Optical-Networking Chip Pushes Fiber To Home

An Ethernet-Passive-Optical-Networking (EPON) chip has been created to advance the development of fiber to the home (FTTH). Hailing from Qualcomm Atheros, the QCA88291-Gigabit EPON chip consumes less than 200 mW for grid applications when Gigabit Ethernet (GE) PHY sleep mode is enabled. At 1-Gb/s throughput with the GE PHY enabled, it consumes less than 600 mW.

Optimized to enable next-generation optical broadband access to homes and businesses, the QCA8829 supports multiple standards. These include the North American Data Over Cable Service Interface Specification (DOCSIS) provisioning of Ethernet (DPoE) 1.0 specification; the IEEE 802.3ah EPON specification; the China State Grid EPON specification; and the China Telecom (CTC) EPON specification. With Gigabit-speed EPON solutions, service providers can deploy next-generation FTTH broadband access with optical line terminals (OTLs) for networking from the central office. In addition, they can provide full-featured optical-network-unit (ONU) systems-on-a-chip (SoCs) for implementation in home/premises gateways.

The QCA8829 comes in a 76-pin package size, which fits into a small-formfactor- pluggable (SFP) optical module. Samples and reference design kits are now available. Volume shipments will begin in the fourth quarter.