STL is trying to capitalize on the trend toward open networking in the fiber market with a new programmable FTTX solution (pFTTX) to make it universally available.
"I think 5G obviously, O-RAN and open RAN are getting a lot of press or almost all press, but there are similar efforts in the fiber space," Chris Rice, CEO of STL's Access Solutions business, told Fierce. "It's an important market and we certainly want to be a part of both of those markets.
The pFTTX solution it sells includes a software layer for the network that allows operators to control subscriber management and network traffic. The advantage of having this layer defined by software is that it becomes "more scalable, it's disaggregated, you can build it on a white box, and so on."
The solution is compliant with Open Networking Foundation and Broadband Forum standards, and is compatible with third-party applications. It can be deployed on telecom servers, locally or in the cloud, and is available through VMware's Cloud Marketplace.
Rice said STL's pFTTX software was built "from the ground up" over the past two years or so. When he joined the company in March, he focused on how to turn the software into a real-world product and start attracting customers.
The key benefits of the solution include scalability and lower total cost of ownership, the executive said. pFTTX products consume less power and therefore contribute less to operating expenses. In addition, pFTTX can help simplify the transition between technology iterations, such as from XGS-PON to 25G PON, as these are field-programmable changes. Rice added that its open design also provides operators with more options in terms of network equipment.
In developed markets, Rice said STL is primarily aimed at operators who are transitioning from GPON to XGS-PON for fiber-to-the-home deployments. In less developed markets, the focus is more on the transition from fiber to the enterprise or fiber to the cell site to XGS-PON.
"The demand is, I would call it, riding the wave of upgrading to XGS-PON because no one is going to take a perfectly working system and upgrade it to SDN just to do that," he explained. "But when they're ready to migrate their network, they're going to ask me how to optimize it, how to make it most cost effective, how to reduce my TCO. that's where the pFTTX solution really comes into play."
STL has been in various stages of field trials and proof-of-concept with a number of operators, including a "major Asian operator" and one in Taiwan.
