Terminal Splitters in a Cabinet

1
Terminal Splitters in a Cabinet

• December 2008

2
Terminal Splitters in a Cabinet

• The purpose of this presentation is to share our
  findings around the terminal splitter product.
• We will show that there is terminal splitter that
  can physically be fitted into the cabinet.
• We will share our areas of concern which require
  further investigation, which are
• supply
• agreement of technical standards and
• the environment in which splitters would be
  housed.

3
Card Mounted Splitters Cables Jumpers

• These schematics show how cables and jumpers are
  used to connect the Voice services to the Line,
  where the voice services are delivered from an
  external source.

4
Terminal Mounted Splitters Cables Jumpers

• These schematics show how cables and jumpers are
  used to connect the Voice services to the Line,
  where the voice services are delivered from an
  internal source

5
Cable Mounted Splitters Cables Jumpers

• These schematics show the case when the voice
  services are delivered by an internal source but
  the splitter is mounted in the connection cable.

• Note that all these schematics show that if voice
  services are provided from within the cabinet
  then they are cabled to the Terminal Splitter.
• If flexibility is required and the voice services
  are cabled to a block in the cross connect area
  and then jumpered to the terminal splitter,
  additional terminal capacity will be required.

6
Primary Voltage Protection

• In lightning prone areas, primary voltage
  protection is added to protect the equipment in
  the cabinet.
• This is required primarily in rural areas and is
  designed to protect against lightning entering
  the cabinet via the distribution cable.
• The protection is provided by a plug-on unit
  which fits to the front of the Krone module.
• It is currently mounted on the equipment blocks.
• If a terminal block is introduced that cannot
  accommodate the protection, we will have to mount
  the protection on the line side blocks.
• This means we will have to install about three
  times as many protection units as currently.
• These units not only have a capital cost but an
  ongoing maintenance requirement.

7
Terminal Splitters

• We have held discussions with 4 manufacturers of
  terminal blocks with splitters
• 3 MTM
• ADC Krone
• SunSea and
• Corning.
• At this stage the discussion has centered around
• the physical footprint and density and
• general discussion on availability and
  specifications available
• We have NOT tested the splitters provided nor
  evaluated their suitability for the New Zealand
  network.

8
3MTM Integrated Splitter Block BRCP

• The splitter module plugs into the back when
  swung open
• Can use a bridging module
• Can mount primary voltage protection on the front
  of the block
• Is problematic to mount in the cabinet because of
  the width required to allow the block to open to
  access the splitter modules.

9
ADC Krone BroadWire PLUSTM

• 8 port splitter card with the VDSL connection on
  the rear of the card
• Primary voltage protection can be mounted on the
  front
• Voice services and line side are jumpered to the
  front
• Because of its width, there will be difficulties
  mounting it without interfering with the cable
  and jumper corridors
• This product is likely to require the space
  across two verticals, leading to an overall loss
  in terminal capacity.

10
Corning Splitter-EVs 96 line Block with splitter

• 8 port splitter card with the VDSL connection on
  the rear of the card
• Primary voltage protection cannot be mounted on
  the front
• Voice services and line side are jumpered to the
  front
• It is a very high density card which gives a
  doubling of density compared to the use of IN and
  OUT ports
• While it uses a different mounting than the
  current Krone blocks, the footprint is very
  similar.

11
SUNSEA xDSL Module

• 8 port line modules with a pluggable splitter
• Without the splitter inserted the Voice service
  is connected to the line side
• Primary voltage protection cannot be mounted on
  the front
• All cables and jumpers are connected on the
  front
• Has a wider footprint then the current Krone
  module but can probably be managed
• There is about a 10 increase in density when
  compared to the use of IN and OUT ports
• We currently have some practical concerns which
  would have to be further investigated.

12
Terminal Splitter availability

• One of three major areas of concern around
  terminal splitters is availability/supply.
• Does low New Zealand demand allow suitable
  terminal splitters to be obtained?
• Will a product decided upon now be available in a
  similar footprint in 12 months time?
• Discussions with suppliers show that the
  development to date has been driven by a Telco
  proposing to do a major roll out working with a
  DSLAM provider and a connector company to design
  a terminal splitter specifically for that
  situation and specification.
• We are likely to find that we are having to
  assess a new product every 12 months, not only
  from a physical footprint but a also technical
  specification perspective.
• This could lead to delays in installing equipment
  reliant on terminal splitters
• Alternatively, equipment may only be available at
  a premium price.

13
Terminal Splitter Availability - continued

• Our concern is that if we identify a terminal
  splitter, get agreement on specification and go
  through the necessary testing, we may have an
  identified product but unknown demand.
• Chorus will either have to purchase on a
  just-in-case basis or wait until a demand is
  identified.
• If the demand comes, it is possible that the
  product tested will not be available and the
  process has to be revisited, with associated cost
  and time delay.

14
Splitter technical specifications

• This is the second major area of concern.
• No testing or detailed investigation has been
  undertaken into the technical specifications of
  the splitters associated with the terminals.
• As the splitters would have to serve a variety of
  equipment types, agreement will be needed between
  customers as to the specifications that must be
  met.
• Cost and specification usually go hand in hand
• Once specification has been agreed on and a
  supplier identified, comprehensive testing would
  be required to ensure that all likely suppliers
  equipment performs satisfactorily.

15
Environmental Conditions

• The third area of concern is environmental
• The cross connect chamber is a sealed chamber,
  but with no heat or humidity control, with a
  level of solar gain.
• As one end of the chamber is formed by the heat
  exchanger there is a level of conduction based
  heating but very low.
• It is quite likely that the cross connect chamber
  may not meet the environmental operating
  conditions required by the manufacturer.
• One supplier quotes ETSI EN 300 019-1-3 class 3.3
• We will have to establish what the class of the
  cross connect chamber is, in this case it is
  either 3.3 or 3.4. The 3.4 class is more severe
  than 3.3.
• Besides the actual operating temperature the
  environmental stress has also to be taken into
  account.
• This is the cycling of the temperature over a
  reasonable range

16
Fitting into the Cabinet

• The cross connect chamber is part of cabinet
  design that is aimed at minimising the physical
  intrusion on the road side.
• Consequently it is a compact design based around
  Krone type blocks.
• We have indicated in earlier slides whether we
  believe it is possible to physically fit the
  terminal splitter blocks.
• A splitter block in such a compact area generally
  results in a loss of flexibility.
• The fitting of terminal splitters at the time of
  cabinet manufacture would be the preferred
  method.
• To retro-fit in the field (once cabinets have
  been installed) will be difficult and disruptive.
• Grooming may be required to clear a suitable
  space
• Any necessary removal of existing mounting frame,
  resizing and reinstalling risks causing
  accidental disconnections.

17
Summary

• We have potentially identified some terminal
  splitter blocks that we believe can be physically
  mounted in a cabinet without comprising the
  number of terminations.
• However, we have several major concerns, as to
• the supply and hence costs of delivery of these
  blocks to the small New Zealand market
• the need to reach agreement on the technical
  standards and then securing the splitter blocks
  at a reasonable cost and
• around the environmental conditions that these
  will be operating in.
• While fitting them at the time of cabinet
  manufacture would be straight forward,
  retro-fitting them to cabinets will be difficult,
  disruptive and expensive.
• Determining the right mix of splitters and
  standard blocks at cabinet manufacture would be a
  complex process involving all current and
  potential access seekers. Even then, it is
  unlikely to lead to a perfect solution.