ICOTERA LAUNCHES ITS NEW STANDARD-SETTING LAYER 2 FIBER-TO-THE-HOME CPE GATEWAY

ICOTERA LAUNCHES ITS NEW STANDARD-SETTING LAYER 2 P2P RESIDENTIAL FIBER GATEWAY PREPARED FOR OPEN ACCESS AND SMART HOME: A STEP TOWARDS THE FUTURE FIBER-TO-THE-HOME NETWORK

Vendor independence, easy management and Smart Home platform. Icotera addresses the growing implementation of Open Access networks with their latest innovative layer 2 P2P Residential Fiber Gateway - the IGW 1000 S - expected to be a layer 2 CPE blockbuster

"We wanted to make our new Layer 2 fiber gateway future-proof in all the ways we could
think of, says Peter Lund, CEO at Icotera. He underlines four key features of the gateway:

• Vendor independence
  
• Easy management and installation
  
• Unique Smart Home platform
• Ready for Open Access networks
  

Vendor independence
A key future-oriented feature of the IGW 1000 S is the fact that it is vendor independent.The IGW 1000 S CPE is not locked-in to any proprietary back-end network systems and it allows for other third-party access points to be connected to the Icotera CPE – since vendor independence is at the core of Icotera’s products. 

For the network operator and service provider, this means that there are no limits whatsoever as to what systems and products they can include in their network architecture - before and after the fiber termination point. 

Easy management with TR-069 and auto-provisioning
The IGW 1000 S is also a FTTH CPE gateway that requires less work from operators and service providers. Firmware upgrade is completed very fast and in a fail-proof manner with dual-bank firmware. Also, there is no requirement for network operators to invest in expensive (and vendor-locked-in) management systems, the IGW 1000 S is prepared for the majority of today’s management systems. The Icotera fiber gateway can be controlled by a number of management protocols (e.g. SNMP, CLI via SSH or Telnet, TR-069 and an operator friendly web interface) or Icotera’s fail-proof zero-touch auto provisioning mechanism.

Traditionally, Layer 2 based FTTH CPEs have been lacking proper management, and offered very little features (typically limited to VLANs, 802.1p etc.). However, the IGW 1000 S is a new take on Layer 2 CPEs, and besides what everybody would expect from such a product it also supports features for today’s needs in advanced Open Access networking, like:

• L2 to L4 packet filtering (including IPv6)
• Shaping, marking and queuing 
• On-device packet dumping
• 802.1ad - QinQ
• Dual bank firmware upgrade

and much much more.

Enables Smart Home solutions with great advantages
Another future-oriented feature is the Smart Home platform integrated into the gateway. This platform offers great solutions for end-users within alarm & surveillance, energy management and home automation, which is offered by the service provider or network operator, providing them with great opportunities for additional revenue streams and increased customer loyalty.

"Imagine a future where you in a simple way can unlock your door and turn off your alarm system while sitting at work, to let a plumber inside your house to fix your sink. You can schedule electric devices to be turned on or off at certain times, or automatically turn down the heating system at night or while at work to save energy. The IGW 1000 S is ready for that," says Peter Lund.

Ready for Open Access networks
Open Access networks are quite different from traditional proprietary fiber optic networks and are increasingly being pursued by network operators. They are generally made available by operators to all service providers, where traditional proprietary networks are generally not accessible, through lease or otherwise, to more than one service provider. Icotera is addressing the growing implementation of Open Access networks with this latest innovative product introduction.

Commercial expectations
Icotera plans to launch the product all over Europe, and expects it to be a Layer 2 CPE blockbuster, especially in Sweden, where Open Access CPEs are standard.

"We expect it is going to be a high volume product - it is a very strong offering, addressing customer needs for a high-quality product with the lowest total cost of ownership and with the right features as well as an attractive design," says Danny van der Poel, Chief Commercial Officer at Icotera.

Further information and press photos:
Technical details and more information can be found at www.icotera.com/products/open-access-fiber-switch-p2p-icotera/