Communication Service Providers: Are You Ready to Solve the Need for More Bandwidth While Delivering Game-Changing Optical Transport?

Ask the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) or Network Operations Manager at any communications service provider what would be on their wish list and I’m sure either at or near the top would be, one, to meet their customers’ demands to support more bandwidth hungry applications with higher symmetric broadband speeds and lower latency; and two, have the ability to match that bandwidth with sufficient and cost-effective transport that can continue to scale to ensure the performance of these services in the middle mile.

The Constant Need for More Bandwidth

With key drivers such as the explosive growth of collaboration platforms like Microsoft Teams and Zoom, the rise in multi-player gaming and the rapidly increasing numbers of connected homes that include Ultra High Definition (UHD) television, augmented reality/virtual reality/extended reality (AR/VR/XR) and metaverse-type applications, it is no wonder that that the cost-effective delivery of high-speed bandwidth is at the top of the list.

It’s clear that the volume of data traversing the access edge is rising exponentially, and this trend will inevitably continue. But that’s not the only issue creating potential bottlenecks in our communications networks. As networks increasingly transition to next-generation multi-gigabit technology, the convergence of residential, enterprise and mobile xHaul traffic will only drive bandwidth demands even higher. Then add to that the accelerating demand for low latency to support fast-evolving services like the consumer apps mentioned above and it only further exacerbates the problem.

The bottom line is that tomorrow’s access and optical edge networks will not only need orders of magnitude more capacity than today, but must also eliminate unacceptable latency associated with traditional network architectures and have a viable mechanism to deliver the additional bandwidth in an efficient, cost-effective manner. The only question is, what’s the best way to get there?

Record-Shattering OLT Plus Industry-Leading Coherent Transport

What if service providers could address these issues with two complementary disruptive solutions that are changing the game when it comes to enabling ultra-fast bandwidth delivered right to the subscriber’s premises? DZS has recently introduced two new solutions that confront emerging service provider needs head on.

To overcome bandwidth and latency challenges, communications networks will require advanced technology that delivers state-of-the-art performance, with a non-blocking architecture that enables in-place upgrades for all service types versus costly complete systems replacement.

The new 6 Rack Unit (6RU) DZS Velocity V6 Optical Line Terminal (OLT) chassis accomplishes this by delivering record-shattering capacity of 800 gigabits per second per slot of bi-directional throughput, paving the way for in-place upgrades to 50/100G passive optical networking (PON) technologies in the future. The V6 simultaneously supports 24,000 Gigabit PON (GPON) and 10 Gigabit PON (XGS-PON) subscribers in one compact system and is ideally suited for network designs of 20,000 to 20 million subscribers.

But what about meeting the transport needs of these next-generation, increasingly symmetrical PON networks that the V6 delivers? Middle and last mile transport can be extremely costly. DZS has solved this issue with the introduction of an innovative first-of-its-kind environmentally hardened coherent optical transport solution, the DZS Saber 4400. This groundbreaking platform redefines the economics of optical transport by putting unprecedented capacity, flexibility and scalability in an environmentally hardened form factor.

Ideally suited for middle and last mile transport and available in a powerful compact, modular 1RU form factor, the Saber 4400 can scale up to 400 gigabits per second (Gbps) per wavelength at distances of over 100 kilometers without amplification. When compared with competitive optical transport solutions, service providers can realize savings ranging from approximately $20,000 to over $200,000 per site by deploying the Saber 4400 in existing infrastructure, avoiding costs that range from heat exchanger upgrades or air conditioning installation to the construction of entire new pads, shelters, buildings and sites.

One-of-a-Kind Combined Solution

Forward-looking communications service providers worldwide are already upgrading their networks to bring multi-gigabit services and 10-gig capable fiber infrastructure to residential and business customers. But the ability to deliver 10Gbps symmetrical data rates will soon be table stakes as demand for services like 8K video, AR/VR/XR and multi-player virtual reality gaming quickly pushes the envelope to 50Gbps services and beyond.

Operators need the flexibility today to deliver multi-gigabit services or 10 gigabit infrastructure, but with an eye to cost-effectively expand capacity to 50G-PON or higher in the near future all while continuing to leverage their current investments and equipment. A key goal is to avoid a “forklift upgrade”—ripping and replacing existing infrastructure— which the Velocity V6 achieves through in-place upgrades. Combine this ability to deliver unprecedented capacity across a non-blocking architecture in high density locations with the capabilities to scale transport capacity over long distances cost effectively and you will be making many service provider CTOs and Network Operations Managers a lot happier.

With its DZS Velocity V6 chassis-based OLT and DZS Saber 4400 hardened coherent optical transport platform, DZS has a paired solution available now for service providers to address current, near and long-term capacity demands while providing a revolutionary way to deliver services right to subscribers’ premises.

No other vendor offers a complete solution to this “OLT plus transport” challenge today.

Contact DZS to learn more about our fiber access and optical edge solutions.