Broadcom Announces Universal Central Office Chip for Fiber Service Providers

LONDON, Oct. 20, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Broadband World Forum2015 - Broadcom Corporation (NASDAQ: BRCM), a global innovation leader in semiconductor solutions for wired and wireless communications, today introduced the industry's most comprehensive universal passive optical network (PON) device for optical line terminals (OLTs). The new chip gives OEMs and operators the greatest flexibility in deployment, promoting broader fiber services around the world. For more news, visit Broadcom'sNewsroom.

Broadcom's multi-mode BCM68620 system-on-a-chip (SoC) integrates support for both existing and next-generation fiber technologies¹ under a common application programming interface (API), to enable a unified system software design that can be applied to all PON protocols supported by a system manufacturer. By enabling universal PON hardware and software, the new SoC reduces development and support costs.

"Broadcom's BCM68620 allows OEMs and fiber service providers to develop a single software solution that can be used across multiple PON deployments, simplifying inventory management and network maintenance," said Greg Fischer, Broadcom Senior Vice President and General Manager, Broadband Carrier Access. "Built on our proven PON OLT technologies, the BCM68620 family integrates support for new and legacy PON technologies into a single platform to improve density, streamline development, reduce capital expenditures, and ultimately speed deployments to subscribers."

Broadcom's BCM68620 is also the first commercially-available OLT silicon for the ITU's G.987 XGPON-1 protocol, and will offer the industry's first support for the new G.989 NGPON-2 protocol in the first half of 2016. Including its additional support for the widely-deployed IEEE 802.3ah 1G EPON, G.984 2 Gbps GPON, and IEEE 802.3av 10G EPON protocols, the BCM68620 is the most comprehensive PON OLT development platform on the market today.

By bringing all of these technologies under a single API, the BCM68620 is an ideal choice for the application of Software Defined Networking (SDN) management practices to the OLT, supporting the creation of a universal open management system with the flexibility for easy configuration by virtualized applications running in a cloud-based architecture. By also offering PON protocol coexistence on a single device, system vendors can design universal line cards with the BCM68620, significantly improving inventory management and deployment complexity for fiber operators.

The combination of universality on both the software and hardware layers represents a dramatic leap forward in efficiency for PON OLT deployment, obsoleting the approach of protocol-specific systems and paving the way to highly-optimized common infrastructure.

Key Features of the BCM68620 SoC

• Dedicated, field-proven PON MACs for each technology
• Broadcom-designed, high-performance PON and 10G-PON burst-mode SerDes
• Integrated NNI SerDes up to 12.5G for glue-less chip-to-chip or backplane (10GKR) interconnect
• High-performance ARM-based CPU for DBA and device management
• 28nm process node for low power

Availability

Broadcom's BCM68620 family is currently sampling. Broadcom will be demonstrating the solution at Broadband World Forum in London, October 20-22, 2015, Meeting Room #36.