As the fiscal year quickly comes to a close, agencies within the Federal Government find themselves in a familiar position. Unable to spend the entirety of its “use it or lose it” budget and running the risk of facing harsh budget cuts next year. As of 2019, the Federal Government is required to allocate 23% of its $500 billion annual contracting budget on small businesses (approximately $115 billion). With FY20 ending September 30th, many government agencies including the Department of Defense, Federal Law Enforcement Agency, and The Department of Homeland Security are actively looking for small business prime and sub-contractors to fill their needs. But what federal initiatives can small businesses play a role in?
The Fed refocuses on IT Initiatives
As COVID-19 quickly progresses from an isolated issue to full-scale pandemic, both public and private sectors have had to alter spending to fit their new needs. Early federal spending was primarily focused on initial emergency response efforts such as purchasing ventilators, treatments, and constructing emergency medical facilities. But, as the healthcare system begins to stabilize, the Federal Government has readjusted its spending and is now looking to the technology industry to supply them with products that can fulfill their new needs.
As the largest procurer of IT hardware, the Federal Government needs small business’s assistance in the transition to:
Enhance telework security
Improve overall IT network and storage infrastructure
To combat the economic downturn caused by COVID-19, government entities have been increasing their commitment to infrastructure development. This includes IT development in the form of a far-reaching 5G network, standardization of advanced ConTech (Construction Technology) practices, and modernizing existing federal IT systems. The Federal Government plans to spend more than $90 billion on information technology this upcoming fiscal year. The Government Accountability Office claims that this monetary response acts as a way to improve federal interaction with citizens online, mitigate risk associated with outdated IT, and improve the response to COVID-19. As the pandemic continues to create turbulent economic conditions, many small business owners are looking to GSA Schedule Contracts to return their business to normalcy.
What are GSA schedules?
General Services Administration (GSA) Contracts are long-term federal contracts with commercial firms to supply government agencies with a wide variety of products at discount pricing. There are GSA Schedule contracts for a wide variety of products including information systems software, IT hardware, office supplies and even consultants. A full list of all products on the GSA Schedule can be found here.
The Small Business Administration requires a variety of steps that need to be completed prior to accepting GSA Schedule bids. These steps include providing proof of your company’s prior experience, financial records, and company practices. Also, an additional prerequisite to contracting with the Federal Government is ensuring your products are TAA compliant. More on TAA compliance can be found here.
ProLabs dedication to providing scalable solutions
ProLabs is the world’s largest independent manufacturer of optical transceivers and high-speed cabling, offering the latest in TAA compliant products designed to scale your existing network. ProLabs can provide your enterprise with a broad range of upgrades including memory, network connectivity, fiber optic cabling, optical network transceivers, and more.
Why Choose ProLabs?
ProLabs remains at the forefront of the latest fiber optic technologies, providing our customers with cutting edge technology to support any initiative.
ProLabs offers TAA compliant products that are ready to be supplied to any federal agency.
Over 20 years of experience supplying connectivity products for schools, hospitals, and federal infrastructure projects.
We offer competitive prices on all our products, resulting in up to 70% savings compared to the leading OEM.
In uncertain times, it pays to have a partner who won’t compromise on product quality. Our world-class customer service and technical support teams are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to ensure that our customers are never left guessing.
Coherent transceivers are evolving at a rapid pace. Not long ago they required part of a card on a chassis to host them. Today they are available in pluggable form factors packing the laser, DSP, transmitter, receiver, modulator, and other components into a standard pluggable form factor, while minimizing power draw and heat generation. This is an astounding technical achievement and is a driving factor behind much of the bandwidth increase on optical networks.
Encoding Schemes
Encoding is the method of changing data from one form to another, encoding data to light is called modulation. The primary encoding schemes used in these devices are:
Quadrature Phase Shift Keying (QPSK)
Quadrature Amplitude Modulation (QAM)
QAM is a signal in which two carriers shifted in phase by 90 degrees (i.e. sine and cosine) are modulated and combined. As a result of their 90° phase difference they are in quadrature and this gives rise to the name. Often one signal is called the In-phase or “I” signal, and the other is the quadrature or “Q” signal. QPSK is a form of phase modulation technique, in which two information bits (combined as one symbol) are modulated at once, selecting one of the four (0, 90, 180, 270 degree) possible carrier phase shift states.
Baud
This is another common term associated with coherent modulation. Baud rate means the number of pulses per time period measured in seconds. A simple way to conceptualize baud is to think of it as frequency. How often the signal is sent is measured in baud. Some of the fastest DSPs can operate at 64Gbaud and 64QAM. A transceiver sending 64 Gbaud pulses per second (64 billion pulses per second) and operating at 64QAM is sending 600 billion bits per second.
Packaging
The presence of a chip on an optical link also presents new challenges as well as benefits. The main issues with putting a DSP at each end of an optical link are:
1) Space
2) Power usage
3) Heat generation
Coherent optical modules are engineered to address these challenges. The CFP2 format was the first industry standard pluggable optical module. This format comes in two types, the Analog Coherent Optic (ACO) and a Digital Coherent Optic (DCO). In the CFP-2ACO module the DSP is placed on the host line card to address heat issues. The ACO module passes analog signals to the DSP which is located on the host line card. In a CFP2-DCO the DSP is located within the optical transceiver. Having the DSP within the CFP2-DCO transceiver provides more flexibility because the module can be used with any line card. Whereas a CFP2-ACO may only be used in a system that has the matching DSP on the host line card.
Standardization work will soon be complete on new and even smaller pluggable form factors including.
QSFP28 100G ZR/ZR+, QSFP56-DD-ZR/ZR+. These developments will enable coherent detection for more optical transport applications due to their smaller footprint, lower power consumption, higher data rates, and longer reach.
Applications
Standards groups and optical vendors are working to expand the addressable market by creating specifications for coherent optics that meet the industry needs of:
Data center operators
Cable MSO’s
Telecommunication service providers
Science and research networks
Today there are coherent transceiver solutions for intra-data center, inter-data center, access, metro, and long-haul links. Packaging options include pluggable form factors which broaden the usefulness of coherent optics and enable their usage in a wider variety of equipment. Interoperability is also becoming more feasible as vendors create components and modules that meet standards, MSAs and Implementation Agreements.
Conclusion
The development of interoperable standards for coherent transceivers and packaging in pluggable form factors is now bringing coherent benefits to a wide range of networking applications. ProLabs is a leader in the adoption of these new technologies to solve network problems.
We understand the trade-offs between cost, performance, reach, labor, network equipment, and power requirements. All these factors must be considered when selecting which coherent transmission approach is best for your network. We work with our clients to understand their network and their goals so we can specify the right coherent solution for the network requirement. At ProLabs, our knowledge of the applications and experience with existing and developing standards and equipment makes us a trusted partner for coherent optics with networks across the globe.
Simply follow the links below to see our full series of coherent articles:
The North American telecom industry requires optic solution providers to be Network Equipment-Building System (NEBS) compliant to ensure network integrity, compatibility, and safety. By being NEBS compliant, this indicates that the products and equipment operate at optimum capacity, as network operators need to invest in optics suppliers who ensure their performance through rigorous testing.
The combination of rapid network expansion and the experience of carriers in managing their infrastructure during extreme weather events is likely to only increase the demand for NEBS-compliant devices.
Different Levels of Compliance
NEBS is made up of various levels that distinguish certain aspects of testing. Each one verifies a different performance specification with operational requirements.
NEBS Level 1: Addresses safety measures of the equipment and requirements for GR-63-CORE and GR-1089-CORE standards. Typically used by service providers for early deployment into their central offices and/or laboratories
NEBS Level 2: Addresses equipment operability that in controlled environments like data centers. Level 2 includes all requirements of Level 1 with some added level of operability reliability.
NEBS Level 3: Determines that the equipment meets all the requirements of GR-63-CORE and GR-1089-CORE. This provides the highest assurance of product operability. Most TCGs require Level 3 prior to acceptance/installation on the networks.
What ProLabs NEBS Certification means for you:
ProLabs SFP, XFP, and QSFP transceivers have undergone NEBS testing criteria for standards GR-63-CORE and GR-1089-CORE. The compliance test involves testing the products in extremities to ensure that they can resist maximal temperature, vibration, and humidity, while also protecting the safety of the personnel who operate it. All ProLabs' products are rigorously tested and coded in its global, state-of-the-art facilities to ensure the highest levels of performance with 100% application testing in end-use conditions.
GR-63-CORE
GR-1089-CORE
Fire resistance
Temperature and Humidity
Shock, vibration, & earthquake (operating and storage)
Airborne contaminants
Acoustic
Lighting
Altitude
Floor loading, physical, & spatial requirements
Electrical safety
EMI emissions
EMI immunity
ESD
Bonding and grounding
Lighting immunity
Required by the Telecommunications Carrier Group (TCG), NEBS testing confirms the reliability, safety, and quality of a vendor’s telecommunications equipment. As those standards continue to evolve, each requirement will become more demanding. Being NEBS compliant ensures system integrity and performance.
At ProLabs, we understand the need for optics to be operating in the most extreme conditions.
Contact us today to learn more about our testing certifications and requirements.
Tustin, California, US, and South Cerney, Goucestershire, England, Sept. 30, 2020 - ProLabs, a global leader in optical networking and connectivity solutions, has launched its new SFP28 25G transceiver line today, reducing the cost challenge of 5G wireless deployment using existing 10G cabling.
By leveraging already deployed cabling, ProLabs 25G solutions are efficient for upgrading wireless network links with single-mode LC connectors at reaches from 100m to 40km. With full feature compatibility assured, they are interoperable in environments equipped with Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) switches from Arista, Cisco, Dell, Intel, Juniper, and Mellanox.
"As 5G wireless rapidly becomes the new standard for mobile users, providers have been searching for cost-efficient link upgrades in their SFP28 ports," said Jon Eikel, Chief Strategy Officer at ProLabs. "With that in mind, we designed this transceiver line to empower providers large and small to help bridge the gap, whether that gap is 100m, 10km, 20km, or beyond."
With 5G speeds promising up to 10x current LTE services, the SFP28 25G line relies upon fiber-fed cells located closer to the subscriber. The single lane format also performs in 100G QSFP28 architectures, effective in scaling 1G and 10G fiber backhaul and fronthaul connections to meet 5G data rate requirements.
About ProLabs
ProLabs is a leading provider of optical networking infrastructure 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, products, and service, ProLabs is changing the mindset of data center and network operators 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.
CIRENCESTER, England, Dec. 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- ProLabs, the world's largest independent supplier of fibre optic transceivers and high-speed cabling is expanding their European & India operations as a result of significant new business across UK, Germany, France, and India.
The business has grown by over 100% year on year. Due to this success, they have just increased their manufacturing facilities to support growth projections of 200% and have recently taken on additional local staff. To keep pace with demand they are also planning to build on this expansion in 2021.
Jason Moate, Operations Director from ProLabs said, "During this year we have seen a high demand for our products across all the countries we serve in Europe and also in India. Although there is a greater need for our products in the current environment with many people and organisations working remotely, we have also gained market share as customers increase their demand for high quality, short lead times, and lower costs."
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 centre 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
Analyzing the status of the financial technology sector in 2020
Until recently, traditional financial institutions were the sole option for consumers to make marketplace transactions, manage their portfolio, and apply for loans. But as the market continues to develop more advanced and efficient financial technology, FinTechs like Stripe, SoFi, and Coinbase are presenting themselves as convenient alternatives. With over 12,000 FinTechs created since 2008, industry members are looking to differentiate themselves through frequent innovation and a consumer-oriented business model. By offering convenient service and highly personalized digital interfaces, there is no question why millions of consumers are making the switch to FinTech.
According to a 2018 study performed by KPMG, FinTechs received $52.5 billion in investments, making the financial technology industry among the fastest-growing in the U.S. While this increase in funding is positive news for FinTechs, it is also a cause for concern for many data center managers. As FinTech data centers continue to implement complex processes like artificial intelligence and blockchain into their infrastructure, network technicians are finding it increasingly difficult to keep up with rising consumer demand for their services.
To combat this, data center professionals are continuing to improve their server’s processing capacity by boosting density or even upgrading their networks interface to 100G/400G. Another potential solution often deployed by data center managers is ensuring their servers are connected to high capacity/low latency switches, with the proper density to support complex projects.
Why FinTech companies are outgrowing their legacy data centers:
Legacy data centers lack the bandwidth and latency that is crucial for FinTechs who specialize in services like high-frequency trading or P2P transactions.
Shortage of floor space in existing data centers prohibits additional servers from being installed.
Implementation of machine learning and artificial intelligence has pushed legacy data centers to their limits, due to the vast amount of data needed for the proper execution of these processes.
Low data center processing capacity restricts FinTechs from fully utilizing their servers when performing vital network functions
Top 4 solutions to increase network capacity, space, and lower latency:
Parallel Series Module Transceivers – QSFP-type transceivers offer options to aggregate multiple 10G, 25G, 50G, or 100G fiber-optic connections to a single network port, providing data center space and power savings.
Direct Attached Cables (DACs) – DACs offer low latency, connectivity for top-of-rack data center infrastructures, and support data rates of 10G to 400G. In addition to high performance, DACs provide significant power savings over standard transceivers solutions.
Core and Leaf/Spine upgrades with QSFP-DD – Network elements designed QSFP-DD form factor offers the flexibility to support 400G, 200G, and even 100G data rates. The QSFP-DD ecosystem features a wide range of transceivers and network cabling for both direct connect and network aggregation applications.
OM5 Fiber – Driven by multimode ‘bidirectional’ transceivers and network monitoring applications. OM5 is not only backward compatible with OM4 and OM3 infrastructure but offers higher performance with longer reach across links.
Why choose ProLabs for your data center upgrades?
ProLabs offers advanced upgrades for enterprises who want to future-proof their IT infrastructure. Whether your concern is connectivity, efficiency, or cost, ProLabs can provide you with reliable solutions covered by a comprehensive lifetime warranty.
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.
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
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.
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.
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