Environmentally Hardened Coherent Optics for Huge Savings at Network Edge

I recently attended the annual INDATEL Business Symposium, where I delivered a keynote presentation to its members about how DZS can help to address some of the major bandwidth edge transport-related challenges they are facing. INDATEL is a nationwide network of 700+ rural independent telecommunications providers dedicated to delivering best-in-class, cost-effective transport connectivity via fiber-optic routes in rural and metropolitan areas.

Because we are in the early stages of a once-in-generation dual super-cycle of broadband and 5G upgrades backed by unprecedented government investments in hyper-fast broadband for underserved communities across the U.S., INDATEL was the perfect venue to discuss critical bandwidth transport challenges impacting service providers of all sizes, especially rural ones.

Through government funding efforts like the $1 billion Middle Mile Grant (MMG) and the $42 billion Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) program, rural service providers will play a major role in bridging the digital divide – and having the right edge transport solution will be critical to their success.

Major Trends Impacting the Transport Industry

My presentation focused on the importance of transport and three major trends that will be significant in helping service providers better deliver high bandwidth services to the edge of the network.

1. The proliferation of 5G and the increasing move to XGS-PON networks are driving the need for higher bandwidth at the edge of the transport network. Service providers need more agility to quickly deliver scalable new services in response to network demands.
2. Service providers are embracing vendor-agnostic solutions, moving away from the proprietary grip of vendors selling solutions that only work with their own technologies.
3. Given the growing need to deploy, aggregate and transport highly scalable bandwidth as efficiently and cost-effectively as possible, service providers are increasingly seeking out available funding and the ability to leverage innovative technology.

Addressing Challenges Head-on

DZS has a history of innovation in transport and coherent optics and we are continuously introducing groundbreaking solutions to address these and other service provider challenges head-on. We recently debuted our DZS Saber platform – the world’s first next-generation, environmentally hardened, coherent optical aggregation router platform, capable of delivering 400 Gigabits per second (Gbps) of traffic per wavelength and spanning distances of over 100 kilometers (km).

What differentiates the DZS Saber platform from others on the market is that it is an open, modular solution with scalability from 100 to 400 Gbps, and over 1 Terabit per second (Tbps), per shelf across multiple wavelengths.

Environmentally Hardened Equals Significant Savings

The Saber platform is also environmentally hardened and capable of operating between -40 °C to +65 °C. One of the top causes of transport network failure is when heat exchangers and air conditioning units that enable commercial optical transport equipment to work at the edge or middle mile locations fail.

The fully hardened, compact DZS Saber 1 Rack Unit (1RU) solution can be deployed in small cabinets or other infrastructure and does not require heat exchangers or air conditioning units, significantly reducing the cost of deployment at locations such as cell towers or remote fiber communities. This alone potentially equates to tens of thousands of dollars in savings per location.

Conventional wisdom in the industry is that coherent optics cannot be environmentally hardened. The new DZS Saber products disprove this notion, establishing a new category of coherent optical solutions and creating a wide variety of innovative use cases. In addition, our new Saber products leverage pluggable optics from multiple manufacturers, giving service providers the ability to scale quickly and efficiently, while leveraging lndustry cost curves.

DZS is enabling our customers to seamlessly transition to coherent optics, easily meeting the bandwidth requirements at the edge of the transport network that technologies like 5G and XGS-PON dictate. Service providers can make this transition with open solutions that offer a pay-as-you grow model, which starts at 1 RU and 100 Gbps, with the flexibility and scale to increase to over 1 Tbps of capacity. Some conference attendees estimated that this could potentially save them $100,000 or more at each location.

DZS is committed to providing our customers with the innovations they need to gain the competitive edge in their respective markets. The new Saber platform and software enhancements in 2023 will take what we already believe is the most compact and flexible optical transport line system available in the industry and enhance it with even more flexibility and agility to quickly respond to changing bandwidth, capacity and service demands. DZS Saber products will also be well-timed for the government-funded stimulus and grant programs that many of our customers are applying for globally.

To learn how DZS can help you redefine the economics of your optical edge, contact us at contactDZS@dzsi.com or 877-946-6320 Opt 1, or visit dzsi.com.