Point 2 Technology, a provider of high-performance solutions for cloud and 5G infrastructure, headquartered in San Jose, California, has introduced the 5G RangeXtender. The SFP28 module has proprietary electronic dispersion compensation that extends the reach of fronthaul and backhaul in 5G networks. As well as increasing the reach of existing fiber transmission paths up to 30 km, RangeXtender also reduces CAPEX and OPEX, delivering a reduction of up to 25% in total cost of ownership.
Supporting wireless carriers
“Wireless carriers will need to support enormous increases in traffic”
Sean Park, Point2 CEO
“As 5G is deployed, wireless carriers will need to support enormous increases in traffic, which means they will need to upgrade the data rates of their fiber links for fronthaul and backhaul from 10 Gb/s to 25 Gb/s and soon to 50 Gb/s,” says Point2 CEO Sean Park. “This will require significant investments in infrastructure long before they can realise revenue from it. Our RangeXtender essentially allows existing fiber infrastructure to increase reach from the current 10 km to 30 km through the use of a unique EDC/CDR SoC. The result is much lower cost of ownership because it reduces the need for costly fiber extension, dispersion compensation filters, and amplification while enhancing link performance on the ageing fiber.”
At the heart of the 5G RangeXtender is the PT-E1012322 Electrical Dispersion Compensation (EDC) SoC that combines two lanes of bidirectional clock-and-data recovery (CDR) and EDC with a CDR/retime. This 5G technology significantly compensates for distortion caused by dispersion and reduces bit-error rate. With latency of less than 16 ns, it consumes about 9 mW/Gb/s, and provides for tests such as pattern generation and checking and local and remote loopback via a real-time eye scanner. The SoC is in a tiny CSP package that easily fits in SFP28 modules.
5G ecosystem
The 5G RangeXtender EDC SoC’s integrated CPU allows integrators to customise the device, easily. It is available in a reference design along with the linear receiver optical subassembly to let multiple module suppliers deliver this solution. Point2 is in partnership discussions with Tier 1 module suppliers who supply the 5G ecosystem to accelerate ramp-up and provide diversity in multi-sourcing.
Currently supporting a 25-Gb/s solution, Point 2 Technology has a roadmap for the RangeXtender to deliver up to 100 Gb/s for future access networks. The 5G RangeXtender/PT-E1012322 with 25-Gb/s capability is sampling now, and production is expected in Q4 2021.
- Why 5G small cells are vital for mmWave 5G
- Get updates on the hottest 5G stocks
- We reveal the latest 5G use cases
- Discover the truth behind 5G dangers
- 5G towers: everything you need to know
