Nokia announced launch of Multivendor ONU Connect, an open, virtualized solution that enables operators to connect any Optical Network Unit (ONU) to a Nokia Optical Line Terminal (OLT).
Introducing a new ONU to a PON network can take 3 to 6 months to get right. 53 percent of fixed network operators report increased internal testing or performance issues whenever a new ONU comes along. That’s why multi-vendor interoperability is the most important ONU selection criteria after price.
Nokia Multivendor ONU Connect addresses the OMCI. vONU management decouples OLT and ONU software and puts ONU management in the cloud. Engineers will have multiple versions of OMCI running in parallel. All kinds of ONU will be talking to a single OLT. Nokia’s Altiplano software platform knows which OMCI stack to use and connects them.
Decision makers at telecom operators can select any ONU from any technology vendor and throw its OMCI code into the cloud. This flexibility reduces Opex and Capex costs. ONU Management Control Interface (OMCI) implementation increases testing costs by more than 50 percent.
Nokia’s Multivendor ONU Connect enables fixed network operators to eliminate integration efforts, management complexity and PON interoperability challenges that impact their ability to scale and deliver innovative new services in a multi-vendor environment.
Federico Guillen, president of Nokia Fixed Networks, said: “In addition to simplifying network processes, we’re providing customers with an open solution that guarantees PON interoperability, enabling new services and innovations to be deployed much more quickly.”
Nokia will demonstrate the Multivendor ONU Connect solution at Broadband World Forum 2018 and showcase interoperability over an XGS-PON network, connecting a 3rd party ONT to the Nokia Lightspan OLT.
“Nokia’s Multivendor ONU Connect brings the benefits of SDN and NFV to operators. The Multivendor ONU Connect streamlines interoperability by virtualizing ONU management. Operators can manage existing ONUs and their updates, along with new ONUs, solving operational challenges,” Julie Kunstler, principal analyst at Ovum said.
