Broadcom Claims Industry's First 10G EPON Optical Network Unit SoC Solution

By leveraging Broadcom's industry-leading support for multiple logical link identifiers per ONU and superior quality of service (QoS) feature set, the BCM55030 is capable of managing simultaneous transport of traffic from residences alongside mission-critical business services and cell tower backhaul services, all over a common infrastructure. This means time-sensitive mobile backhaul traffic and synchronization data may share the network with video, voice, and Internet data, without added delays, data loss, or QoS degradation, making it an ideal solution for OEMs and service providers serving dense urban areas.

The SoC solution combines unprecedented device integration, ultra-low power and a small footprint to enable cost-effective deployment of value added business and residential services on a single fiber infrastructure. For fiber-to-the-building (FTTB) multi-dwelling unit (MDU) applications, Broadcom's 10G EPON ONU enables carriers and OEMs to easily upgrade existing equipment deployed over today's 1G EPON networks and deliver true triple-speed services by increasing both bandwidth per subscriber and total subscriber count on the same fiber, thus significantly improving carrier profitability and return on investment. For fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) applications, the device empowers next generation digital homes to benefit from new ultra high-speed latency sensitive services, such as 3D TV and interactive Internet gaming, elevating the consumer broadband experience to the next level.

Market Drivers

* According to a published report* the Internet will be four times larger in 2014 than in 2009 with the equivalent of 12 billion DVDs crossing the Internet each month.
* The bandwidth required for residential access networks is steadily increasing as more customers subscribe to HD-IPTV and service providers add VoD mobile services.
* Business IP traffic* is also expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 21 percent (2009 — 2014), while mobile data traffic is expected to double every year through 2013.
* Traditional 3G mobile networks are overloaded with customers downloading video content and other online content to their smart phones, and mobile and connectivity to laptops over cellular networks is also increasing.
* China is aggressively rolling out EPON in an effort to provide high-speed broadband connectivity to high-density housing. Broadcom recently expanded its 10G EPON trials with China's telecom service providers and multi-service operators to provide high-speed broadband connectivity.
* Japan is currently promoting 100 Mbps broadband as service providers compete for subscribers and pent-up demand for more bandwidth continues to increase.
* U.S. MSOs have selected and incorporated 10G EPON as the technology of choice for providing high-speed, high bandwidth, high QoS business services.
* CableLabs® has released DPoE™ specifications for business services which will provide cable operators with a common method of using DOCSIS® back office specifications and service concepts to provision and operate EPON-based products when delivering IP and Ethernet services.


Product Highlights/Key Facts:

* The BCM55030 provides a cost-effective platform for customer premises equipment such as enterprise routers, MDU systems and home gateways.
* Delivers the industry's highest EPON ONU integration including a 10 Gbps media access controller, 10 Gbps EPON serializers/deserializers and forward error correction, a four-port Gigabit Ethernet switch, traffic management, and on-chip memory for both CPU and packet buffers, resulting in no external memory components. The device complies with the new IEEE 802.3av 10G EPON standard including support for 10G EPON and 1G EPON co-existence on the same fiber. The chip supports both 10G/10G and 10G/1G symmetric modes of operation.
* Ideally suited for 4G/LTE (Long Term Evolution) mobile backhaul transport (also known as cell tower back haul), as it supports both QoS-assured bandwidth and timing distribution.
* The device supports Broadcom's 2.5G Turbo EPON™ in addition to both standard 1G and 10G modes.
* Broadcom has already begun sampling the BCM55030 solution to early access customers.