Adtran targets FTTH with SDN-based access network upgrades

Network access specialist Adtran has announced the launch of a new set of optical transceivers, which it claims will deliver the agility requirements operators need for FTTH.

The Subscriber Edge Tunable (SET) optical transceiver range, according to Adtran, will hopefully address the gap in innovation which it says has drastically hindered the potential of multi-wavelength access networks. SET optics will be used as part of Adtran’s NG-PON2 solution, which helps deliver highly elastic fibre services directly into the customer premises equipment (CPE), otherwise known as fibre to the home (FTTH).

Generally speaking, the benefit of FTTH is the omission of copper from the broadband connection, meaning rawer and faster speeds are delivered to the user in the home. Adtran says the SET optics combination with its NG-PON2 solution will mean for higher speed capabilities from FTTH, thus making richer services more easily delivered to homes and businesses.

SET works by providing fast wavelength switching times and access-friendly cost points, thereby removing operational and economic barriers which have limited tunable optics to the transport network before now. In combination with a software-defined access approach, which harnesses the dynamic control properties of SDN, Adtran says it will bring extended programmability of the access network to optical levels.

“With our new SET optical transceivers, Adtran Labs is addressing the most significant challenge for the economics of NG-PON2 deployments,” said Kevin Schneider, Adtran’s CTO. “The future value of the dynamic and extensible capabilities of NG-PON2 are unmatched and will serve the needs of access network providers worldwide for many years. The capability to design our own optical transceivers allows Adtran Labs to focus on the needs of our customers and bring innovative enabling technology to market to enable their business cases.”

Elsewhere, Adtran has also launched a new range of enterprise solutions as part of its cloud-managed services portfolio “ProCloud Subscription Services” which it says will offer more affordable rental of carrier-class equipment and associated managed services. It’s existing managed services provider partners will be afforded the ability to deliver and scale enterprise-grade hosted VoIP services as well as data solutions and services.

“Our monthly subscription portfolio is unmatched in offering such a wide variety of wired and wireless networking solutions on one platform,” said Meggin Sawyer, VP of business solutions and cloud services, Adtran. “We will continue to expand this unique service offering to meet the needs of future networking demands and further help MSPs drive new revenue streams.”