Alcatel-Lucent opens its GPON networks to other vendors' CPE

Stuart Corner
Tuesday, 08 September 2009 09:46

IT Industry - Strategy

Alcatel-Lucent is taking what it says is a major step to help service providers create a true multivendor gigabit passive optical networking (GPON) infrastructure, expected to be the technology that will be used for Australia's National Broadband Network.


Alcatel-Lucent is to make available details of how the optical network terminal (ONT) of its GPON technology - sometimes known as optical network unit (ONU) - is managed and controlled. This would enable other vendors to design and manufacture ONTs for use on Alcatel-Lucent GPON based FTTH networks.

The ONT is the customer premises equipment of a GPON FTTH network, converting the optical signal carried on the fibre into electrical signals for use by connected equipment, and vice versa. It is monitored and controlled via the optical line termination (OLT), the box sitting on the end of the fibre in the telephone exchange.

Although there have been attempts to standardise this ONT management and control interface (OMCI), the degree of variation has precluded interoperability. The result is that, at present, only Alcatel-Lucent supplied ONTs can be deployed on an Alcatel-Lucent GPON FTTH network, and the same is true for other vendors' products. This lack of interoperability results in reduced competition and smaller markets leading to higher prices.

Alcatel-Lucent says that, by publishing the specification of its OMCI, " Service providers will be able to benefit from a more competitive ONT environment and a huge choice of third-party ONT models working seamlessly with Alcatel-Lucent's flagship GPON product, the 7342 ISAM FTTU."

This, Alcatel-Lucent says, "will translate into faster time-to-market, fewer engineering constraints and a reduced need for interop events [where multiple vendors test their equipment against each others for interoperability]. For ONT vendors, this will mean new business opportunities and less OPEX by having less interoperability events."

According to Dave Geary, president of Alcatel-Lucent's wireline networks activities. "Alcatel-Lucent is taking a bold step by being the first GPON player to share its OMCI specifications with other vendors. Our goal is to encourage the adoption of fiber-to-the-home by breaking down interoperability barriers. Alcatel-Lucent will shortly be publishing its OMCI Version-1, and is even prepared to go a step further - by making its full OMCI available to its partners on a case-by-case basis."

CONTINUED