KDDI R&D Laboratories (KDDI R&D), Furukawa Electric and Teknovus announced an end-to-end fiber-based backhaul transport solution that eliminates the need for GPS receivers at each base station throughout a cellular network. Accurate clock synchronization is required in cellular networks to prevent call drops as subscribers move from cell-to-cell, to ensure high-quality voice communications and to support accurate billing.
The solution integrates one GPS receiver with the OLT (Optical Line Terminal), distributing carrier-grade clock signaling throughout the EPON network to every connected base station.
This could help service providers eliminate costly GPS receivers, cabling and monthly TDM-circuit fees. In addition, this solution enables base station installations in areas with limited GPS reception, such as those shadowed by adjacent buildings or other physical obstructions.
Key components of this end-to-end clock synchronization include:
- Teknovus Turbo-EPON chips and embedded software.
- Furukawa's integrated GPS receiver for the OLT, which multiplexes the clock signals into EPON frames using the Teknovus OLT chip. For base stations, Furukawa provides an SFP-ONU (Small Form Factor Pluggable-Optical Network Unit), the FITELwave AG9, based on the Teknovus ONU chip, which de-multiplexes the clock signals with high fidelity for use by wireless base stations.
- KDDI R&D's timing solutions for fiber-based networks, which eliminate the need for costly GPS transceivers at every base station.
