Tellabs unveils MDU ONTs

As expected, Tellabs today introduced customer premises gear for triple-play services that is tailored specifically for multi-dwelling units (MDUs).

The new 621 and 625 MDU optical network terminals (ONTs), both part of Tellabs 1600 series of products, support traditional RF video as well as IP video and are also fluent in session initiation protocol, or SIP, allowing carriers to deliver voice-over-IP service. While the 621 delivers Ethernet traffic over fiber for newer buildings, the 625 uses VDSL to deliver broadband through a building’s existing internal copper wiring.

Both products deliver 622 Mb/s downstream and 155 Mb/s upstream and include 16 telephony ports, 8 data ports and one video port. The 621’s data ports are 10/100BaseT Ethernet, while the 625 offers telephony lines with VDSL at 60 Mb/s downstream and either 12 Mb/s or 40 Mb/s upstream.

The gear becomes generally available in next year’s first quarter. In late August, Verizon Communications claimed to be testing MDU-centric ONTs from both of its fiber-to-the-premises access equipment suppliers, Tellabs and Motorola. For smaller MDUs (those with two to 10 units), Verizon has been using the same ONTs it uses for single-family homes.