OFC: Point 2 Technology debuts RangeXtender for 5G x-haul
Created June 8, 2021
Technologies and ProductsPoint 2 Technologyhas debuted its 5G RangeXtenderTM, an SFP28 module with proprietary electronic dispersion compensation that extends the reach of fronthaul and backhaul in 5G networks. Effectively, it increases the reach of existing fibre transmission paths up to 30 km and reducing CAPEX and OPEX, delivering a reduction of up to 25% in total cost of ownership, according to the company.
At the heart of the 5G RangeXtender is the PT-E1012322 Electrical Dispersion Compensation (EDC) system on a chip (SoC) that combines two lanes of bidirectional clock-and-data recovery (CDR) and EDC with a CDR/re-timer and significantly compensates for distortion caused by dispersion and reduces bit-error rate. It has latency of less than 16ns, consumes about 9 mW/Gbps, and provides for tests such as pattern generation and checking, and local and remote loopback via a real-time eye scanner. The SoC is in a tiny CSP package that easily fits in SFP28 modules.
“As 5G is deployed, wireless carriers will need to support enormous increases in traffic, which means they will need to upgrade the data rates of their fibre links for fronthaul and backhaul from 10 Gbps to 25 Gbps and soon to 50 Gbps,” says Point2 CEO Sean Park. “This will require significant investments in infrastructure long before they can realise revenue from it. Our RangeXtender essentially allows existing fibre infrastructure to increase reach from the current 10 km to 30 km through the use of a unique EDC/CDR SoC. The result is much lower cost of ownership because it reduces the need for costly fibre extension, dispersion compensation filters, and amplification while enhancing link performance on the aging fibre”.
The 5G RangeXtender EDC SoC’s integrated CPU allows integrators to easily customise the device, and is available in a reference design along with the linear receiver optical subassembly (ROSA) to enable multiple module suppliers to deliver this solution. Point2 is in partnership discussions with Tier 1 module suppliers who supply the 5G ecosystem to accelerate ramp-up and provide diversity in multi-sourcing. The technology currently supports a 25-Gbps solution with a roadmap to deliver up to 100 Gbps for future access networks. 5G RangeXtender/PT-E1012322 with 25-Gbps capability is sampling now, and production is expected in Q4 2021.
For more information, visit www.point2tech.com
