5G Mobile Open xHaul Leader Launches DZS Chronos Mobile Transport Portfolio

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DZS, a global leader of intelligent, packet-based mobile transport and broadband access converged edge solutions representing communications service providers and enterprise customers in more than 100 countries, announced the launch of the DZS Chronos mobile transport solutions portfolio. Open, software defined and proven, the comprehensive set of cutting-edge Fronthaul, Midhaul and Backhaul capable DZS Chronos solutions enable topologies and architectures for Open RAN and Virtual RAN approaches using both packet and optical transport technologies.

With over 1.5 million mobile xHaul ports shipped globally, many of the world’s most innovative and agile service providers, including five of the top twenty globally, leverage DZS Chronos solutions to transport their groundbreaking mobile services. With the rise of 5G-based networks, success depends on meeting new demands for extreme low latency and high performance synchronization; DZS delivers with specialized mobile-oriented capabilities including Time Sensitive Networking (TSN), preemption, Grand Master and GPS / GNSS receiver functions. The breadth of advanced, open, xHaul enabled solutions from DZS, recently enhanced by the acquired Optelian coherent optics products (the DZS O-series), are leading the industry with the combination of edge intelligence, flexible deployment options, and high performance required for the 5G era.

“DZS has established itself as a pioneer in mobile xHaul by working in partnership with major wireless providers in Japan and South Korea, in North America now as the result of the Optelian acquisition, and with other regional disruptors who are advancing 4G and 5G networks around the world,” said Charlie Vogt, President and CEO of DZS. “As service providers look to launch new 5G services and future-proof their networks in the face of pandemic-related network demands, the DZS Chronos mobile transport portfolio offers unparalleled ultra-low latency and high-resolution synchronization capabilities and robust performance to enable demanding applications, such as interactive gaming, social networking, streaming video, augmented/virtual reality, Internet of Things, online school, and smart homes, buildings and cities. Whether building out a new 5G multiband network or enhancing existing 4G infrastructure to support enhanced wireless services, DZS solutions are optimized to enable maximum agility and performance for service providers globally.”

The DZS Chronos mobile transport portfolio includes an array of products for end-to-end mobile transport systems with indoor and outdoor options for small cell and macro deployment sites, network edge datacenters and regional hubs. With embedded mobile-specific features that are enabled when software features are licensed, these products include industry standard network and compute offload functions that form the basis of a versatile, distributed, “micro-cloud” designed for latency-critical real-time edge services. The DZS Chronos solutions portfolio is a critical enabler for virtualized RAN, Open RAN and Multi-Access Edge Computing (MEC) architectures, providing connectivity for software-based baseband units (BBU) or distributed units (DU) / centralized units (CU) and Radio Units (RU) in distributed or centralized topologies.

The DZS Chronos mobile transport solutions portfolio, powered by the fully SDN-enabled sdNOS Network Operating System, includes the following product families: 

• C-series: An expanding family of environmentally hardened, intelligent edge units developed to empower Open RAN, vRAN and MEC deployments requiring packet-based Fronthaul functionality, with options for direct radio interface capabilities using CPRI, eCPRI, OpenFH, or Radio over Ethernet technologies.
• M-series: These scalable, 100G-capable MPLS access/aggregation multilayer switches provide high performance Cell Site Router (CSR) as well as spine element switching functions for disaggregated multi node SDN designs.
• V-series: These NG-PON, XGS-PON and GPON-based products enable operators to architect their mobile networks for cost effective network edge Midhaul and Backhaul at scale while leveraging SDN control and NFV capabilities.
• NEW O-series (previously known as Optelian): These environmentally hardened optical transport products are optimized for high capacity and long-reach mobile backhaul scenarios and have completed the Telcordia/Ericsson OSMINE certification progress.
• E-series: These high-density, small and large port count in-building switches offer Power over Ethernet and clock distribution functions especially suited to small cell and Wi-Fi access point connectivity.

In Japan, DZS C-Series products have helped Rakuten to turn the promise of Open RAN into a reality. With over 2 million subscribers, the network relies on DZS Chronos mobile transport solutions to aggregate and manage Rakuten’s 4G and 5G traffic – offering significant financial and technology advantages when compared to proprietary and closed mobile network architectures.

In South Korea and Japan, DZS Chronos solutions using M-series and V-series products are powering major operators like LG U+ and KT (formerly Korea Telecom) in their state-of-the-art commercial 5G networks – delivering speeds that are up to 10-20x faster than LTE with over 40 times higher capacity, ultra-low latency in-line with 5G requirements. 

In North America, O-series products are optimizing the use of scarce fiber optic resources by delivering the most versatile and cost effective optical transport solutions for backhaul of mobile traffic over long distances to remote parts of the network in which the availability of environmentally controlled spaces is not practical.