Aurora Networks has joined a growing batch of vendors that have secured CableLabs qualification for EPON network equipment that uses DOCSIS-style provisioning.
According to the results of test wave 103, Aurora Networks was awarded DOCSIS Provisioning of EPON (DPoE) 1.0 qualification for both a DPoE System and a DPoE Optical Network Unit. In deployment scenarios, the DPoE System is analogous to the cable modem termination system (CMTS) in the DOCSIS world, while the Optical Network Unit (ONU) behaves as the modem at the customer premises.
Qualification means Aurora’s gear is interoperable with other equipment that has been qualified by CableLabs for DPoE 1.0. Last year, CableLabs awarded similar stamps to CommScope, Huawei, Sumitomo Electric, and ZTE for their respective DPoE systems. CableLabs has also qualified DPoE ONUs from CTDI, Finisar, Huawei and Sumitomo.
U.S. cable operators such as Bright House Networks and Time Warner Cable have increasingly used EPON to deliver services over fiber to mid-sized and larger business customers. DPoE allows MSOs to offer EPON using the auto-provisioning and backoffice management systems they have in place for DOCSIS modems. That combination likewise reduces operational costs and deployment complexity.
While DPoE 1.0 provides the minimum foundation for delivering EPON in tandem with DOCSIS provisioning, the 2.0 version adds more depth and breadth by latching on elements such as IPv6 and more advanced Metro Ethernet Forum services.
Aurora Networks is now a unit of U.K.-based set-top maker Pace, which closed its $310 million acquisition of the broadband access network vendor on January 6.
