Optical Network Terminal (ONT) Provisioning Made Simple

Next Generation Communications Blog

Optical Network Terminal (ONT) Provisioning Made Simple

By: Mae Kowalke, TMCnet Contributor

Fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) enables providers to deliver more bandwidth and better services to customers, but service provisioning can be a substantial headache since FTTH networks are shared and therefore the optical network terminal (ONT) location is not known. Not knowing the ONT location, currently operators must send a technician to the customer’s home to establish the right location and apply service provisioning.

Alcatel-Lucent understands this problem well, and it has taken steps to ease the pain of FTTH service provisioning by developing its ONT Easy Start solution.

The premise of the solution is a simple one: Set up an automated provisioning system that only requires shipping the customer the hardware (or having them pick it up), activation and a web browser. Once a subscription has been initiated and the customer has logged into the web portal, the service provisioning is set up automatically, both testing and activating the ONT for the customer.

For new FTTH installations, a technician still must come and lay fiber. But Alcatel-Lucent’s ONT Easy Start ensures that the process of provisioning is both easy and error-proof since the technician then just uses the automated process once the fiber has been laid. And for customers who already have the option of FTTP, ONT Easy Start makes it painless.

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Source: Alcatel-Lucent

The ONT Easy Start solution relies on several network components.

To start, a full FTTH network with optical line terminal (OLT) at the central office, as well as an ONT with the end user are needed. Layer 2 provisioning is performed by the (EMS) system while optionally Layer 3 is provisioned by the access management system (ACS). Additionally, inventory systems, customer relationship management systems, and other components may interface with the solution. Lastly, the operator’s OSS/BSS needs to communicate with all these components. Taken together, the management of these disparate components is quite complex.

The solution also offers additional components that make FTTH service provisioning easier. These include the Motive Network Analyzer, a cost-effective remote management solution for fiber access networks that allows operators to perform additional line testing to ensure the quality of the fiber connection before provisioning the ONT; the Motive Field Tech Console, which handles service tickets in the case of installation problems; and the Motive Universal Device Manager, which automatically handles Layer 3 provisioning of the ONT.

FTTH service provisioning does not have to be hard with the right tools.



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