Categories
While the first generation of telecommunication networks rolled out in the 1980’s and ‘90s were mainly carrying voice traffic, the current phase is Internet and data dominated. The global telecom sector is now on the cusp of a broadband revolution. Broadband includes both wired broadband (e.g., DSL, Cable) and mobile broadband (e.g., 3G, 4G) providing high-speed access to Internet applications in high-quality multimedia formats. ITU-T has projected that within a few years the majority of the world’s population, including those in sub-Saharan Africa, will have access to a broadband connection in their home or community.
GPON (Gigabit capable Passive Optical Network) is the most popular wired technology today to extend fiber-based broadband to homes or buildings over optical fiber. GPON is an ITU standard (ITU G.984) that can support up to 2.5 Gbps of shared bandwidth on the downstream and 1 Gbps on the upstream and is being employed to build national broadband networks in several countries delivering a host of e-health, e-learning and e-government services to its urban, semi-urban and rural citizens. The advantage of a PON architecture is that a single Optical Line Terminal (OLT) port installed at a telecom central office can typically deliver broadband services to up to 128 end-points or Optical Networking Terminals (ONTs) within a 20 km distance by using simple passive optical splitters in the field. Higher-speed PON technology variants (NG-PON) are also emerging based on new ITU standards such as XGS-PON and NG-PON2 (TWDM PON). XGS-PON is an ITU standard that enables CSPs to offer up to 10Gbps of symmetrical bandwidth both from and to subscribers. NG-PON2 (TWDM PON) is also an ITU standard that supports multiplexing of multiple wavelengths with tunable optics to enhance capacity and deliver faster service restoration in the case of enterprise applications.
Tejas has innovated a new Converged Broadband Access and Packet Transport platform that can simultaneously deliver both new-age fiber broadband services and packet transmission services from a single integrated platform. By integrating high-capacity optical backhaul with high-speed broadband access we reduce the total equipment footprint and lower the total lifecycle cost of ownership for telecom operators. Unlike existing commercial offerings in this space, our xPON OLT function is provided as an add-on circuit blade on a single chassis without requiring a separate shelf and can be seamlessly managed from a common network management system.
Tejas xPON product supports MPLS transport technology and offers a cost-effective alternative to expensive and complex IP routing technology for building networks that can optimally carry both mobile broadband (3G/4G) and fiber broadband data traffic. This provides flexibility to telecom service providers to build data networks (which brings most of the revenue) while still being able to offer voice services on the same network. The product allows full investment protection for telecom operators through reusable tributary line cards that extend the life of the product from use in 2G network deployments to advanced 4G/LTE and 5G networks. Emerging fiber broadband standards such as NG-PON1/NG-PON2 can be introduced through simple software updates without requiring a hardware change.
Tejas xPON is optimized for cost-effective deployment in national rural broadband networks. It is being deployed in Government of India’s BharatNet project which is one of the world’s largest greenfield rollouts of a GPON network to extend high-speed broadband services to over 250,000 villages in the country.