XFP QAM, LC/APC, DWDM ITU 45
The standardization and availability of pluggable optical interfaces for headend equipment offer cable operators significant power and operational cost advantages. They offer a reduction in power consumption of 50 percent, based on Cisco testing, compared to what is typically used in many legacy forward QAM transmitters. The tunable transmitters also reduce customer’s inventory expense costs associated with spare components. The Cisco® Small Form-Factor Pluggable (XFP) Radio Frequency QAM Transmitter is one of the industry’s first pluggable optical interfaces and is based on the Society of Telecommunications Engineers (SCTE) multi-source agreement for pluggable interfaces. It offers:
- Small form-factor pluggable modules
- Tunable and fixed wavelengths
- SCTE 195 2013 compliance
- A design for Prisma® family
The heart of an optical transmitter is its laser. The Cisco XFP QAM transmitter’s laser is frequency-locked and amplitude modulated by the information-bearing QAM RF signals. Full C-band tunable devices complement fixed wavelength transmitters and are available at the interoperable Wavelength Division Multiplexing (iWDM) wavelengths Cisco co-developed for exceptional system performance or on the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) grid. The Cisco XFP QAM transmitter eliminates the need for discrete legacy forward transmitters, saving space in headends and anticipating converged network integration. The Cisco XFP QAM transmitter changes the paradigm for pluggable optics in a Hybrid-Fiber Coaxial (HFC) network by allowing cable operators to offer the next generation of services over an all IP-based infrastructure.
The Cisco XFP QAM transmitter offers industry-leading density in Cisco HFC optical access platforms. In addition to the increased density, the Cisco XFP QAM transmitter provides cable operators with improved energy management within their access infrastructure. It was developed to comply with the SCTE’s Smart Energy Management Initiative (SEMI), resulting in greatly reduced power consumption.
The Cisco XFP QAM transmitter offers operators greater architectural flexibility with tunable or fixed wavelength optics. Both types support a broad, 40 wavelength overlay network or a multi-wavelength system using the industry-accepted iWDM plan. The tunable Cisco XFP QAM transmitter allows for improved sparing and product deployment efficiencies as the module can be tuned to any C-band ITU-compatible wavelength in the field. The fixed wavelength Cisco XFP QAM transmitter offers a more cost-effective alternative while benefiting from the reduced footprint and power requirements of the XFP form factor. The Cisco XFP QAM transmitter helps future-proof cable operators’ investment in forward-path QAM optics. Both the tunable and fixed versions are forward compatible into the Cisco Converged Cable Access Platform (CCAP), the Cisco cBR-8 Converged Broadband Router, through the use of the optical physical interface card.
