The widescale implementation of 5G networks is rapidly approaching and promises to revolutionize mobile networking, delivering speeds one hundred times faster than existing rates.
As more and more countries make the implementation of 5G a primary initiative, the U.S seems to find itself scrambling to keep up with leaders like China and South Korea. The need for an effective 5G network is so vital that some inside the federal government have proposed plans to nationalize the effort.
Despite private sector pushback, several legislative acts have passed since 2019 supporting federal intervention. But what exactly would a nationalized 5G effort look like?
What would a nationalized 5G effort look like?
A nationwide 5G network would require substantial time and resources. Currently estimated to create over 3 million jobs and cost upwards of 3 trillion, building a nationwide 5G infrastructure would be one of the largest federal initiatives ever attempted.
A project of this scale would also require contractual coordination with existing private sector technology leaders. According to a 30-page National Security Council Report circulating around the Trump Administration, the current federal plan would provide business opportunities to telecom gear suppliers such as Nokia, Cisco, and Ericsson - while at the same time creating negative results for service providers who have devoted substantial resources to the advancement of 5G.
Wireless carriers like Verizon and Sprint have voiced their concerns with a nationalized 5G infrastructure and have continued to carry on with their existing plans.
Contractual partnerships between The Federal Government and technology providers will result in billions of dollars in revenue for private-sector corporations. But one caveat that businesses must face when supplying the government is the need for their products to be TAA compliant.
But why exactly does the federal government require TAA compliant suppliers, and what does it mean to be TAA compliant?
What is TAA?
The Trade Agreement Act (TAA) (19 U.S.C & 2501-2581) was created in 1979, its purpose was to cultivate the growth of an international trading system and to encourage bilateral trade with certain countries.
Specifically, compliance with TAA requires that all U.S Government suppliers including General Service Administration (GSA) contracts obtain their end products from “designated countries”. Meaning that these products must be either created or “substantially transformed” in a pre-approved country.
World Trade Organization Government Procurement Agreement Countries
Free Trade Agreement Countries
Least Developed Countries
Caribbean Basin Countries
TAA compliance applies to all federal procurement contracts including GSA (General Service Administration, IDIQ (Indefinite Delivery, Indefinite Quantity), and most DOD (Department of Defense) contracts.
This means any corporation that supplies The Federal Government with products to deploy a 5G infrastructure will have to ensure their products are TAA compliant. Leaving qualified prime and sub-contractors waiting to place bids once federal plans are submitted and approved.
Congress’s role in 5G deployment
Recent legislative developments have given insight into what federal agencies will play a role in the implementation of 5G.
As of now, the FCC (Federal Communications Commission) will play the largest part in the 5G expansion project. Specific bills including the 5G Fast Plan and Secure 5G and Beyond Act allow the FCC to auction off spectrum availability, develop specific infrastructure policy, and modernize outdated hardware.
These bills also stipulate that the executive branch is required to present a full plan of a 5G rollout within 180 days of the bills signing. Meaning many tech companies will have the opportunity to bid on contracts to supply the Federal Government sooner than they expected.
ProLabs’ commitment to compliance and certification
Working with a trustworthy supplier with a transparent supply chain is crucial for your business to receive TAA compliant products. ProLabs brings over 20 years of experience in serving thousands of customers ranging from telecom to the Fortune 500 and federal government, with millions of optical transceivers shipped.
ProLabs offers their customers the quality that comes with certifications from multiple regulatory agencies including The International Standard Organization (ISO), Better Business Bureau (BBB), and The Network Equipment Building System (NEBS).
Contact us for more information on the compliance and certification of our products.
According to a Forbes Insights Study, “Cisco predicts that there will be 28.5 billion connected devices by 2022, with more than half of them being machine to machine.”
But what does that mean for enterprises and their data centers? It means that infrastructure upgrades may be inevitable with the need for faster processing, larger data storage, and additional bandwidth that can handle massive volumes of information. Voice assistant devices, connected cars, wearables, and even the latest thermostats have become contributors to the Internet of Things (IoT), causing the number of pathways into data centers to rapidly increase.
Forbes Insights reveals that only 1% of data center engineers believe that their data center is adequately prepared for the ever-increasing wave of data. Properly managing and upgrading your data center’s infrastructure will allow you to increase performance, lower cost, and even launch crucial projects at a time of peak need. With many organizations currently treading water in the effort to upgrade their systems, they run the risk of drowning in the estimated 500 billion connected devices that will be active in 2030.
Common problems that data centers experience:
Storage/physical space limitations (high-density QSFP28 can supply more ports)
Additional digital storage capacities (HD CWDM solutions can expand available capacities)
Heat & power management (low power devices are more efficient, saving costs on both)
Interoperability (coding multiple OEMs on a single EEPROM, tested with major OEM switches)
100G & 200G devices for the main lines (including low power/green modules)
Improve (or even double) capacity with our HD CWDM solutions
Longer reach devices for transmitting between your data center and auxiliary stations
Fiber patch cords for testing and connecting to patch panels
1m to 50m+ long reach capable direct attach cables and active optical cables
No matter the application, there is no denying that the IoT is changing the world around us – while generating mountains of data in the process. The sheer volume of that data, and the growing need to consume and analyze much of it in real-time, is transforming the enterprise data center as we’ve known it for decades.
How can ProLabs help solve these problems?
ProLabs offers advanced upgrades such as the 25G SFP28, 100G, and even 400G transceivers that will allow your data center to appropriately scale for increasing demand. We also offer low power devices that can save your enterprise from unnecessary costs from environmental controls. Discover why network operators are choosing ProLabs, and let our expert team help you with your data center expansion project, no matter the size or complexity.
Research by Analysys Mason shows that $10.1 billion was invested in 5G during 2020 and GSMA Intelligence projects that 75% of all telco Capex will go to 5G from 2020 through to 2025.
Service providers are investing in 5G as it will deliver speeds approaching 10 gigabits per second. That is 600 times faster than standard 4G speeds, and more than 10 times faster than some residential fiber offerings.
When you look at the 5G networks needed to deliver that speed from the mobile antenna to your phone you find that fiber optics has replaced copper for almost all links. In other words, 5G networks are really fiber optic networks with a short wireless connection at the end.
The familiar giant mobile towers offer wide coverage for 3G and 4G mobile networks. However, to achieve the highest 5G speeds requires vastly more radio antennas much closer to the customer, some are even collocated in street lighting fixtures. This will require millions of new mobile antenna locations. Almost all of them will be connected by fiber:
● Data rates to individual cell sites will typically vary between 25G and go as high as 200G.
● Transmission distances will vary from a few meters, up to a few dozen kilometers.
● 5G infrastructure will predominately use the SFP+, SFP28 and QSFP28 optical form factors.
● Latency will become an important component of optical links on mobile networks.
● Power consumption will be an important metric.
● Unique filters will be used for bandwidth, fiber exhaust, and “network slicing”.
● CWDM, DWDM optics and PON will be used in many networks.
● Aggregating cell signals will require higher optical component density and higher data rates.
● Optics will become an increasingly larger proportion of 5G Capex.
As mobile technology evolves mobile radio components are being disaggregated for functional and economic efficiency. This is creating the need for novel optical links between the mobile antenna and aggregation points within the network. Three architectures have emerged to support this disaggregation. Briefly, these are:
● Front-haul – transport from the antenna to the distributed unit.
● Mid-haul – transport from the distributed unit to the central unit.
● Back-haul – transport from the central unit to the 5G core or Evolved Packet Core.
Each of these architectures has unique optical performance requirements. ProLabs has the wide inventory and specific expertise to supply optical transceivers for each of these architectures and to meet the performance requirements of the 5G mobile network environments.
Whether you are evolving an existing 4G/LTE network or building a new 5G system, ProLabs can help you with a wide range of options to meet your specific requirements. For lower speed links see our inventory of SFP+ and SFP28 transceivers. With higher speed aggregation into switches, routers we offer QSFP+ QSFP28 transceivers that are compatibility tested across a wide range of manufacturers.
Visionaries may state that 5G will offer access to new applications like artificial intelligence and smart city infrastructure that could define the next industrial revolution. Companies and countries failing to act now will find themselves left behind global and regional powers that are indeed investing in 5G. As we navigate the post-COVID 19 world, we are finding that economic and social survival is tied to the ability to work and play at a distance. If ever there was a time for a revolutionary new internet technology to take hold, now would seem to be that time.
Wireless backhaul services have evolved to grow the size of the data pipe to mobile sites from copper TDM (time-division multiplexing) circuits delivered to multiple lit 1G or 10G Ethernet services over fiber for 4G LTE. Traditional backhaul has developed into a patchwork of mobile provider owned-and-operated fiber to leased dark fiber and lit fiber services. Wholesale backhaul services in the 4G and earlier environment were simple and straightforward. A backhaul provider could drop a 24-core or 48-core fiber or a WDM (wavelength division multiplexing) trunk at a mobile site and be assured of the fiber capacity for current and future data needs. Over time, service providers of all sizes have relied upon backhaul services as a source of revenue and a means to see new fiber builds.
Market Disruption?
5G wireless presents a radical new architecture heavily dependent upon a fiber-optic infrastructure, as fiber will be required in areas closer to the user where in-ground fiber may not yet exist. 5G wireless introduces the virtualization and disaggregation of the BBU (baseband unit) and RRH (remote radio head) functions across multiple network elements (cleverly titled the CU for Central Unit, DU for Distribution Unit, and RU for Radio Unit). These network elements pool the resources for multiple Radio units into one DU and CU unit. (Whereas 1 BBU per Radio site used for 4G). Distributing these resources into the outside plant results in a 5G “x-Haul” architecture with potential market disruptions and/or opportunities for backhaul service providers. Major wireless service providers have been preparing for the fundamental change in the fiber infrastructure by investing heavily in local fiber access by both organic and inorganic means.
Figure 1 – 4G Backhaul and 5G “x-Haul”
Figure one contrasts the largely point-to-point traditional wireless backhaul, possibly on a fiber ring or on a single fiber run with 5G’s distributed architecture against 5G x-Haul. 5G’s x-Haul architecture will aggregate data from multiple radios to DU and CU elements at significantly higher data rates than earlier generations. The fiber infrastructure required to aggregate 5G’s massive data requirements is central to the “New Backhaul Economy.” A new calculus will be required to account for both the location of fiber assets, the bandwidth availability, and service levels to drive 5G deployments.
Location of Fiber Assets
Figure 2 – 4G macro-cell site vs. 5G small cells.
The availability of fronthaul fiber access will be the single largest market problem in deploying 5G. The frequency ranges 5G of sub-6GHz and millimeter-wave (>24.25GHz) offer potentially staggering bandwidth services (20Gb/s downstream, 10Gb/s upstream), with the drawback of substantially shorter reach than 4G (often at line-of-site ranges). One 4G tower often covers several square miles, in comparison to shorter-range millimeter-wave antennas that will be spaced approximately every 300 meters to provide a blanket of up to roughly sixty small cells per square mile, with each small cell potentially requiring up to 6 fibers! (Figure 2) Even regions with high population density, city centers, and other areas where fiber may be present will have difficulties offering this massive fiber density.
Bandwidth Availability
5G enhanced mobile broadband achieves landline-like data rates but also requires the pipes feeding the network to be supersized. This starts at the radio head, with 10Gb/s and 25Gb/s fiber optic transceivers installed, with the midhaul aggregating to 25Gb/s to 100Gb/s connections to up to 100Gb/s in the backhaul. (See Figure 1)
The value proposition of 5G to wireless service providers goes well beyond enhanced mobile broadband services, layering “network slices” to support new service offerings. Internet of Things, smart energy, smart agriculture, and critical performance applications such as driverless cars are a few of the many applications for 5G technology. The supporting 5G x-Haul architecture will require not only significant bandwidth upgrades in backhaul transport links but in the distribution (midhaul) and access (fronthaul) network segments.
Service Levels
Mobile services have developed from ‘best effort’ to viable alternatives to landline voice and data services. The low-latency and highly available applications driving 5G will drive wholesale services to another level. Driverless cars and manufacturing machine to machine communication will require service levels beyond traditional cellular communications. Additionally, the rumors of 4G’s demise are greatly exaggerated. 4G services will continue to be offered and will coexist with the new 5G services.
Solutions for the New Backhaul Economy
The participants in the “New Backhaul Economy” will be those positioned to capitalize on the disruptions 5G x-Haul will present to the market. Participants may vary between traditional service providers, with utilities and local governments who have both fiber assets and business requirements for 5G services.
Location of Fiber Assets
Access to fiber in the front haul will be the single largest expense in deploying 5G. The sheer volume of fibers required to blanket a service area will require solutions to utilize existing fiber infrastructure to reduce the capital expense of the fiber build.
WDM (wavelength division multiplexing) expands the capacity of a fiber pair by up to 96 times over standard ‘gray’ optics by combining multiple signals at different wavelengths over a single fiber pair. WDM technology is proven in core and distribution networks and is now extended into the access network of 5G. Recent innovations in auto-tunable dense wavelength division multiplexing (DWDM) technology promise to drive down the cost of 5G fiber deployment by reducing labor and inventory costs for new services. Installation crews can simply install an auto-tunable optic without regard for matching up wavelengths with multiplexer ports or transceivers on the other end.
Longer-term next-generation 25G or 50G passive optical networking (PON) technologies may offer a fit for extreme bandwidth requirements over existing residential or commercial PON networks.
Bandwidth Availability
5G backhaul and midhaul services will require solving the network problem of offering 100Gb/s Ethernet beyond 40 km at low cost and without amplification. Today this problem is addressed through higher-cost coherent optics or with open line systems, providing amplification and dispersion compensation.
The 80 km QSFP28 ZR4 is on the horizon, finally solving this glaring network need. Not only will this transceiver connect 100G over 80 km, but it also does so without the support of external amplification and in the cost-effective QSFP28 transceiver package.
Service Levels
Service level agreements for 5G x-Haul services will be no less strict than previous generation services. Offering highly available low-latency services will be challenged by the intended deployment environment. The fiber optic endpoint transceivers will be installed in neighborhoods, light poles, utility poles, and even traffic lights! Environments far from hospitable for standard fiber optic components. Standard fiber optic transceivers with operating temperatures of 0°C to +70°C are designed for use in climate-controlled central office or hub facilities. This condition is especially true for WDM transceivers. Standard WDM transceivers can fail outside of climate-controlled environments due to wavelength drift that may cause the wavelength to not pass through a mux – potentially interrupting service!
Careful attention to temperature ratings on transceivers is necessary to fulfill service level agreements. The networking equipment industry recognizes three operating temperature envelopes for transceivers. 0°C to +70°C or standard temperature, industrial temperature (ITEMP) -40°C to +85°C, and extended temperature ~ which does not indicate any specific range. Only that the range is greater than commercial temp, but not to ITEMP requirements. Transceivers in the extended range will attempt to pass themselves off as ‘hardened’ but in reality, their components have not been tested to operate in harsh extremes.
Conclusion
The “New Backhaul Economy” is poised to disrupt the traditional wireless backhaul ecosystem built for previous wireless generations. Success in this new economy will be driven by participants that adapt rapidly to solve the challenges of offering 5G x-Haul services.
Content by Raymond Hagen, Americas Product Manager
The hype around impending 5G wireless rollouts could place the reader into one of two camps. The realist camp may say 5G wireless is just like the first generation of broadband services in the early part of the century. There is great hype around the endless possibilities afforded by high-speed Internet, but without tangible ‘killer apps’ to drive adoption, it’s unclear how to justify the massive investment. Deloitte Consulting estimates that fiber infrastructure investment of $130B to $150B will be required to build out 5G across the United States over five to seven years—let alone the rest of the world.
Visionaries may state that 5G will offer access to new applications like artificial intelligence and smart city infrastructure that could define the next industrial revolution. Companies and countries failing to act now will find themselves left behind global and regional powers that are indeed investing in 5G. As we navigate the post-COVID 19 world, we are finding that economic and social survival is tied to the ability to work and play at a distance. If ever there was a time for a revolutionary new Internet technology to take hold, now would seem to be it.
Wireless backhaul services have evolved to grow the size of the data pipe to mobile sites from copper TDM (time-division multiplexing) circuits delivered to multiple lit 1G or 10G Ethernet services over fiber for 4G LTE. Traditional backhaul has developed into a patchwork of mobile provider owned-and-operated fiber to leased dark fiber and lit fiber services. Wholesale backhaul services in the 4G and earlier environment were simple and straightforward. A backhaul provider could drop a 24-core or 48-core fiber or a WDM (wavelength division multiplexing) trunk at a mobile site and be assured of the fiber capacity for current and future data needs. Over time, service providers of all sizes have relied upon backhaul services as a source of revenue and a means to see new fiber builds.
Market disruption
5G wireless presents a radical new architecture heavily dependent upon a fiber-optic infrastructure, as fiber will be required in areas closer to the user where in-ground fiber may not yet exist. 5G wireless introduces the virtualization and disaggregation of the BBU (baseband unit) and RRH (remote radio head) functions across multiple network elements (cleverly titled the CU for Central Unit, DU for Distribution Unit, and RU for Radio Unit). These network elements pool the resources for multiple radio units into one DU and CU unit (whereas 1 BBU per radio site is used for 4G). Distributing these resources into the outside plant results in 5G “x-Haul” architecture with potential market disruptions and/or opportunities for backhaul service providers. Major wireless service providers have been preparing for the fundamental change in the fiber infrastructure by investing heavily in local fiber access by both organic and inorganic means.
Figure 1 – 4G Backhaul and 5G “x-Haul”
Figure 1 (above) contrasts the largely point-to-point traditional wireless backhaul, possibly on a fiber ring or on a single fiber run with 5G’s distributed architecture, against 5G x-Haul. 5G’s x-Haul architecture will aggregate data from multiple radios to DU and CU elements at significantly higher data rates than earlier generations. The fiber infrastructure required to aggregate 5G’s massive data requirements is central to the “new backhaul economy.” A new calculus will be required to account for the location of fiber assets, the bandwidth availability and service levels to drive 5G deployments.
Location of fiber assets
The availability of fronthaul fiber access will be the single largest market problem in deploying 5G. The frequency ranges 5G of sub-6GHz and millimeter-wave (>24.25GHz) offer potentially staggering bandwidth services (20Gb/s downstream, 10Gb/s upstream), with the drawback of substantially shorter reach than 4G (often at line-of-site ranges). One 4G tower often covers several square miles, in comparison to shorter-range millimeter-wave antennas that will be spaced approximately every 300 meters to provide a blanket of up to roughly sixty small cells per square mile, with each small cell potentially requiring up to six fibers! (see Figure 2) Even regions with high population density, including city centers and other areas where fiber may be present, will have difficulties offering this massive fiber density.
Figure 2 – 4G macro-cell site vs. 5G small cells
Bandwidth availability
5G enhanced mobile broadband achieves landline-like data rates but also requires the pipes feeding the network to be supersized. This starts at the radio head, with 10Gb/s and 25Gb/s fiber optic transceivers installed, with the midhaul aggregating to 25Gb/s to 100Gb/s connections to up to 100Gb/s in the backhaul. (See Figure 1)
The value proposition of 5G to wireless service providers goes well beyond enhanced mobile broadband services, layering network slices to support new service offerings. Internet of Things, smart energy, smart agriculture, and critical performance applications such as driverless cars are a few of the many applications for 5G technology. The supporting 5G x-Haul architecture will require not only significant bandwidth upgrades in backhaul transport links but in the distribution (midhaul) and access (fronthaul) network segments.
Service levels
Mobile services have developed from ‘best effort’ to viable alternatives to landline voice and data services. The low-latency and highly available applications driving 5G will drive wholesale services to another level. Driverless cars and manufacturing machine-to-machine (M2M) communication will require service levels beyond traditional cellular communications. Additionally, the rumors of 4G’s demise are greatly exaggerated: 4G services will continue to be offered and will coexist with new 5G services.
Solutions for the new backhaul economy
The participants in the new backhaul economy will be those positioned to capitalize on the disruptions 5G x-Haul will present to the market. Participants may vary between traditional service providers, with utilities and local governments who have both fiber assets and business requirements for 5G services.
Sheer volume
Access to fiber in the fronthaul will be the single largest expense in deploying 5G. The sheer volume of fibers required to blanket a service area will require solutions to utilize existing fiber infrastructure to reduce the capital expense of the fiber build.
WDM (wavelength division multiplexing) expands the capacity of a fiber pair by up to 96 times over standard ‘gray’ optics by combining multiple signals at different wavelengths over a single fiber pair. WDM technology is proven in core and distribution networks and is now extended into the access network of 5G. Recent innovations in auto-tunable dense wavelength division multiplexing (DWDM) technology promise to drive down the cost of 5G fiber deployment by reducing labor and inventory costs for new services. Installation crews can simply install an auto-tunable optic without regard for matching up wavelengths with multiplexer ports or transceivers on the other end.
Longer-term next-generation 25G or 50G passive optical networking (PON) technologies may offer a fit for extreme bandwidth requirements over existing residential or commercial PON networks.
Bandwidth availability
5G backhaul and midhaul services will require solving the network problem of offering 100Gb/s Ethernet beyond 40 km at low cost and without amplification. Today this problem is addressed through higher-cost coherent optics or with open line systems, providing amplification and dispersion compensation.
The 80 km QSFP28 ZR4 is on the horizon, which will finally solve this glaring network need. Not only will this transceiver connect 100G over 80 km, but it also does so without the support of external amplification and in the cost-effective QSFP28 transceiver package.
Service levels
Service level agreements for 5G x-Haul services will be no less strict than previous generation services. Offering highly available low-latency services will be challenged by the intended deployment environment. The fiber optic endpoint transceivers will be installed in neighborhoods, light poles, utility poles, and even traffic lights! These are environments far from hospitable for standard fiber optic components. Standard fiber optic transceivers with operating temperatures of 0°C to +70°C are designed for use in climate-controlled central office or hub facilities. This condition is especially true for WDM transceivers. Standard WDM transceivers can fail outside of climate-controlled environments due to wavelength drift that may cause the wavelength to not pass through a mux—potentially interrupting service.
Careful attention to temperature ratings on transceivers is necessary to fulfill service level agreements. The networking equipment industry recognizes three operating temperature envelopes for transceivers: 0°C to +70°C or standard temperature, industrial temperature (ITEMP) -40°C to +85°C, and extended temperature, which does not indicate any specific range, only that the range is greater than commercial temp, but not to ITEMP requirements. Transceivers in the extended range will attempt to pass themselves off as ‘hardened’ but in reality, their components have not been tested to operate in harsh extremes.
Conclusion
The new backhaul economy is poised to disrupt the traditional wireless backhaul ecosystem built for previous wireless generations. Success in this new economy will be driven by participants that adapt rapidly to solve the challenges of offering 5G x-Haul services.
For more on how we can help implement or expand your next network upgrades, contact us today.
The VHT SFP+ 10G transceivers were awarded 4/5 Diamonds for improving network performance & stability for dense wavelength division modulation (DWDM) signals in extreme temperatures up to 95°C at reaches up to 80km. These transceivers aid in transport network and distributed access architecture node environments that are subject to high temperature challenges due to high frequency usage or at fiber links positioned exterior to climate controls.
MSA and TAA Compliant 10GBase-DWDM SFP+ Transceiver (SMF, 1560.61nm, 80km, LC, DOM, Very High Temperature -40C to +95C) SKU: SFP-10GB-DW21-V-80-C
“On behalf of the Broadband Technology Report's 2021 Diamond Technology Reviews, I would like to congratulate ProLabs on their 4 Diamonds honoree status,” said Broadband Technology Report's Chief Editor, Stephen Hardy. “This program recognizes and rewards the top products and solutions available to the broadband cable industry. We appreciate all entries we receive though not all were honored with 3.5 Diamonds or above.”
ProLabs is a leading provider of optical networking solutions. For over two decades, it has delivered optical connectivity solutions that give customers freedom, choice, and seamless interoperability. It serves a diverse range of industries including enterprises, governments, and the largest worldwide service providers.
By championing higher standards for technology and service, ProLabs is changing the mindset of data center and service providers the world over. It supplies solutions that are 100% compatible in form and functionality across 100 OEM manufacturers, covering more than 20,000 systems and platforms. For more information, please visit www.prolabs.com.
About Broadband Technology Report
Broadband Technology Report’s editorial mission is simple: We cover the latest tools, techniques and approaches that broadband pros must know about as they face the many challenges in today’s hypercompetitive environment. If it is important to cable engineers and technology pros, it’s important to BTR. http://www.broadbandtechreport.com
There are a number of 5G characteristics driving this innovation:
● 5G requires a much greater number of cell sites. As data rates increase the distance between cells must decrease. Macro cell sites range from approximately 2km to 50km across, but small cell sites will be roughly 0.4 to 4km across to form a mesh network.
● 5G specifications include URLLC (ultra reliable low latency communications) which defines the latency available between various points in the 5G architecture. Therefore, each component of the 5G optical network, 10, 25, 50, 100G provides an optical back haul.
● Protocols used in 5G (e.g. SyncE, eEEC, 1588v2.1) define data synchronization. While optics may not significantly affect sync variation, it will still be a consideration when selecting components.
● Network optimization divides the available bandwidth efficiently so that 5G networks can support each service appropriately. Optical networks efficiently use the light spectrum of CWDM & DWDM.
● Extended temperatures in world wide environments require optics of commercial and industrial types.
ProLabs understands the challenges of building 5G networks today that meet the needs and technical demands of tomorrow. Our expertise, inventory, compatibility testing, and service offerings enable you to build 5G optical transport that meets these requirements. A sample of the 5G related optical developments we are tracking include:
● Multiplexing and de-multiplexing options for 5G networks. Matching the port speed and wavelengths used with switches and base stations or antennas requires care in selecting the correct optics and DAC, AOC cables.
Multiplexers
● Shorter front haul distances to the DU and mitigating the impact of PAM4 and FEC (Forward Error Correction) including coherent networks. Latency characteristics, and synchronization factors are variables that may have been minor factors in prior networks but become more important in 5G designs.
● Lifespan of the optical network and Mean Time Between Failure (MTBF) metrics are critical as the number of optical components in the network increases.
● Tunable and auto-self tuning optics offering efficiencies for inventory as well as repair and disaster recovery that lower total cost of ownership.
Tunable Transceiver
Given the rapid pace of development in 5G optical transport and the large proportion of network spend represented by transport, selecting the right optical partner is more important than ever. When it comes to optics ProLabs is that partner.
NASHVILLE, Tenn., July 26, 2021 - Global leaders in optical transceiver technology ProLabs will display its latest 100G extended range 80KM optics, which change the game in backhaul and distribution, at Fiber Connect, taking place July 25-28, 2021 at the Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center in Nashville, Tennessee.
Experts will highlight the QSFP28 100G ZR4 line of transceivers which deliver cutting-edge 100G signals beyond 40km and up to 80km of distance. In addition to extending reach for your existing networks, the QSFP28 100G ZR4 transceivers can reduce the cost of your 100G connections by eliminating the need of a more expensive DWDM solution/optics. ProLabs QSFP28 100G ZR4 is compatible with leading OEM switch vendor solutions including Cisco, Juniper, Nokia, Ciena and Arista.
Also highlighted at the show will be ProLabs CFP2-DCO coherent optical transceiver which delivers reliable 100G fiber optics with DWDM signals, reaching 80km and beyond. Coherent optics have the ability to significantly improve performance for high-speed data rates and long-distance applications including edge-to-core or remote-to-metropolitan fiber runs.
According to Global Product Line Manager, Ray Hagen “ProLabs has worked closely with service providers of all sizes to understand that extending 100G connections beyond 40km towards the network edge and we are excited to be offering cost-effective, yet scalable solutions to meet these network requirements.”
ProLabs will be showing live demonstrations of its ProTune™ tuning and coding system consisting of an appliance and a powerful cloud-based platform that codes or tunes ProLabs transceivers in one simple step.
Fiber Connect visitors can learn more about ProLabs technology at Booth #719.
Thousands of fiber optic transceivers are needed for effective, efficient, & high performance data center interconnects.
With price and costs only increasing, choosing the best transceivers is crucial not only for the network but also for your budget. Avoid letting module costs consume your operating expenses with the following tips for designing an ideal data center transceiver configuration.
Tip 1: 100% Compatibility is Key
Whether compatible or OEM modules, both must be able to communicate seamlessly and instantly within the network. The main quality difference between identical fiber transceivers is in the supplier and whether it’s provided by the brand vendor. Typically, OEMs will rely on the supplier’s coding and testing since they rarely produce the modules themselves. Batch testing is also common among certain suppliers, meaning only a handful from each order are tested for full compatibility. The best third-party vendors like ProLabs code and test 100% of optics to the exact specifications of original devices in real switches & routers, rather than by emulation testing. Meeting users' demands through a supplier who has the experience and confidence to certify their transceivers as fully interoperable with the OEM switches is vital to guaranteeing success.
ProLabs tests, validates, and assures compatibility with over 90 vendors and counting.
Tip 2: Lower Power Consumption for Lower Operating Costs
In addition to cost, it's important to consider the energy efficiency of transceivers. The power consumed by fiber optic transceivers will vary depending on the manufacturer’s build quality. Some suppliers may use cheaper parts or cut corners in their processes to make their modules perform normally, but are not reliable over long usage periods.
Power consumption may only differ by a few tenths of a watt per unit, but this difference accumulates daily to an exponential difference in daily operating costs. Today’s data centers aim to operate with efficiency metrics between 40% and 70% of the critical load. This means that for every 1 watt of IT critical load used, an additional 0.4W to 0.7W of support load is used to cool and maintain the data center. Given these data center economics, reducing the IT load by 1 watt means reducing to total power load by 1.4 to 1.7 watts – compounding into significant savings over time. Through lower power consumption optics, data center managers can minimize operating costs and its impact on OPEX and CAPEX.
Tip 3: Save Space with Higher Density Optics
One of the top considerations that IT architects have when building a data center is its space utilization. Modules with smaller form factors can save more space than others with the same operating rate. A typical 40G QSFP+ optical module is about 78mm long and 18mm wide. You can see that it is much shorter than a CFP optical module that is approximately 144mm long and 82mm wide. As a result, fiber optic transceivers with smaller form factors can provide optimized space-saving solutions for a high-density data center.
Let ProLabs help maximize your budget for less.
Many IT managers are experiencing difficulties with operating their data centers due to its high overhead costs. ProLabs OEM compatible optics provide the benefits without compromise with up to 70% savings. From helping reduce data center power consumption to saving space with high quality modules, ProLabs can help you no matter the project complexity by choosing the optics you need.
Request a quote or contact us to learn more today.
