SCIENCE

ADTRAN has unveiled a new breakthrough network architecture at Broadband World Forum in Paris. This architecture revolutionizes broadband services performance, delivery and availability. As a leading provider of broadband access solutions, ADTRAN is uniquely positioned to offer this industry-breakthrough solution which provides the next step beyond Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) in performance and service availability. Ultra Broadband Ethernet enables service providers to deliver high-bandwidth services, while dramatically accelerating service turn-up for end-users and providing significant CAPEX and OPEX reductions.

Service providers around the world are seeking to deploy high-bandwidth solutions throughout their networks to achieve national objectives, global broadband competitiveness and to enable new and exciting applications and services. FTTH has been a successful solution for potentially addressing up to 30 to 50 percent of the homes in many networks; however, the cost and deployment time for FTTH solutions limits availability in many serving areas. In addition, service providers are facing greater competition from cable operators who are rolling out 100 Mbps service using DOCSIS 3.0. New service architectures and solutions are required to deliver extremely fast broadband service, accelerated deployment and game-changing economics. Ultra Broadband Ethernet addresses this need and unleashes new performance capabilities.

"Communications Service Providers around the globe must find a cost-effective means to compete with MSOs and cable companies in the delivery of high-speed (100 Mbps and greater) services," said David Emberley, research manager, IDC. "ADTRAN's Ultra Broadband Ethernet approach offers an alternative to traditional access infrastructure designs that lowers the CSP's operational and capital expenditure to deliver advanced services, while accelerating revenue and increasing ARPU."

This new Ethernet-based architecture and associated products will initially deliver a 100 Mbps symmetrical broadband service scaling to 1 Gbps with ultra-low power requirements and low latency characteristics resulting in unmatched performance for the subscriber. This allows users to enjoy the latest applications and content without delays, and enables ultra-high performance even with user-generated content and gaming applications. Ultra Broadband Ethernet is extremely flexible, can be installed virtually anywhere and enables operators to leverage a variety of deep-fiber service models including Gigabit Ethernet, GPON, and Next-generation PON backhaul.

"From a performance standpoint, FTTH has been the goal of service providers for years, but the economics are simply not yet there to support deployment to all areas of service provider networks," said Jay Wilson, senior vice president and general manager, ADTRAN Carrier Networks Division. "Ultra Broadband Ethernet is the solution service providers have been seeking. Not only does it meet all of the performance and operational standards required by operators today, but it does so at a fraction of the cost of current solutions, allowing service providers to quickly expand their broadband penetration rates."

Ultra Broadband Ethernet complements ADTRAN's comprehensive portfolio of broadband access solutions. This portfolio includes the latest generations of Fiber-to-the-Premises (FTTP) solutions such as GPON and Ethernet Fiber-to-the-Home as well as industry-leading, innovative Outside Plant sealed broadband Fiber-to-the-Node (FTTN) solutions and broadband DSL. ADTRAN continues to raise the bar on FTTN solutions with industry-breakthrough technology developments resulting in significant bandwidth capacity gains achieved through vectoring and pair bonding techniques. With this broad array of industry-leading solutions, ADTRAN is able to address broadband access unlike any other equipment supplier in the market today.

ADTRAN currently has Ultra Broadband Ethernet trials underway with Tier 1 operators in North America, Europe and Asia. ADTRAN will be unveiling its full line of related solutions in the first half of 2011 as the product line becomes commercially available.