Teleste and Iskratel team up to enable fibre operators to use coax

Teleste and Iskratel are showcasing their solution at the FTTH Council Europe conference

Finland-based cable technology outfit Teleste has teamed up with Slovenia-based fibre tech specialist Iskratel to develop a proof-of-concept broadband technology platform combining Iskratel’s GPON technology with Teleste’s DOCSIS-based mini-CMTS, the DOCSIS Access Hub (DAH).

The joint platform is designed to enable fibre network operators to make use of existing last-mile coax cabling as an extension of their fibre networks.

According to Teleste, hybrid GPON and DOCSIS technologies are a viable way to meeting consumer demand for fast internet while limiting the cost of fibre rollouts.

Operators will be able to utilise the Iskratel SI3000 Lumia as the GPON OLT and Teleste’s DAH as GPON ONU products. The Teleste DAH enables operators to deliver servies to appartments in a building using existing coax cabling by connecting a DOCSIS cable modem to the network.

According to the pair, the technology can already deliver fibre-speed broadband with a clear roadmap towards symmetrical 10 Gbps services.

The two companies are jointly showcasing the solution at this week’s FTTH Council Europe Conference in Marseilles.

“Teleste recognises the potential of DOCSIS used together with GPON in providing operators with a way to connect new customers to their high-speed networks. The last mile fibre is typically expensive and time-consuming to build, especially in brownfield areas. Where coax cabling is available, utilising the hybrid fibre-coax infrastucture provides operators with a means to optimize the costs and time to market when expanding the multi-gigabit networks,” said Olli Leppänen, vice-president of distributed access for Teleste.

“At Iskratel, we have always been committed to providing smooth migration from the existing to the most up-to-date FTTH networks. We are pleased that with Teleste’s DOCSIS products, we are able to offer the operators a combined fibre-coax solution that represents a safe step on their sustainable journey to a fibre-based future,” said Jernej Roblek, director of customer solution management at Iskratel.

“However, this is just the first technological step. In the future, the combinations of NGPON and new DOCSIS technologies will continue to play an important role on the path towards pure-fibre networks.”