Alcatel-Lucent extends capacity of existing fiber-based ultra-broadband access networks with breakthrough technology

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Alcatel-Lucent

21 Oct, 2014, 07:00 GMT

 - Industry's first commercial TWDM-PON solution can converge residential, business and mobile traffic onto one network, create new revenue opportunities and meet rising demand for ultra-broadband

AMSTERDAM, Oct. 21, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Broadband World Forum 2014 - Alcatel-Lucent (Euronext Paris and NYSE: ALU) is launching the industry's first TWDM-PON (Time and Wavelength Division Multiplexed Passive Optical Networks) solution. This new fixed ultra-broadband access technology will allow operators to smoothly increase the capacity of existing fiber networks and meet all customers' growing data demands.

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Alcatel-Lucent and Vodafone have been engaged in co-development of TWDM-PON since 2010 to test potential deployment scenarios for the technology. During this time the companies have contributed to its standardization and completed a successful trial.

TWDM-PON technology has been selected as the successor to current GPON (Gigabit Passive Optical Networks) technologies. TWDM-PON uses four wavelengths per fiber, giving a total capacity of 40 gigabits-per-second (Gbps), and can support new operational and business uses that create a much faster and higher return on investment for operators than previous generations of PON technology.

Key facts

  • TWDM-PON enables an operator to deliver different services over each wavelength. For example residential, business and mobile backhaul services can be carried over a single fiber. This reduces costs and increases revenue opportunities as more services can be provided with the same infrastructure.
  • Each fiber can be flexibly configured to enable customer services ranging from a few megabits-per-second up to 10 gigabits-per-second.
  • As TWDM-PON can co-exist with current PON technology, it provides a clear and cost-effective way for operators to evolve their existing fiber access networks.
  • The technology also enables a 'pay as you grow' model, allowing operators to easily and cost effectively increase bandwidth as required.
  • Wavelength multiplexing means different operators can easily share the same infrastructure. This can facilitate competition (for example, a municipal-owned network can be leased to different service providers) or cooperation (operators can co-invest in a shared fiber network in order to accelerate ultra-broadband deployments).
  • TWDM-PON technology is supported by the cornerstone of Alcatel-Lucent's fixed ultra-broadband portfolio, the 7360 Intelligent Services Access Manager FX solution, ensuring smooth network evolution. Alcatel-Lucent is introducing a new 4-port TWDM-PON line card and optical network unit supporting 10Gbps symmetrical bitrate. Products will be available in the first quarter of 2015.

Matt Beal of Vodafone Group said: "Individuals and businesses are showing an ever increasing demand for access to high speed data and services across mobile and fixed networks. TWDM-PON is ground-breaking technology that will give us greater control over network capacity and increased flexibility when provisioning new services. We have worked closely with Alcatel Lucent to develop the technology and we look forward to evaluating it on our network in Spain."

Federico Guillen, President of Alcatel-Lucent's Fixed Networks business: "For the last four years Alcatel-Lucent and Vodafone have been working closely together to evolve PON technology. Our first TWDM-PON solution reflects that collaboration. Alcatel-Lucent is committed to a program of innovation; we have long been the technology leader in both copper and fiber fixed access technologies and we are extending this further with this new development of PON. Vodafone has played a vital role in preparing TWDM-PON as an industry-agreed standard by looking at its own potential usage in different countries for both fixed and mobile operations."

Julie Kunstler, Principal Analyst, Intelligent Networks, with Ovum, said: "TWDM-PON promises a far greater return on investment than previous generations of fiber access technologies. Its increased capacity and flexibility support more than just higher bandwidth services; it provides the platform for innovative operational and business models, making TWDM-PON extremely interesting to wireline and wireless operators."

Additional resources:

ABOUT ALCATEL-LUCENT (EURONEXT PARIS AND NYSE: ALU)

We are at the forefront of global communications, providing products and innovations in IP and cloud networking, as well as ultra-broadband fixed and wireless access to service providers and their customers, and to enterprises and institutions throughout the world. Underpinning us in driving the industrial transformation from voice telephony to high-speed digital delivery of data, video and information is Bell Labs, an integral part of the Group and one of the world's foremost technology research institutes, responsible for countless breakthroughs that have shaped the networking and communications industry. Our innovations have resulted in our Group being recognized by Thomson Reuters as a Top 100 Global Innovator, as well as being named by MIT Technology Review as amongst 2012's Top 50 "World's Most Innovative Companies". We have also been recognized for innovation in sustainability, being named Industry Group Leader in the Technology Hardware & Equipment sector in the 2013 Dow Jones Sustainability Indices review, for making global communications more sustainable, affordable and accessible, all in pursuit of the Group's mission to realize the potential of a connected world.

With revenues of Euro 14.4 billion in 2013, Alcatel-Lucent is listed on the Paris and New York stock exchanges (Euronext and NYSE: ALU). The company is incorporated in France and headquartered in Paris.

For more information, visit Alcatel-Lucent on: http://www.alcatel-lucent.com, read the latest posts on the Alcatel-Lucent blog http://www.alcatel-lucent.com/blog and follow the Company on Twitter: http://twitter.com/Alcatel_Lucent.

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