US Internet develops ZyXEL Active Ethernet gear for FTTH

US Internet evaluated several FTTH approaches and vendors, says ZyXEL, and concluded that a PON-based approach, at $900 per subscriber, would be too expensive. Active Ethernet technology proved more economical, particularly since ZyXEL could support the architecture end-to-end.

"With the boom of streaming video and other data-intensive features driving the mobile market, our customers are demanding even faster Internet speeds, and fiber seemed the most logical next step," said Travis Carter, vice president of technology for US Internet. "ZyXEL was able to deliver the best, most economical end-to-end solution for US Internet's fiber broadband service offering."

US Internet installed ZyXEL's ES3124F 24-port Ethernet fiber switches in their central offices (COs) and ZyXEL's FSG1100 Active Ethernet gateway in customer premises. The FSG1100 then connects to ZyXEL's 802.11n wireless NBG4615 router. The ES3124F's built-in rate limiting feature enables US Internet to offer multiple service tiers, which initially are 15 Mbps, 30 Mbps, and 100 Mbps.

The fact that the ZyXEL systems use a uniform user interface and management capabilities simplified training of US Internet personnel, as well as integrating the equipment into US Internet's proprietary management system, "Muniverse." The system enables remote configuration and troubleshooting so US Internet can install new services in under 20 minutes.