IEEE Conformity Assessment Program (ICAP) Announces Formation of SIEPON Conformity Assessment Steering Group (CASG)

Major Service Providers, Manufacturers, and Testing Laboratories Collaborate With ICAP to Launch Testing and Certification Program for Service Interoperability in Ethernet Passive Optical Network (SIEPON) Based on Recently Approved IEEE Std 1904.1(TM)-2013


PISCATAWAY, NJ--(Marketwired - Jul 18, 2013) - The IEEE Conformity Assessment Program (ICAP), in collaboration with key stakeholders and technical experts representing telecom and cable service providers, system vendors, chipset vendors, and testing laboratories today announces the formation of the ICAP SIEPON Conformity Assessment Steering Group (CASG). A key initiative of the CASG is the development and delivery of a testing and certification program for EPON Optical Line Terminals (OLT) and Optical Network Units (ONU). The certification program is based on the IEEE 1904.1™-2013 Standard for Service Interoperability in Ethernet Passive Optical Networks (SIEPON).

The ICAP SIEPON CASG founding membership includes the following companies: Bright House Networks, Broadcom Corporation, CableLabs, China Telecom Corporation, Fujitsu, Hitachi, Marvell, NEC Corporation, NTT, Oliver Solutions, PMC-Sierra, Research Institute of Telecommunications Transmission (RITT), University of New Hampshire InterOperability Lab (UNH-IOL), and ZTE Corporation.

"This conformance program allows us to envision a future where we, as an operator, can confidently select from a broad ecosystem of ICAP certified (and thus interoperable) EPON access products," commented Ed Mallette, Chair of ICAP-SIEPON CASG and Distinguished Engineer at Bright House Networks. "This is critically important to strategic fiber-to-the-premise (FTTP) initiatives where interoperability across vendor products -- OLT and ONUs -- is mandatory."

The ICAP SIEPON Conformity Assessment Program will provide all participants a centralized resource for testing EPON OLTs and ONUs. This program will eliminate the need for service providers to develop proprietary system level specifications and interoperability test procedures. Availability of certified equipment will significantly reduce the burden on services providers, especially those without previous experience in FTTx.

By combining technical expertise from multiple entities to develop test procedures and by sharing testing resources, SIEPON CASG aims to create an efficient, affordable, and comprehensive SIEPON Conformity Assessment Program. ICAP's approach of partnering with multiple labs throughout the world will ensure a uniform testing methodology that produces consistent results across testing laboratories.

"The SIEPON Conformity Assessment Program will help unify EPON deployment models and as a result expand the total addressable market," said Marek Hajduczenia, Chief Editor of IEEE 1904.1 Working Group and xPON Standardization Director for ZTE Corporation.

"Telecom and Cable Service Providers globally can obtain significant benefits from this important industry supported initiative. The SIEPON Conformity Assessment Program will provide a reliable testing and conformance methodology, thus validating OLTs and ONUs deployed to the network while accelerating market adoption," commented Ravi Subramaniam, Technical Director, ICAP. "This program will provide end-users with a high-level of confidence in interoperability, especially when selecting products for their emerging 10G-EPON deployments."

1G-EPON is a highly successful Ethernet-based subscriber access network technology, serving over 100 million subscriber attachments worldwide. These systems support a diverse suite of business and residential services, including IPTV, VoIP, commercial-grade data services, and cellular backhaul. The second generation, 10G-EPON, provides the highest symmetric bandwidth among all available FTTx solutions and is slated to enter broad commercial deployments in the second half of 2013.

How to Join?

Entities wishing to join the ICAP SIEPON CASG may contact Ravi Subramaniam, Technical Director, ICAP via e-mail at r.subramaniam@ieee.org to request additional information or an application package.

About the IEEE Conformity Assessment Program

The IEEE Conformity Assessment Program (ICAP) -- a program of the IEEE Industry Standards and Technology Organization (IEEE-ISTO) -- provides programs and industry support that help bridge those standards development activities with the conformity assessment activities that accelerate market acceptance and enablement of new products and technologies. The IEEE Standards Association (IEEE-SA) has invested in the development of ICAP through a Development Agreement with the ISTO in furtherance of its mission to support its standards. The foundation of ICAP activities is based on industry best practices, internationally accepted quality systems and use of proven test tools. Fostering the market acceptance, adoption and implementation of standardized technologies, ICAP spans the spectrum of today's smart grid, information and communications technologies. To find out more about ICAP, visit http://www.ieee-isto.org/icap-program.