, a startup founded in 2009, announced plans for a low-power, tunable DWDM SFP transceiver (TRx) that will leverage its patent-protected chirped fiber Bragg grating and its athermal structure technology. The transceiver, which MEL has dubbed MLT (for “Mechanically Locked Tunable”), will consume half the power of existing EML-based transceivers and one third of the new tunable transceivers, the company asserts.

The company did not say when the MLT optical transceiver would be available.

The transceiver will offer a tuning range of 40 wavelengths with 100-GHz spacing over the C- or L-Band. Technicians will tune the MLT SFP transceiver by typing in a wavelength number on the panel of an electro-mechanic tuner. Although the wavelength is mechanically locked for the end of transceiver life, if necessary, the wavelength can be re-tuned at different wavelengths repeatedly.

According to Dr. B.W. Kim, the CEO of MEL, "Today's tunable transceivers are the products of lab engineers who had a fixation of changing wavelengths as many [times] as possible, but in reality and practice, you need to seldom change wavelength while in operation for broadband data transport and access networks."

MEL will display the MLT SFP transceiver TOSA, without the actual tuner, at the forthcoming ECOC in Geneva, September 19-21.

Avago 16 Gigabit Fibre Channel transceiver now in production /MEL plans mechanically locked tunable SFP optical transceiver

Avago Technologies (Nasdaq:AVGO) says its new AFBR-57F5PZ SFP+ transceivers for 16 Gigabit Fibre Channel applications have reached production status. The transceivers support industry-standard signaling rates up to 14.025 GBd.

Avago expects the modules to find application in switches, routers, host bus adapters, RAID controllers, tape drives, and video switching, as well as inter-switch and inter-chassis aggregated links.

While the AFBR-57F5PZ SFP+ transceiver offers twice the capacity of 8 Gigabit Fibre Channel devices, it operates at “essentially” the same power level, Avago asserts. The SFP+ module’s transmitter and receiver can operate at different data rates, as is often required during Fibre Channel speed negotiation. The module maintains compatibility with legacy 8 Gigabit and 4 Gigabit Fibre Channel devices as well, Avago says.

Avago also touts the following additional features:

    Operating temperature range of 0° to 70° C and supply voltage of 3.3 V ± 5%
    Lead-free and RoHS-compliant
    Digital diagnostic features per SFF-8472
    LC Duplex optical connector interface conforming to ANSI TIA/EIA604-10 (FOCIS 10A)
    Enhanced EMI performance for high port density applications.

The AFBR-57F5PZ transceiver incorporates Avago’s 850-nm vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) and PIN detector technology. This combination ensures that the multi-rate SFP+ module is compliant with FC-PI-5 and 16G/8G/4G Fibre Channel specifications, the company states. The module will respond to both rate select pin and control bit inputs, which simplifies Fibre Channel host auto-negotiation algorithms, layout, and software, Avago adds.

The AFBR-57F5PZ 16 Gigabit Fibre Channel transceiver is priced at $215.35 each in 100-piece quantities. Samples and production quantities are available now through the Avago direct sales channel and via worldwide distribution partners.


MEL, a startup founded in 2009, announced plans for a low-power, tunable DWDM SFP transceiver (TRx) that will leverage its patent-protected chirped fiber Bragg grating and its athermal structure technology. The transceiver, which MEL has dubbed MLT (for “Mechanically Locked Tunable”), will consume half the power of existing EML-based transceivers and one third of the new tunable transceivers, the company asserts.

The company did not say when the MLT optical transceiver would be available.

The transceiver will offer a tuning range of 40 wavelengths with 100-GHz spacing over the C- or L-Band. Technicians will tune the MLT SFP transceiver by typing in a wavelength number on the panel of an electro-mechanic tuner. Although the wavelength is mechanically locked for the end of transceiver life, if necessary, the wavelength can be re-tuned at different wavelengths repeatedly.

According to Dr. B.W. Kim, the CEO of MEL, "Today's tunable transceivers are the products of lab engineers who had a fixation of changing wavelengths as many [times] as possible, but in reality and practice, you need to seldom change wavelength while in operation for broadband data transport and access networks."

MEL will display the MLT SFP transceiver TOSA, without the actual tuner, at the forthcoming ECOC in Geneva, September 19-21.

Omnitron launches STM-1 coax-to-fiber media converter /ADVA Optical Networking device combines IEEE 588 and Synchronous Ethernet for mobile backhaul

MAY 12, 2009 -- Omnitron Systems Technology (search Lightwave for Omnitron Systems Technology), a provider of fiber-optic access systems for enterprise and telecom networks, has announced the availability of the iConverter STM-1 copper-to-fiber media converter. The iConverter STM-1 converts the electrical signals from an STM-1 or OC-3 75-Ω coax cable to optical signals on fiber. Targeted for telecom and enterprise applications where STM-1 or OC-3 transport is required beyond the limited distance of coax, the media converter transmits signals up to 5 km on multimode fiber and up to 120 km on singlemode fiber.

The copper port of converter provides two mini-BNC 75-Ω coax connectors that comply with ITU-T G.703 and Telcordia GR-253 standards for CMI-coded 155.52-Mbps electrical interfaces. Adapter cables are included to convert the mini-BNC connectors to standard BNC-type connectors. The fiber port accepts any standard, MSA-compatible 155.52-Mbps SFP transceiver. The iConverter STM-1 also supports CWDM SFPs to convert the signal to a specific optical wavelength and then connect it to a CWDM multiplexer to increase the fiber network capacity.

"The iConverter STM-1 media converter provides flexible STM-1 connectivity by overcoming the distance limitations of STM-1 coax cable," says Doug Baar, vice president of engineering. "Its modular design enables scalable fiber implementation with high-density chassis for the network core as well as compact chassis or standalone modules for the network edge."

The converter is available as a compact, unmanaged standalone unit or a chassis-managed plug-in module. The hot-swappable plug-in module can be mounted in a nineteen- or five-module chassis with any combination of redundant AC and DC power supplies. It also can be mounted in a two-module AC or DC powered chassis, or one-module chassis with AC or DC power input.

The standalone version of the iConverter STM-1 is wall-mountable. It is DC powered and is available with an external AC/DC power adapter or a terminal connector for direct DC power.




MAY 13, 2009 -- To address the growing need by mobile and backhaul service providers for more Ethernet-based transport capacity, ADVA Optical Networking (search Lightwave for ADVA Optical Networking) has introduced the FSP 150CC-GE206. The new device enables Ethernet and synchronization to be delivered over fiber-based Ethernet transport for service providers looking to deploy an Ethernet service optimized for mobile backhaul applications.

"Ethernet as a transport technology is appealing because it supports both higher data rates and a more attractive cost per megabit of supported traffic," explained Dr. Christoph Glingener, chief technology officer at ADVA Optical Networking. "With recent advances in synchronous Ethernet ("SyncE") standards, the protocol can now support mobile base station synchronization needs, and is also backwards compatible with 2G and 3G services."

The FSP 150CC-GE206 enables Ethernet transport to replace traditional T1/E1 or SONET/SDH-based synchronization with Ethernet synchronization based on ITU G.8261/2/4 and IEEE 1588. SyncE support includes in-band transmission and external synchronization inputs and outputs to support remote site and head-end applications.

Additionally, the service intelligence of the latest OAM standards such as 802.1ag, Y.1731 and RFC 2544 all help to guarantee that mobile SLAs are met. The ability to deliver intelligent Ethernet services that are functionally identical over a variety of access technologies is a key advantage of ADVA Optical Networking's FSP 150 product family, the company asserts.

The FSP 150CC-GE206 also contains personality module slots to ensure that the product can evolve with a service provider's changing requirements for service needs such as additional Ethernet ports or circuit-emulated T1s or E1s.

Low-touch provisioning and remote OAM capabilities in the FSP 150CC-GE206 ensure that unskilled craft can install and turn up services without any onsite provisioning. Optional WAN protection, redundant power supplies, and temperature hardening are designed to ensure high service availability for mission-critical applications, while SLA verification is ensured via in-service SLA monitoring. SFP optical devices also address a wide range of optical fibers, reaches and wavelengths.

ZTE displays 400-Gbps and 1-Tbps DWDM prototype/OMRON demos 14-Gbps bidirectional optical module

ZTE Corp. (H share stock code: 0763.HK/A share stock code: 000063.SZ) is showing off what it asserts is the first multi-application 400-Gbps/1-Tbps DWDM prototype device at the 16th WDM & Next Generation Optical Networking Forum in Monaco this week.

The device can perform seven network applications via a variety of modulation formats, ZTE asserts. For example, the DWDM prototype offers a multi-subcarrier orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) 400G/1T approach for ultra-long-haul applications. It also can serve metro applications via a 16-QAM approach, or long-haul applications as a Nyquist WDM platform.

At 100 Gbps, ZTE the DWDM/Optical Transport Network (OTN) system supports C-band 80-wavelength applications via PM-QPSK and coherent detection and soft-decision forward error correction (FEC).

“ZTE is fully prepared to deploy solutions, products, and services for the large-scale commercial global rollout of 100G and ultra-100G,” said ZTE Bearer Network Product Line General Manager Chen Yufei.



OMRON Network Products, LLC last week demonstrated the P1xX6B-SX51x-02A Data Module, a new bidirectional optical module capable of transmitting 14 Gbps downstream and 155 Mbps upstream over a single multimode fiber. The module can support transmission distances from 300 m to 1 km.

The company gave “select customers” a peak at the module at a private suite concurrent with Infocomm International 2012 in Las Vegas. Availability details were not released publicly.

The new Data Module is designed for ease of use and quick implementation into various fiber extension products. The Data Module features a pre-programmed laser driver and integrated SC clip in a metal housing with EMI shielding.

Martin Smith, OMRON Network Products' director of marketing, said, "Many of our customers told us they wanted a bidirectional module that would allow them more flexibility in designs, and we listened. The new Data Module is protocol-agnostic and can be configured to suit a variety of applications, giving our customers the ability to differentiate their product."

Added Brian Peters, OMRON Network Products COO, "Because of its flexible interface, the new Data Module is ideal for a broad range of markets including industrial automation, security cameras, medical imaging, and of course high-definition video."

Dell'Oro: 1Q12 access equipment revenue slips slightly/Verizon boosts top FiOS FTTH speed to 300 Mbps

The Dell’Oro Group says in a newly published report that first quarter 2012 revenue for access equipment (cable, DSL, and PON) including infrastructure equipment and CPE declined 8% sequentially. The shrinkage was significantly smaller than reported by Infonetics Research, which pegged the dropped at 22% (see “Reduced spending in China squeezes broadband equipment market”).

Cable CPE sales bucked the general trend, Dell’Oro reports, with strong sequential and year-on-year growth. But the niche’s success was not enough to overcome sequential declines in revenue and shipments for the other market segments.

“Typical seasonal weakness was exacerbated by several factors, including lower PON shipments to China after strong year-end budget spending, the economic uncertainly in Europe, and a slow start by North American service providers,” said Steve Nozik, principal analyst of access research at Dell’Oro Group. “Cable CPE was the exception with growth driven by users upgrading to high-bandwidth DOCSIS 3.0 service for which new devices are required.”

The report shows that in the first quarter, Cisco, with near record shipments, was the lead vendor in terms of cable CPE unit shipments. Arris was next with its strongest shipment quarter in over a year, followed by Netgear, which saw its cable CPE shipments reach a record level.



In an attempt to stay ahead of both rising bandwidth demand from its customers as well as the DOCSIS 3.0-enabled offerings of its cable MSO competitors, Verizon (NYSE, NASDAQ: VZ) says that it will more than double the speeds of several of its FiOS Internet tiers and add two new tiers. One of these will support download speeds of 300 Mbps via Verizon's fiber to the home (FTTH) network.

Verizon’s current offerings include the following options (download/upload):

    150 Mbps/35 Mbps
    50 Mbps/20 Mbps
    35 Mbps/35 Mbps
    25 Mbps/25 Mbps
    15 Mbps/5 Mbps.

In June, the portfolio will expand to (download/upload):

    300 Mbps/65 Mbps
    150 Mbps/65 Mbps
    75 Mbps/35 Mbps
    50 Mbps/25 Mbps
    15 Mbps/5 Mbps

Verizon says it will wait to announce the price of each new offering until June as well. The new speeds will be offered in standalone and bundled packages.

"The ways we used the Internet and watched TV over the past 10 to 15 years have dramatically shifted," said Bob Mudge, president of Verizon's consumer and mass market business unit. "With the emergence of smartphones, smart TVs, Blu-ray players, tablets, and gaming consoles that also serve as over-the-top devices, consumers need more bandwidth to receive the highest-quality experience."

In a shot at the way cable MSOs provide bandwidth via hybrid fiber/coax networks and DOCSIS, Verizon said in a press release that its FTTH-enabled network “will provide customers with sustained speed and reliability of service, in contrast to intermittent speed boosts offered by cable-company competitors whose networks, unlike Verizon's, are not all-fiber optic.”

"Our top FiOS speed will be twice as fast as anything America has ever seen," said Mike Ritter, chief marketing officer for Verizon's consumer and mass market business unit. "High-speed Internet no longer is just for techies, as more than half of our residential consumers already use at least a 20-Mbps Internet connection. Streaming online video on an all-fiber-optic connection providing faster speeds is better and more reliable during peak Internet usage hours.

"As recently as 2005, video was less than 10 percent of Web traffic," Ritter added. "By the end of this year, we expect it to be 50 percent, growing to 90 percent in just a few years."

Verizon says “the majority” of its customers – those connected via GPON rather than BPON -- will have access to the two fastest-speed options of 150 and 300 Mbps. At least some customers with BPON connections who “qualify” for GPON connections can have their BPON ONUs replaced with GPON equivalents to receive the top-speed services.

TeleGeography: Submarine cable capacity bubble coming?/Big spending on tap for FTTx in developed economies, says Analysys Mason

TeleGeography’s Global Bandwidth Research Service reports that in 2010 and 2011, consortia launched 19 submarine cable systems worth an aggregate $3.7 billion – with 33 additional systems on the docket for 2012 and 2013 at a projected total of $5.5 billion. In light of what the market research and consulting firm describes in a press release as “tremendous untapped potential capacity on many existing submarine cables,” is the undersea cable space getting too crowded?

Not necessarily, Telegeography believes. The rationales for many of these projects extend well beyond increased capacity, says the firm. Additional goals frequently include:

    route diversity
    latency reduction
    strategic advantage
    “the lure of relatively high price margins.”

Nevertheless, the pace of submarine cable system construction could slow after 2013, Telegeography suggests. The company notes that multiple trans-Arctic systems and four cables between South America and Africa are now in the planning stages for post-2013 construction. However, Telegeography believes it is “very likely” that several of these systems will never be built.

Until that time, business is booming for submarine cable installers and technology suppliers, as the chart below suggests.



Fixed-line operators in developed economies worldwide will spend $53.5 billion on FTTx infrastructure between 2012 and 2017, according to new report from Analysys Mason. About 82% of that money will go to fiber to the home (FTTH) deployments – a strategy the market research firm suggests is unwise.

Most of the outlay will come from Western Europe, where operators are forecasted to lay out $25.9 billion over the next five years, according to FTTx roll-out and capex in developed economies: forecasts 2012–2017. A pan-European push to enable access to what the region calls “superfast” and “ultrafast” broadband services via a combination of FTTH and fiber to the cabinet (FTTC) combined with VDSL in the local loop is now underway. Countries where the major operators rely heavily on the latter will be in better shape, the report asserts.

“Given the as yet untapped potential of copper over short distances, we wonder whether it is really sensible at this stage to take fiber right to people’s homes,” says Rupert Wood, author of the report and lead analyst for Analysys Mason’s Fixed Networks research program. “Sticking rigidly to FTTH runs the risk of delivering next-generation access to a largely urban or well-to-do elite, while delaying delivery to other users and potentially losing customers. This may come to look both commercially and politically unacceptable.”

Operators who use an FTTC strategy generally will be able to offer broadband services to a greater percentage of their footprint in the next five years, the report states. Such speedy deployment also will put these operators in a better position to compete with alternative broadband providers from the cable and 4G mobile world as well, Analysys Mason says.

Regardless of how it is achieved, the deployment of next-generation access (NGA) networks makes business sense, the report adds. In Europe, for example, take-up rates for telcos of 25% or more in covered areas seem “perfectly achievable” in five years despite the current slow start, the report states. The report points to a regulatory environment that has encouraged competition – and a resulting decline in ADSL service prices – as one reason for Europe’s lackluster take-up rates.

However, while service cost is always a significant factor in determining take-up rates, it may not be the most critical. Income levels of potential subscribers and how poor the previous service may have been can be more telling, the report suggests.

Finally, the report also suggests that those who doubt the demand for 100-Mbps access speeds are missing an opportunity. “Supply of bandwidth probably will create demand, but not necessarily in ways that are helpful for operators’ service-oriented approaches,” says Wood. “Few real-time video services require anything like these bandwidths, but those simply wanting faster-than-real-time download and upload will always be happy with more speed.”

In light of this fact, some FTTH operators have successfully positioned their services as non-value-add utility offerings, which leaves a wide space for over-the-top players to fill, the report adds.

FTTx roll-out and capex in developed economies: forecasts 2012–2017 offers coverage and capex forecasts for FTTH, VDSL, and DOCSIS 3.0, as well as forecasts of service take-up on telco networks, split by incumbent and alternative operators. Forecasts are provided for 36 countries and four regions.