Overview

At the heart of the Opticomm network is a Gigabit Ethernet Passive Optical Network (GEPON) infrastructure that fully complies with the IEEE 802.3ah networking standard. OptiComm is the exclusive distributor in Australia and New Zealand of the Alloptic GEPON solution.

Alloptic is a US based leader in Passive Optical Network (PON) technology that first deployed a Fibre-to-the Home (FTTH) network in the USA in 2001 and now has equipment installed across the world. Alloptic solutions have been extensively used in Australia since 2002.

The key strength of the Alloptic GEPON solution can be summarised as follows:

• Proven and mature technology – first deployed in 2001 and still being improved.
• Standards driven – complies to the IEEE 802.3ah standard.
• Ability to deliver up to 100Mbps Internet to homes
• Ability to deliver up to 1Gbps IP data to businesses
• Extensive range of Optical Network Termination (ONT) equipment for home, business and multi-dwelling units including a VDSL ONT.
• Temperature hardened Optical Line Termination (OLT) and ONT units enabling outdoor deployment.
• Exceptional broadcast (multi-cast) IPTV performance – Alloptic GEPON networks can run many hundreds of IPTV channels of varying definition standard (SD and/or HD) on each PON.
• In-built RF overlay support from 50Mhz right up to L-Band at 2.25GHz on the same single PON fibre.
• The ability to build hybrid HCF/PON networks.
• Telco-grade 99.9999% reliability
• Ability to build totally redundant access networks including auto switching on diverse fibre loops.
• Extensive support and endorsement of multiple third party products in all service areas – routers, Class 5 PSTN switches, VoIP soft switches, IPTV STBs, layer2/3 aggregation devices, EDFAs, etc.
• A powerful transparent point to point TDM feature to deliver legacy constant bit rate voice and data services.
• Bandwidth shaping at a VLAN level.

The Alloptic solution can be supported in Australia by a number of well trained experienced design, construction and maintenance engineers with the offer of local or overseas training, local warehousing and much more.

With the delivery up to 100Mbps of IP services to every home, there is enough bandwidth to run multiple IPTV channels, provide very high speed Internet access, make PTSN or VoIP phone calls and deliver analogue and digital TV without the need for the customer to install an external TV antenna or purchase a DSTB.

Added to all of this, Alloptic has a clear, funded development path to a deliver the world’s first 10Gbpos PON solution called NGEPON.

There is no other FTTH offering in Australia today that has the same level of maturity, a more extensive locally installed base, better local support, a clearer development path or higher number of features than Alloptic from OptiComm.

Architecture of the “Last Mile”

The deployment of a FTTH infrastructure has strong similarities to the copper and HFC networks of yesterday. Trenching, burying of conduits, and the installation of cable remain the foundation to outside plant construction. As opposed to using traditional copper to transport electrical signals of video, data, and telephony to consumers (with questionable quality) the deployment of a FTTH network uses optical fibre and pulses of light to insure the delivery of not just the services of today, but the many services of tomorrow.

Just as a copper network requires connection from the video head end and telephone central office to the consumer, a fibre network requires similar connection. In lieu of copper punching, cable nodes, amplification,and taps, FTTH networks have fibre splicing, optical splitters, connectors and drop cables. Despite differences in technology and procedure, the deployment of a fibre network is no more complex,
and arguably less complex, than a traditional copper network.

In general terms, a FTTH network consists of the following products and are illustrated in the figure 1:

• Optical Fibre
• Optical Connectors
• Optical Jumpers, providing short interconnections between equipment and/or other fibres
• Optical Fibre Management
• Feeder and Distribution Optical Fibre Cables
• Passive Optical Splitters
• Splitter Management Points
• Fibre Management Enclosures (Splice Closures, Cabinets, Pedestals)
• Drop Cables

In most cases Opticomm would recommend an underground deployment using a pit and pipe infrastructure.

The end-to-end infrastructure solution, including the active equipment from Opticomm, have been branded OptiPON.

OptiPON is based on a Gigabit Ethernet Passive Optical Network (GEPON) topology that allows up to 32 passive (ie no power required) splits on each fibre and therefore allowing the provision of services to 32 dwellings on a single stand of optical fibre cable.

The Alloptic GEPON equipment provides up to 100Mbps of Internet Protocol (IP) data to each dwelling, Plain-Old-Telephone-Services (POTS), RF TV (for FTA TV and Foxtel) and IP video for VoD and in the future IPTV (free and/or pay). No other PON solution on the market today can offer this selection of services on a single fibre cable. The GEPON solution provides symmetrical up and down stream Internet Protocol (IP) data paths operating at 1.25Gbps in the 1310mn and 1490nm carrier frequency range while the RF video is carried by a 1550nm frequency within the fibre.

From a services perspective, the figure 2 shows how they are deployed over the GEPON system.

All services including Internet Service Providers (ISP), Subscription TV providers, Satellite TV and Free-to-Air TV services, Video-on-Demand (VoD) connect at the head-end or “gateway”. A passive optical network (PON) connects the head-end with the customer premises and an Optical Network Termination unit or ONT is deployed to deliver the various services within the dwelling, business or apartment block.

Internet, video and telephony services are fully supported over the IP network however current TV and subscription TV services will need to be deployed over the RF overlay network until IPTV is supported by these providers. The GEPON fully supports both muti-cast (broadcast) or uni-cast (Video-on-Demand) IPTV using the Industry Standard IGMP protocol.

All IP service like Voice over IP (VoIP), IP Surveillance, etc are fully supported. The Alloptic GEPON system operates as a Layer 2 Ethernet switch and VLANs are used to manage the services to each client.