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Broadband Access
Verizon boosts FiOS home networking speeds up to 175 Mbps
Will deploy next-gen home gateways starting in Q3 08
by Doug Allen
Is the residential broadband market ready for GPON? Verizon thinks it
is, or nearly so. In a move towards future-proofing its access
networks for 100 Mbps-plus capacity using passive optical network
fiber-to-the-home technology that runs at Gigabit speeds in the core,
Verizon Communications has announced it will begin to deploy next-gen
home gateways, or routers, made by Actiontec Electronics and Westell
Technologies in Q3 this year.
Both the MI424-WR from Actiontec and Westell’s UltraLine Series model 9100 were custom-built for Verizon’s FiOS FTTH initiative. These units will drive Verizon’s FiOS capacity
from a current high of 75 Mbps to the next projected milestone of 100
Mbps in the home.
The new routers feature greater capacity, supporting 175 Mbps over up
to four Wi-Fi simultaneously running networks. QoS/traffic
prioritization and security settings can be configured independently
for each network, using integrated dual-core processors that can also
support multiple applications such as home security, home monitoring
and network security.
Verizon envisions customer scenarios that allow each network to run separate security policies, so that one network can be dedicated to “guest and visitors, another with parental
controls for young users, one for computers holding secure documents,
or one for teleworking only.”
Tushar Saxena, director of home networking technologies for Verizon, also sees wireless connection between digital cameras and your home PC as a possible application.
Media sessions can move across home devices, such as between TVs and
PCs, media servers, and other consumer digital devices, through
emerging DLNA and Universal Plug and Play standards that provide
connectivity and service integration. Additional modular devices such
as storage servers, printers, and peripherals can be integrated using
a USB interface. Verizon support staff can remotely manage all home
devices.
The new routers, designed to resist electric power surges and use less
energy, are based on an enhanced in-home networking technology called
Multimedia over Coax Alliance (MoCA: see MoCA taps for gold in coax) 1.1, which boosts the signal speed over home coaxial cable and
eliminates the need for Ethernet links between PCs.
Going with coax, which is already widely installed, makes installation easier for both
Verizon and the customer, while supporting up to 15 set-top boxes or
other simultaneously running devices (up from seven supported today).
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