Vendor: U.S. not ready yet for indoor ONTs

TXP introduced a new optical network terminal (ONT) architecture today aimed at easing some of the power-related challenges of fiber-to-the-premises (FTTP) installation. But the Texas-based vendor isn’t selling the product in the U.S. anytime soon due to a lack of demand here for indoor ONTs.

“There’s a big push around the world, other than in North America, to bring the ONT indoors to reduce costs,” said Paul Forzisi, TXP’s vice president of marketing. “In North America, [carriers have] hesitated because it doesn’t give them ready access to the box when the customer’s not home. Europe has been where the push has been. Here in North America, they’re just starting to warm to the idea. They need more time to get comfortable with it.”

TXP, which acquired its ONT business from Siemens last year, today announced a new powering system for the 7202 mini-ONT it unveiled last month. The system uses power-over-Ethernet technology to link the 7202 with an uninterruptible power supply (or UPS, a power supply and backup battery) developed by another vendor, CyberPower. Though the ONT is linked to the UPS through a Cat5 cable, the UPS is equipped to run power over a variety of media, including phone lines and coaxial cable.

“In a lot of older homes, the ONT and the powering unit are separated by quite a distance,” Forzisi said. “It’s a struggle to pull dedicated power to the ONT. This allows the customer to use any existing in-home wiring to power [the ONT] from the UPS installed in the home.”

As an indoor ONT, the 7202 is not yet for sale in the U.S., though both it and the new powering architecture are available now in Europe. TXP may eventually sell the system it announced today for multi-dwelling units in North America, Forzisi said, with 7202s installed in the living units themselves and a UPS in the basement, for example. But such an application would require a new UPS, not the one for single-family residences announced today.

At an investor conference in February, Tellabs’ chief financial officer Tim Wiggins said his company had discussed with Verizon the possibility of indoor ONTs, though Tellabs has not announced such a product. At the time, Amedia Networks had recently announced plans to develop a combination ONT/broadband home router that would sit inside the house. In a March interview with Telephony, Verizon’s chief technology officer Mark Wegleitner identified several challenges in using indoor ONTs but added, “It’s something we want to make sure we fully explore.”