Iskratel unveils new XGS PON OLT and universal gateway

Kranj, Slovenia - Iskratel, the leading European provider of sustainable broadband-access solutions, has released its SI3000 Lumia XG8, a compact, eight-port XGS-PON Optical Line Terminal (OLT), optimised for smaller fibre-access deployments in residential, business and backhaul use cases.

Supporting any service-delivery model in single- or multi-provider environments, the compact XGS-PON OLT allows operators to virtualise the network without hardware replacement. Therefore, operators can skip an entire investment cycle and fully optimise total cost of ownership while introducing software-defined, next-generation broadband access.

Operators will be able to utilise the SI3000 Lumia XG8’s high resiliency and compactness in a host of urban and rural environments, and its eight XGS-PON ports can serve up to 2,048 users at 1:256 split radio. In addition to its low power consumption, rack space is saved at central-office locations and it can fit into street cabinets, comfortably coping with harsh temperatures up to 65 °C.

"Creating radical change in every aspect of our lives, from how we communicate, to how we work and relax, fibre is the only future-ready option, and the SI3000 Lumia XG8 will help operators overcome the challenges surrounding this new era of technology," said Svjetlana Kalaba, Director of Business Unit Broadband, Iskratel. "By utilising the right technology, operators can unleash the full potential that fibre offers, and address the connectivity demands of today and beyond."

The RUNE (Rural Network) project, which will connect around 350,000 households in rural Slovenia and Croatia, is just one example of the successful deployment of Iskratel's compact XGS-PON OLTs, with the first end-users already receiving ultra-fast internet access over XGS-PON.

Iskratel continues to introduce its array of dual-nature OLTs that eliminate the need for operators to invest in hardware upgrades when they start virtualising the central office. Promoting sustainable fibre access for operators' long-term business success, the SI3000 Lumia XG8 is based on a network processor and operates in a flow-based mode, allowing a smooth migration to software-defined access.

This compact XGS-PON OLT – which comes in a 1U pizzabox format – complements Iskratel's existing XGS-PON OLT portfolio by providing full scalability of deployment from 1U versions to the biggest, multi-blade XGS-PON OLTs, which were released earlier this year. Full support for traditional and virtualised setups on SI3000 Lumia XG8 will be available in Q1 2021.

"It’s our expertise and knowledge that makes us a chosen and leading provider of connectivity solutions across Europe. We are excited to showcase our new wave of innovative solutions to address the specific needs that broadband deployments face at this year's FTTH Conference," added Kalaba.

Iskratel will be showcasing its latest SI3000 Lumia XG8 at FTTH ‘Virtual’ Conference 2020 from Wednesday, December 2 until Thursday, December 3.

In a separate press release: 

Iskratel, the leading European provider of sustainable broadband-access solutions, today launched its new Innbox U92, that provides a multi-gigabit experience over copper, fibre or mobile on a single home-networking device. The new device equips operators with a single, universal home gateway for customer premises, regardless of broadband-access technology.

Simplifying the migration between technologies in single-box deployment set-ups, the Innbox U92 also reduces operators’ stock costs significantly. Supporting multi-gigabit data rates, it easily delivers advanced triple-play services, including multiple Ultra-High-Definition (UHD) TV streams over wired, wireless or mesh home networks. The Innbox U92 has a Wi-Fi 6 access point with Multi-User MIMO (MU-MIMO) that uplifts wireless connectivity and performance significantly for multi-streaming and gaming.

The latest addition to Iskratel’s family of Innbox Customer-Premises Equipment (CPE) also includes an EasyMesh™ compliant mesh Wi-Fi controller that will unlock the true potential of multi-gigabit connectivity. Due to the super-fast boot-up time and uplink detection, and with an integrated Fibre-Termination Unit (FTU) it will substantially reduce Fibre-To-The-Home (FTTH) deployment costs for operators.

“We are very pleased to unveil Innbox U92, which builds on the success of our current award-winning Innbox CPE devices,” said Svjetlana Kalaba, Director of Business Unit Broadband at Iskratel. “The COVID-19 pandemic has further highlighted the need for reliable, ultrafast connectivity in consumers’ homes, and our new device will allow operators to deliver cutting-edge services seamlessly and cost-effectively.”

The Innbox U92 will enable users to securely access all their home services (such as a TV) and home devices (such as surveillance cameras, storage and smart appliances) from anywhere via a Virtual Private Network (VPN) connection. In addition to a fully featured router and firewall, secure wireless transmission and authentication, end-users will also see the seamless transfer of multicast IPTV over Wi-Fi and Mesh Wi-Fi using an embedded proxy.

“We are delighted with Iskratel’s Innbox U92 and have unsurprisingly found its performance to be a continuation of its predecessors,” said Gorazd Penko, Research and Development Department at T-2. “Based on the device’s new abilities to truly unlock the vast potential of multi-gigabit connectivity, it enables us to present new services to our customer base and unlock new revenue potential.”

The Innbox U92 follows in the footsteps of Iskratel’s current Innbox CPE devices, including Innbox G84 and Innbox G85 that are GPON home gateways that ensure the smooth delivery of services. Integrated FTU and advanced remote management keep operators' costs under control, and MU-MIMO and an embedded EasyMesh™ controller provide unrivalled wireless coverage, especially when the devices work in tandem with Innbox M84. The Innbox M84, a premium EasyMesh™ agent access point is one of the latest additions to Iskratel’s portfolio and is able to deliver multi-gigabit throughput to numerous wireless or wired clients across customer premises.

Iskratel will be showcasing its latest Innbox CPE devices, including the Innbox U92 at FTTH ‘Virtual’ Conference 2020 from Wednesday, December 2 until Thursday, December 3.