BROADBAND COMMUNITIES is the leading source of information on digital and broadband technologies for buildings and communities. Our editorial aims to accelerate the deployment of Fiber-To-The-Home and Fiber-To-The-Premises.
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AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2015 | www.broadbandcommunities.com | BROADBAND COMMUNITIES | 63 a lot less labor, we could upgrade them to a 3M passive optical network," says Bobby Mack McClung, chief executive ofcer of AWS Communications. "Te 3M solution would also save them energy and maintenance costs and give them a lot more capacity for future bandwidth." Passive optical LANs are called passive because a single fber supports miles of connectivity. Passive optical splitters distribute converged services directly from a main switch to the terminals without using electricity. Tere's no need for active electronics between the main equipment room and the work-area terminals – in other words, no more distribution and workgroup switches that are costly to install and operate. In fact, depending upon the network design, as much as a 70 percent reduction in equipment and infrastructure can be achieved. So instead of recabling the entire building with copper twisted pair, AWS used a passive optical LAN with a single fber to support miles of connectivity and to deliver voice, video and data at gigabit speeds to Ethernet end points, such as user devices, access points, wireless controllers, application servers and printers. TSBPE would get high-performance (gigabit) broadband to the desktop at a fraction of the cost of typical copper-based Ethernet LAN confgurations. Passive optical LANs ofer many benefts beyond budget considerations. When it comes to power consumption, a passive optical LAN is a more efcient option than a traditional LAN in more ways than one. Power consumption is much less with passive optical LANs. A passive optical LAN requires less equipment and uses less energy than structured cabling, which translates into less energy consumption and lower deployment and operating expenses. By eliminating the need for layers of aggregation switches, which cuts the thousands of kilowatt-hours used by the power and cooling systems that go along with them, an enterprise can achieve, depending upon the network design, as much as an 80 percent reduction in power costs. At the end of the day, a passive optical LAN might use only 1 kWh for every 5 kWh a traditional LAN uses. Multiply that by thousands of users and the cost per kWh, and the diference is substantial. Let's look at a larger enterprise situation. Consider an ofce building with 2,000 employees. A traditional LAN would require 18 7-foot-tall equipment racks with 90 rack units of space. A passive optical LAN, on the other hand, can accommodate up to 7,000 employees using only one equipment rack with nine rack units. In other words, what used to fll up multiple communications closets may now require none at all, allowing enterprises to reduce operating expenses by cutting overhead costs such as rent and HVAC. It also equates to fewer things to manage, maintain and worry about. Security is also better with a passive optical LAN. A typical copper Ethernet LAN emits electromagnetic signals that can be intercepted by hackers. A passive optical LAN does not, and it also supports security mechanisms such as AES (advanced encryption standard) 128-bit encryption. "We had to move our data closet to a diferent location in the building. AWS Communications and 3M worked together to help us upgrade our network using passive fber optic networking. We gained much more capacity for future use at about the same cost as replacing the old copper cabling. We are very happy with the results," says Lisa Hill, executive director of the Texas State Board of Plumbing Examiners. v As the business development manager for premises networks in the 3M Communication Markets Division, Ryland Marek drives the global business development eforts for 3M's passive optical LAN solutions portfolio. Find out more at www.3M.com/telecom. Mark Your Calendars! April 5 – 7, 2016 Renaissance Hotel – Austin, Texas The Leading Conference on Broadband Technologies and Services 877-588-1649 | www.bbcmag.com To Exhibit or Sponsor contact: Irene G. Prescott irene@bbcmag.com | 505-867-3299