QUALIFICATION OF FIRST DPOE NETWORK DEVICES

Louisville, CO — CableLabs®, the non-profit research and development consortium for the cable industry, today announced qualification of the first devices to implement version 1.0 of the DOCSIS Provisioning of EPON (DPoE) specifications. The qualification marks a new milestone in the cable industry enabling the interoperability of access network equipment based on Ethernet Passive Optical Network (EPON) technology. This capability allows cable operators to quickly and seamlessly integrate fiber-based access network technology to meet the high bandwidth demands of business customers.

Devices achieving qualification status were DPoE Systems from CommScope, Huawei, Sumitomo Electric, and ZTE and optical network units (ONUs) from CTDI, Finisar, Huawei, and Sumitomo Electric. To be CableLabs qualified means that the device has passed a series of tests for compliance with a specific CableLabs specification and has thus demonstrated interoperable functionality with other “CableLabs qualified” devices in that class.

CableLabs DPoE specifications provide cable operators with a means of delivering business connectivity services, such as those defined by the Metro Ethernet Forum, over fiber networks. DPoE compliant devices fully support the DOCSIS® provisioning process, enabling services to be managed just like those delivered over cable modem networks.

“It is excellent news for the cable industry to now be able to choose between so many qualified DPoE devices as the complexity and speeds of our offered services continues to increase,” said Craig Cowden, senior vice president of network engineering, operations and enterprise solutions at Bright House Networks. “Having qualified devices will provide cable operators with yet another valuable tool as we continue to pursue our respective deployment objectives.”

The DPoE specifications enable multi-vendor interoperability of devices based on EPON technology, which allows cable companies to invest confidently in equipment from multiple vendors that is interoperable with other DPoE-compliant devices. This level of interoperability did not exist prior to the development of the DPoE specifications. Over 20 vendors were involved in the development and interoperability testing of the DPoE specifications.

“When so many equipment suppliers dedicate themselves to interoperability, it helps us increase the speed of innovation within the industry,” said Glenn Russell, vice president of business services at CableLabs. “Their commitment to interoperability will significantly expand the options for cable operators, as well as the service options for their customers.”

While CableLabs encourages such innovation and diversity, the phrase “CableLabs qualified” should not be understood as an endorsement of these additional attributes (or that the product is compliant to other specifications or versions), which are solely the responsibility of the company making the additional claims.

About CableLabs: Cable Television Laboratories (www.cablelabs.com) was founded in 1988 by members of the cable television industry. A non-profit research and development consortium, CableLabs delivers innovations that enable cable operators to be the providers of choice in their markets. Cable operators from around the world are members. CableLabs maintains web sites at www.cablelabs.com; www.packetcable.com; www.cablemodem.com; www.cablenet.org, and www.opencable.com.

CableLabs® is a registered trademark of Cable Television Laboratories, Inc. Other CableLabs marks are listed at https://www.cablelabs.com/specs/certification/trademarks. All other marks are the property of their respective owners.