Harmonic, CommScope offering ops high-speed FTTH solution

Harmonic has partnered with CommScope to assure the compatibility of the company’s products so that it can offer cable operators an integrated high-speed fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) solution.

Harmonic’s MAXLink forward path transmitters and return path receivers, together with CommScope’s BrightPath system, enable operators to implement a cost-effective RF over glass (RFOG) architecture for greenfield-type deployments, the company said.

Integrated with the existing headend infrastructure and consumer premise equipment (CPE), the solution reduces traditional operating expenditures while increasing available bandwidth to the home. The new solution also allows cable operators to offer a competitive solution to telco-based FTTH architectures with an all-fiber cable solution, Harmonic said.

Harmonic’s MAXLink family of transmitters and high-power optical amplifiers is designed for 1550 nm-based network applications. The MAXLink system provides a cost-effective solution for a variety of applications and architectures, including long-haul transport and fiber-dense architectures, the company said, and the forward path is used in conjunction with the high-gain return receivers at the headend.

CommScope’s BrightPath system is a FTTH alternative to the existing telco passive optical network (PON) designs and is designed to meet the specific needs of cable operators. The architecture can be applied as needed within the HFC network, leaving the operator’s current headend equipment model intact. Analog and digital services for video, voice and data match existing protocols in both the forward and reverse path.

“In today’s highly competitive environment, the ability for cable operators to have a solution available to be able to respond to the telco architecture is crucial,” said Sunil Frida, director of HFC Solutions for Harmonic. “This solution does not require a ‘fork-lift’ of the typically capital-intensive cable headend equipment. Harmonic’s forward and return path systems, combined with CommScope’s unique BrightPath architecture, enables MSOs to more easily deploy a cost-effective FTTH architecture in a greenfield environment. As a result, operators can now cost-effectively provision significantly higher service capacity for video, voice and data to the home.”

A display of Harmonic’s MAXLink products combined with CommScope’s BrightPath solution can be seen at Harmonic’s booth at the Cable-Tec Expo this week in Philadelphia.

Additionally, Harmonic has expanded the capabilities of its Narrowcast Services Gateway (NSG) 9000 Universal EdgeQAM by introducing its new Octal technology.

The new 48-MHz or eight QAM field upgradable module doubles the existing NSG 9000 platform’s capacity to support up to 144 QAMs per two-rack unit chassis, increasing density in comparison with solutions available today, according to the company.

The NSG 9000 allows operators to more easily and cost-effectively provide more services – including video-on-demand (VOD), broadcast, modular cable modem termination system (M-CMTS) and switched digital video (SDV) – with a single system.

The NSG 9000 will also be on display at Harmonic’s Expo booth.

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