Marconi Communications Introduces 'Deep Fiber HFC' With RF Return Over Fiber-to-the-Curb - Company Business and Marketing

Cambridge Telcom Report, Oct 4, 1999

Marconi Communications (formerly RELTEC Corporation in the U.S.) Wednesday announced a local loop access system that eliminates many of the drawbacks of traditional hybrid fiber coax (HFC) architectures and will enable Multiple System Operators (MSOs) to offer higher-quality Internet access and telephony services to their cable television subscribers while significantly reducing installation and operating costs.

The "Deep Fiber HFC" system incorporates a patented radio frequency (RF) Return upstream capability into Marconi's DISC*S FiberStar flexible access platform. The new capability enables a service provider to deliver a variety of high-bandwidth, high-reward services such as high-speed Internet, impulse pay-for-view, interactive gaming and broadcast cable television, as well as lifeline POTS (plain old telephone service) and other narrowband services. The new architecture is being initially trialed in a Southwestern U.S. metropolitan area by one of the world's largest MSOs.

"MSOs have been seeking a robust, carrier-class, integrated video, data and voice solution to respond to consumer demand for new services while minimizing installation and life-cycle costs," said Mike Pratt, Marconi vice president and general manager of the Access Network Systems Group, Irving, TX. "Adding RF Return capability to our proven DISC*S fiber-to-the-curb platform enables cable operators to run fiber very close to the home and use the existing customer premise equipment. Our 'Deep Fiber HFC' solution offers advantages in the areas of power, reliability, maintenance, scalability and network evolution."

The DISC*S FiberStar system with RF Return uses Marconi's patented single- fiber, low-power star topology. Optical Network Units (ONU) placed within a few hundred feet of the home provide voice telephony services over twisted pair copper wire plus Subcarrier Modulation (SCM) broadcast video and high- speed Internet Protocol (IP) data services over coaxial cable. Up to 32 homes can be connected to each ONU, and more than 2000 subscribers can be served from a standard DISC*S configuration.

Installing fiber closer to the user improves the reliability of the network and the capability for highest data throughput. Deploying optical technology close to the home minimizes the type of ingress noise which has contributed to complaints from consumers using traditional HFC shared- bandwidth systems.

The Marconi FTTC approach reduces construction and materials costs by using a single network, compared with two networks for traditional HFC (coaxial network for video/data, separate copper network for voice). The DISC*S FiberStar passive network eliminates the need for active devices such as amplifiers, and is network-powered rather than using distributed batteries -- these techniques reduce potential failure points, simplify testing and lower maintenance costs.

"A traditional HFC network is a very complex structure, especially when voice service is introduced over the system," noted John Matthes, Senior Director of Strategic Technology for Marconi Communications. "Trunk and bridge amplifiers, internal couplers, diplex filters and AGC modules represent potential network failure points. Video signal degradation and intermodulation distortion issues can arise as a result of non-linear components. These can develop into significant issues as voice traffic increases on the network. In contrast, DISC*S FiberStar removes those HFC problems with a simple, elegant 'Deep Fiber' architecture."

The DISC*S FiberStar system also provides full element management -- from the local serving office to the customer's wall jack and telephone handset -- and enables the MSO to better manage network bandwidth.

Marconi is the industry leader in "Deep Fiber Solutions" for unclogging the last-mile communications bottleneck. More than one million lines of DISC*S fiber-to-the-curb capacity have been installed, in addition to over five million lines of copper-based voice capacity. DISC*S FiberStar is the only FTTC access platform being commercially deployed in volume to provide revenue-generating voice, video and data services.

Marconi Communications (formerly RELTEC in the US) is a wholly owned subsidiary of GEC (GEC is not affiliated with General Electric Company in the United States), a world leader in smart broadband optical networks, access equipment, switching technology for the Internet and network integration. GEC's recent acquisition of US-based FORE Systems has positioned the company to be a leading player in the new public network and enterprise markets in addition to its established market leadership in the carrier and operators sphere. It has sales to more than 140 countries, a major presence in Europe, North America, Africa and the Asia-Pacific Region.

The DISC*S FiberStar system with RF Return consists of a Host Digital Terminal (HDT) and an Optical Network Unit (ONU). The HDT is located in either the Central Office (CO) or in the neighborhood, but within 10,000 feet of the ONU.