Zhone Introduces Its Intelligent Home Network Gateway and Standards-Based GPON to Simplify Deployment and Management of FTTH

Business Wire, June 12, 2007

Complete GPON OLT/ONT Solution Delivers Industry-First Layer 3 Gateway Intelligence at 100 Mbps for State of the Art Multimedia Home Networks

OAKLAND, Calif. -- Zhone Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: ZHNE), a global provider of advanced communications equipment and a leader in VoIP, IPTV, and Ethernet over copper and fiber access lines, today announced its standards based Optical Line Terminal/Optical Network Terminal (OLT/ONT) Fiber to the Home (FTTH) Gateway with industry-first remote management and monitoring intelligence. By bringing remote intelligence to the subscriber site, carriers can dramatically reduce provisioning and management costs while improving end-user customer features and Quality of Experience (QoE).

Intelligent Processing and Multi-Media Home Networks

The multimedia home network is poised to be the information center of the future, providing a rich range of entertainment and communication choices, in addition to data storage and management, peer-to-peer networking and 24/7 remote access.

Standards based for interoperability, Zhone's zNID provides carriers with a suite of ease-of-use features for end-consumers and service providers that are unmatched in other gateways. Zhone's zNID is the only FTTH network gateway to provide advanced Layer 3 intelligence for remote monitoring and traffic prioritization of Quality of Service (QoS) sensitive media applications. Service changes or upgrades are managed remotely via a TR-069 Automatic Configuration Server, the same management standard already used for millions of DSL installations worldwide. In addition to remote management and diagnostics, zNID supports HomePNAv3, the preferred international standard for multimedia home networking. zNID dramatically simplifies provisioning by using standard coax cable and ordinary twisted pair phone line for complete HomePNA coverage with no new wiring. Interfaces are intuitive to the end-user. VoIP phones plug into phone jacks and IPTVs are connected via regular coax. Service providers can deliver advanced triple play, including IPTV and HDTV over standard coax, phones lines or Ethernet with over 100 Mbps of available bandwidth. zNID is also the first gateway to derive its power from the existing phone lines in the home, further eliminating the risks and costs of hiring technicians to drill and run in-home cable.

In addition to advanced digital media, zNID supports traditional services including broadcast television and POTS voice. zNID's resilient thermal enclosure mounts on the outside of the house with a separate fiber tray so the electronic panel can be added upon service activation. Remote Broadband Access (RBA) provides the end-user anywhere-connectivity to their home network via a password protected Virtual Private Network (VPN) that can be accessed by mobile phone or remote web browser.

MALC GPON Multi-Service OLT Platform - Agility, Manageability and Ease of Entry

Zhone's ITU G.984 standard GPON OLT card is designed for use with its market leading Multi-Service Broadband Loop Carrier (BLC). Together, Zhone's zNIDIntelligent Home Network Gateway and the MALC(TM) OLT line card give service providers ease of entry and end to end management of triple play services. In addition to voice, video and high-speed Ethernet, Zhone's customers can provide unique consumer offerings for true next generation home networking. Each GPON line card allows up to 64 subscribers per link using passive optical splitting. Available in three chassis sizes, the MALC-OLT can be scaled in capacity to meet a wide array of Service Provider deployment needs. The MALC GPON OLT card can be mixed with other services line cards, offering greater flexibility and network optimization.

"Zhone's FTTH - GPON system provides the most advanced management capabilities we've seen, coupled with the richest feature set on the market," said Tom White, vice president of engineering for Consolidated Communications Holdings Inc., (NASDAQ:CNSL). "The system puts CCI on the forefront of delivering triple play services and gives us the opportunity to streamline inventories by delivering multiple services from a single integrated platform."

Layer 3 Intelligence to Simplify Advanced Service Provisioning

The GPON installed based is projected to grow from thousands to 40 million within the next three years, according to Infonetics research. Driven by demand for packet video, GPON is viewed as the precursor to providing advanced media services en masse, including IPTV, HD and Video on Demand (VOD). However successful provisioning of advanced services is contingent on multiple dependant processes. Consumer demands are uncompromising and early mistakes lead to fast customer churn. The Yankee Group projects that IPTV provisioning alone will cost carriers over $6 billion USD in support calls and truck rolls. To ensure customer QoE and reduce provisioning and management costs, service providers need unified systems that are easy to install with remote management and QoS integration.