Occam makes 10-gig move

Occam Networks today announced new 10-gigabit Ethernet optical transport capabilities for its BLC 6000 broadband loop carrier product line. The new technology takes into account the growing demand for bandwidth for fiber-to-the-premises systems and for Ethernet aggregation rings that knit together broadband access systems.

In addition, Occam announced additions to its FTTP product line with a series of new optical network terminals.

Occam, which serves about 150 customers, most in the Tier 2 Independent operating company market, is seeing the growth in IPTV that is fueling higher bandwidth demand, said Russ Sharer, vice president of sales and marketing.

“We have grown along with these companies, and the kind of networks we are building now serve tens of thousands of IPTV users,” he said. “They are planning for HDTV and video on demand, and are going to need more aggregation bandwidth. This blade drops into the existing product, which saves our customers money and time to market.”

The Occam BLC 6324 10GigE Transport and Optical Line Termination blade adds dual 10-gigabit Optical Ethernet and multiple 1-gigabit Ethernet interfaces to Occam’s BLC 6000 providing symmetrical bandwidth using active Ethernet as a lower cost alternative to Sonet-based OC-192 systems.

The addition transforms the BLC 6000 into a high-capacity FTTP optical line termination system, which can deliver 1-gigabit of full-duplex bandwidth to more than 250 subscribers.

“If you look at what bandwidth requirements are going to be, with multiple HD streams into the home, this makes a lot of sense,” said Vince Vittore, senior analyst with Yankee Group. “This is definitely a natural progression for Occam.”

The new FTTP products include the ON 2342 system, a triple-play gateway with two voice ports, four 10/100TX Ethernet ports and one gigabit Ethernet SFP socket support for either a single or dual-mode fiber laser. The ONT has a 12-volt DC power supply and battery back-up for lifeline POTS, Sharer said.

Occam has implemented the DSL Forum’s TR 101 specification in its ONTs, he added, becoming the first in the industry to do so. TR 101 is designed to help service providers evolve their broadband networks to support higher speeds and migrate to Ethernet.

“This enables them to manage their copper and optical networks in the same way,” Sharer said.

The initial version of ON 2342 is in field trials now and will be shipping in June. Later this year, Occam will introduce the ON 2343, which includes an Home Phone Networking Alliance coax connector to deliver video over existing coax within the home.

Another version, the ON 2321 supports data and video for service providers that already have a POTS network or plan to do VoIP.