FTTP VENDORS WORK TO CREATE INTEROPERABLE OPTICAL GEAR

Vendors of broadband passive optical networking equipment are taking steps to create an interoperable environment in which carriers could pair the central office equipment (optical line terminations) of one vendor with the customer premises gear (optical network terminals) of another. But the fruit of those efforts could come near the twilight of BPON's deployment in American networks.

Last week Siemens introduced six new BPON ONTs, following Entrisphere's unveiling of its own line of ONTs earlier this month. But unlike Entrisphere, Siemens does not sell a BPON OLT to go with its new gear. For OLTs, Siemens will rely on other vendors, including Calix, whose C7 system interoperates with Siemens' new ONTs. Calix's portfolio, on the other hand, does not include ONTs, creating a mutual interdependence that both vendors say underscores their commitment to industrywide interoperability.

“If you've only got one side of the fiber, as do Siemens and Calix, you'll live and die by the interoperable approach,” said Kevin Walsh, Calix's vice president of marketing. “This stuff better work together or it's not going to survive in the operator's network.”

The new equipment — and the commitments to interoperability — signal forward motion for the sector following Tellabs' acquisition of ONT free agent Vinci Systems in January, which many feared would stall interoperability. And there's more to come. At Supercomm, the Full-Service Access Network group (or FSAN, a group that drives technical standards) is conducting what may be the first public demonstration of multivendor BPON interoperability. At last count, six ONT vendors and four OLT vendors were expected to participate. Several industry sources now believe an interoperable mix-and-match environment for ONTs and OLTs could exist next year. But that's also the year that major carriers and more vendors are expected to get serious about Gigabit PON, or GPON — BPON's higher-speed successor.

According to some sources, BellSouth, Verizon and SBC Communications recently issued a request for information (RFI) regarding GPON gear, which could lead to 2006 deployment.

Broadlight is introducing a GPON system on a chip this week that the company expects will encourage more equipment vendors to tackle the technology (currently only two vendors offer GPON gear). Infonetics Research analyst Michael Howard wonders if GPON's anticipated arrival is one reason BPON vendors haven't moved faster to interoperate.

“Maybe that's some of the thinking in the manufacturers' mind: ‘Why go through all this [BPON interoperability] when GPON's going to take over next year anyway,’” he said, adding that the main reason for their delay is probably just that the American BPON market is still too small to warrant the expense of interop testing. Outside of Verizon, few, if any, deployments are large enough to require more than one vendor.

However, BPON won't give way to GPON overnight, as illustrated by the fact that all six of Siemens' new ONTs are BPON, not GPON, products. By the end of this year, Verizon intends to pass a total of 3 million premises with BPON, and ONTs aren't added until customers subscribe. So Verizon could likely enjoy the benefits of a multivendor ONT environment before the bulk of those 3 million customers are served, let alone those passed, next year.

In addition, GPON gear could likely be made interoperable with BPON gear. “Anyone who gets in the ONT business knows they're going from BPON to GPON and probably also GigEPON,” said Joe Savage, KMI Research analyst. “Much of the [Bells'] RFI is interested in upgradability, interoperating GPON and BPON in the same OLTs, making the transition in the field. Verizon and SBC are keenly interested in that.”