New Calix extended-reach GPON technology increases services' reach by 50%

September 22, 2008

3 Min Read

PETALUMA, Calif. -- Calix, the worldwide leader in overall gigabit passive optical network (GPON) equipment revenue (Dell'Oro Group, August 2008), today announced its latest access innovation -- a firsttomarket Extended Reach GPON technology based on ITUT standards. New amendments to the GPON standards enable service providers to dramatically increase their serving areas when deploying GPON FibertothePremises (FTTP) technology. The Calix Extended Reach GPON solution delivers this new functionality as a pluggable optical interface module (OIM) inserted into the existing optical line terminal (OLT) line cards on the Calix C7 Multiservice Access Platform (MSAP). The solution is supported by all Calix 700, 700G, and 700GX optical network terminals (ONT), the industry's broadest portfolio of residential, business, and multidwellingunit ONTs, including those already deployed in the field.

Service providers can now use Calix Extended Reach GPON to address subscribers beyond the 20 km servingarea radius that had formerly limited the technology, without the expense of constructing and powering remote cabinets. Although all GPON deployments can benefit from this enhanced functionality, it is especially beneficial to service providers who operate in rural, lowdensity areas. A natural extension of the Calix Unified Access Infrastructure, Calix Extended Reach GPON provides another innovative, flexible, and readily deployable standardsbased option to service providers seeking to deliver the most robust IP services at the lowest cost.

"GPON is clearly the FTTP technology of choice for North American service providers, but some who are deploying in rural areas had to choose between paying high costs to reach remote customers or excluding some customers from their FTTP deployment plans," said Donovan Prostrollo, solutions marketing director of Calix. "Calix Extended Reach GPON redefines how rural service providers can economically deliver FTTP services to these customers. Calix is intimately involved in fostering and championing new FTTP standards -- particularly those that benefit rural customers and applications. We are proud to be the first to take advantage of these new ITU standards to introduce a widely deployable solution that dramatically increases GPON service areas."

In a separate release:

PETALUMA, Calif. -- Calix, the worldwide leader in overall gigabit passive optical network (GPON) equipment revenue (Dell'Oro Group, August 2008), today continued its access innovation by announcing the availability of an industry first -- the 700GX family of optical network terminals (ONT), which support Active Ethernet standards in addition to the ITUT passive optical networking (GPON and BPON) standards. The 700GX ONT family employs Calix' unique autodetect technology, first introduced to the industry's broadest portfolio of ONTs in 2007 to enable Calix customers to deploy BPON or GPON over the same ONT. Calix has now extended this technology to add Active Ethernet support, providing a widely deployable, standardsbased solution that offers unmatched flexibility and investment protection.

Increasingly, GPON and Active Ethernet are being viewed as complementary technologies based on the application. GPON is ideal for mass residential and small business deployments, while Active Ethernet is sometimes preferred for larger businesses that demand dedicated fiber access. Calix innovation gives service providers the flexibility to implement either of these two technologies on a single ONT. The result: a Unified Access Infrastructure that enables service providers to 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."

Calix Inc. (NYSE: CALX)

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