Access White Paper March 2007

Carrier Ethernet
The technology of choice for

Access networks
March 2006
Metro Ethernet Forum

Carrier Ethernet – the Technology of Choice for Access Networks
Table of Contents
Abstract................................................................................................................................................. 4
Scope..................................................................................................................................................... 6
Carrier Ethernet Access...................................................................................................................... 6
Unified way to deliver services..........................................................................................................6
MEF Definitions for Carrier Ethernet Services................................................................................8
5 Key Attributes of Carrier Ethernet................................................................................................9
Applications for Carrier Ethernet....................................................................................................10
Business Services using Carrier Ethernet.....................................................................................11
Point-to-Point (Business-to-Business).......................................................................................11
Virtual Private Networks - VPN....................................................................................................11
High Bandwidth Multimedia.......................................................................................................... 11
IP Telephony and Video on Demand..........................................................................................12
Videoconferencing.......................................................................................................................... 12
Support for Legacy TDM Services...............................................................................................12
Ethernet Access for Residential Triple-Play..................................................................................13
Carrier Ethernet – Next generation residential access............................................................13
Residential Data Service........................................................................................................... 14
Voice Services............................................................................................................................. 14
Video Service............................................................................................................................... 14
Summary......................................................................................................................................... 15
Mobile Radio Access Networks (RAN) evolution.......................................................................16
Why use Carrier Ethernet for mobile backhaul?.......................................................................18
Reducing OpEx............................................................................................................................ 18
One homogeneous network for 2G and 3G transport..........................................................18
Ethernet is a native building block for IP transport.............................................................19
Summary......................................................................................................................................... 19
Wireless Mesh Networks (Wireless Ethernet)...............................................................................20
Introduction..................................................................................................................................... 20
Wireless Ethernet UNIs................................................................................................................. 21
Wireless Ethernet Network Architecture....................................................................................22
Evolution of Wireless Ethernet Access Architectures...............................................................24
Benefits and Summary.................................................................................................................. 24
Introduction to Active Optical Ethernet Access........................................................................25
Active Optical Ethernet Metro Architecture...............................................................................25
Considerations................................................................................................................................ 25
Benefits............................................................................................................................................ 26
Summary......................................................................................................................................... 26
Ethernet over Copper........................................................................................................................ 27
Executive Summary....................................................................................................................... 27
Applications for Ethernet over Copper.......................................................................................29
Ethernet Business Services.......................................................................................................29
Cell site Backhaul....................................................................................................................... 30
IP DSLAM Backhaul.................................................................................................................... 30
Summary......................................................................................................................................... 30
Introduction..................................................................................................................................... 31
MetroEthernetForum Page 2 of 42 March 2007

Architectures................................................................................................................................... 31
Considerations................................................................................................................................ 33
Benefits............................................................................................................................................ 33
Summary......................................................................................................................................... 34
Wireless Optical Mesh....................................................................................................................... 34
Introduction..................................................................................................................................... 34
Architecture of a Wireless Optical Mesh.....................................................................................34
Considerations................................................................................................................................ 37
Benefits............................................................................................................................................ 37
Summary......................................................................................................................................... 37
Ethernet over TDM............................................................................................................................ 38
Market Drivers for Ethernet Services over TDM.......................................................................38
Architecture..................................................................................................................................... 38
Considerations................................................................................................................................ 38
Summary of benefits..................................................................................................................... 40
Summary - Carrier Ethernet Access Service Delivery...........................................................................41

Abstract
In the highly competitive telecommunications market, there are two basic criteria for success:
 Speed to market for the fast introduction of new, ubiquitous revenue-generating services.
 Cost transformation for increased profitability, lower capital and operational expenditures
and rapid Return On Investment (ROI).
Carrier Ethernet brings the speed, low cost and flexibility of Ethernet to the carrier market, with
simultaneous reduction of costs and rapid ROI. In the first mile, line speeds of 10 to 100 Mbps and
beyond become feasible on a variety of copper and fiber infrastructures at a highly competitive
cost, thus enabling:
 Broad acceptance of Triple Play services in the mass residential market
 Efficient low cost services for the Business customers
 Converged, cost effective traffic backhaul for Mobile Operators
Carrier Ethernet along with Layer 2 MPLS VPLS networks are the future convergence technology.
The deployments keeping CAPEX under control - even for a significant growth of bandwidth
consuming services such as video. The result is a massive growth predicted for Ethernet services
by all the major market research firms.
2008 Revenue
Region ($Billions) CAGR
Asia Pacific $15.4 31.5% (Frost & Sullivan)
Europe $5 40% (Probe Group)
North America $4 57% (Yankee Group)
Figure 1: Carrier Ethernet Services Forecast

The History of Ethernet

If we look back, Ethernet was designed to be a simple data sharing Local Area Network (LAN)
technology for enterprises or academic environments. This technology was optimized for fast data
transfer within a workgroup, and was extremely successful because of its cost and simple
installation and deployment. Based on this, Ethernet became more and more successful, eventually
becoming the number one LAN technology in the world.
Initially, there was no requirement for Quality of Service (QoS) or Service Level Agreements (SLA)
because it was a best-effort data service with no concept of the jitter and delay characteristics that
are critical to real-time applications.
But Ethernet and the IP protocol have proved to be immensely adaptable, at each stage in the
evolution of packet-based networking, extensions to the standard have been agreed on that have
continued the tradition of cost-effectiveness and ease of deployment, and Ethernet has continued a
relentless march to become the predominant network technology for converged networks.
Ethernet today and in the future, a Carrier Ethernet Vision

Today, Ethernet, as the most successful and widely developed LAN technology, is increasingly
regarded by telecommunication carriers as the future core layer-2 transport mechanism for their
networks, as well as a platform on which to offer value added converged services to residential,
business or mobile customers. The significant growth of demand for Triple Play services, gaming
and other bandwidth intensive, symmetrical business or mobile applications in the future can only
be handled with an all-Ethernet-based access and aggregation infrastructure.
The development of Ethernet into

the carrier’s domain has required “14% of Ethernet services will represent new service
significant advances in standards for deployment while 86% will come from the
reliability, network resilience as well replacement of legacy services.”
as a centralized management Vertical Systems Group
system. Ethernet enables the
carriers to develop and deploy these new services whilst reducing the costs for capital and
operational expenditures.
Leading the way in the development of Ethernet standards for delivery of services from the
network edge to the customer has been the Metro Ethernet Forum (MEF) which now includes the
formerly independent Ethernet in the First Mile Alliance (EFMA). The MEF continues to work on the
development of carrier-class standards for Ethernet to marry the benefits of cost-effective Ethernet
and IP networks with the requirements of a carrier-grade network.
High performance access devices have to be combined with an aggregation infrastructure allowing
traffic handling with service-specific qualities. A true Carrier Ethernet solution sets a new standard
for broadband services. Once-separate networks for business, residential and mobile services are
now merging, enhancing classical Ethernet with the latest technologies for packet-based access,
aggregation and service provisioning.
These true carrier-grade solutions lay the foundation for a flexible and cost-effective Next
Generation Network, offering the opportunity for the carrier to participate in growing markets
offering flexible and highly reliable Ethernet Broadband services toward residential, business and
mobile customers.

Scope
This paper provides an introduction to the various applications considered to be most dominant and
fastest growing in the access networks.
The paper also discusses the benefits of various access technologies available to support service
providers offering an Ethernet service, as well as to subscribers to those services. Finally, the paper
reviews the current activities of MEF in standardizing and promoting Carrier Ethernet.
Carrier Ethernet Access

The telecommunications market is undergoing sweeping changes, currently characterized by
expanding product/services developments. Ethernet is fast becoming the core technology for
transport of data in converging telecommunication networks.
This is no surprise given the widespread use of Ethernet as the de facto Local Area Networking
(LAN) technology and its position as the default connection in end-user devices. It is no surprise
then that Ethernet technology is being widely used as the platform for Next Generation broadband
access services and equipment to both Business and Residential customers as well as for Mobile
operators looking to increase Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) while containing CapEx and OpEx.
Carrier Ethernet Access networks are essential to service providers’ migration from traditional
circuit switched networks and their associated service offerings to a new service portfolio using
converged network technology. Carrier Ethernet provides the capability to simultaneously reduce
service delivery cost and to entice customers to move to more attractive (and more profitable)
service offerings.
Carrier Ethernet flexibly accommodates several Layer 2 and Layer 3 approaches so that capital and
operational expenses, performance, security, and resiliency can be tied closely to individual service
provider offerings, network build-outs, and technology migration plans.
Carrier Ethernet supports the creation of highly differentiated access services by allowing
specification of parameters such as delay, jitter, and packet loss. This permits creation of data,
voice, and video service offerings using Carrier Ethernet transport where application Quality of
Service (QoS) is defined to meet the exact application requirements – such as tight delay
requirements for voice or high tolerance of delay variation for data. The ability to create highly
differentiated access services also supports increased revenue and better operating margins by
enabling service offerings to precisely balance individual customers’ service preferences with their
willingness to pay.
Unified way to deliver services

The advantages of Ethernet are based on its simplicity, widespread adoption in many devices both
at home and in the Enterprise and the economies of scale that this has provided. Furthermore, as
more and more communication services are based on Internet Protocol (IP) technology, Ethernet
becomes more attractive given that it was originally designed for transport of IP data. Ethernet
thus has the capability of providing a common, unified transport layer that allows the delivery of
multiple services based on IP, over a single connection.

Figure 2: Multiple technologies in Carrier Ethernet Access networks

The ability to offer a much wider range of price and service choices between the traditional T1/E1
and DS3/E3 speeds ensures that the service provider receives more revenue from users who want
more than the basic speed but are unwilling or unable to pay for a full DS3/E3 Service. This has
been termed the “Mid-Band Ethernet market”. In practice, provider revenues can increase revenue
by as much as a factor of three times that of traditional TDM-based fixed-price service offerings.
Consider the large price and performance gap between T1/E1 (1.5 / 2 Mbps) and DS-3/E3 (45/34
Mbps) private line services. Few customers have the need for 45/34 -Mbps service or the
willingness to pay its high monthly recurring charge. A much larger market, however, exists for 20-
Mbps service. Service providers cannot effectively address this market using DS-3/E3 technology
because their costs for offering 20- and 45/34 -Mbps service are the same. Carrier Ethernet
service, however, supports many different data rates between 1.5 and 45 Mbps on a smoothly
increasing and affordable cost curve.
Carrier Ethernet also delivers lower Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) than traditional infrastructure.
The basis of the cost advantage is the creation of a converged network, yielding:
 Reduced network complexity due to fewer network elements and simpler network
operations1
 Higher-capacity network elements and consequently greater economies of scale
 Simpler network provisioning and configuration management with lower cost and faster
service provisioning, which eliminate many moves or changes2
 Lower capital expenditures (CapEx) than TDM/SONET (PDH/SDH) because Ethernet
technology is more widely deployed and built on a less-complex specification
 Links to ubiquitous and very low cost Ethernet equipment at customer sites
1
See “Metro Ethernet Networks – Comparison to Legacy SONET/SDH MANs for Metro Data Service Providers,” July 2003,
Metro Ethernet Forum,
http://www.metroethernetforum.org/WP_SPBusinessCase_Final071403.pdf
2
See “Service Provider Business Case Study: Operating Expenditures,” January 2004, Metro Ethernet Forum,
http://www.metroethernetforum.org/PDFs/WhitePapers/Provider-Business-Case-OpEx-Study-Summary.pdf

MEF Definitions for Carrier Ethernet Services

A Carrier-class Ethernet service should help to contribute to a service providers’ revenue and profit
margin with minimal interruption to current engineering and OAM practices. In defining its Carrier
Ethernet services, the MEF worked closely with service providers and equipment manufacturers to
define services that would simultaneously reduce the cost of delivering existing circuit-switched
services while supporting new offerings that embody higher-value (more profitable) service
attributes.
The MEF has produced a series of standards for Carrier Ethernet services, built on the MEF E-Line
and E-LAN service types3:
 E-Line – This Ethernet service type is based on a point-to-point Ethernet virtual connection.
Two E-Line services are defined:
o Ethernet Private Line (EPL) – This is a very simple point-to-point service
characterized by low frame delay, frame delay variation, and frame loss ratio. No service
multiplexing is allowed and other than a Committed Information Rate (CIR), no Class of
Service (CoS) bandwidth profiling is allowed.
o Ethernet Virtual Private Line (EVPL) – This is a point-to-point service in which service
multiplexing (more than one Ethernet virtual circuit) is allowed. The individual Ethernet
virtual circuits can be defined with the rich set of bandwidth profile and Layer 2 control
protocol processing methods defined by the MEF.
 E-LAN – This Ethernet service type is based on a multipoint-to-multipoint Ethernet virtual
connection. Service multiplexing (more than one Ethernet virtual circuit at the same User-
Network Interface (UNI)) is permitted, as is the rich set of performance assurances defined by
the MEF such as CIR with an associated Committed Burst Size (CBS) and Excess Information
Rate (EIR).
These MEF service definitions (and their associated technical implementations) are key to helping
service providers profitably migrate their customers from existing TDM/PDH and Frame Relay
services to next-generation services delivered over a much higher-speed converged network
infrastructure. The MEF definitions maintain and extend desirable characteristics of these older
services, including:
 Performance guarantees – The MEF CoS mechanisms and Layer 2 control processing
methods provide guaranteed performance of such parameters as delay variation, information
rates, and information loss recovery mechanisms.
 Security – Layer 2 networks that employ virtual circuits such as Frame Relay and point-to-
point private lines such as T1/E1 are considered to be highly secure. The MEF E-LAN and E-Line
services are equally secure.
The E-Line and E-LAN performance assurance mechanisms such as CIR and EIR support a much
wider range of price-differentiated service offerings than older service offerings did. For example,
Frame Relay PVCs permit a limited range of price-versus-data speed choices, but the data rates
typically top out at T1/E1 rates, and the variable component of the service price is limited by the
high fixed-cost port charge. E-LAN services in contrast are offered with CIRs ranging from 1 Mbps
to 1 Gbps, but fixed costs are roughly the same as for the much slower T1/E1 service ports.
3
See “MEF 6 – Ethernet Service Definitions – Phase I,” Metro Ethernet Forum, June 2004 for the technical specification of E-
Line and E-LAN service types,
http://www.metroethernetforum.org/PDFs/Standards/MEF6.doc

5 Key Attributes of Carrier Ethernet

Notwithstanding the advantages that Ethernet provides, it is important to understand that the
Ethernet implementations in the LAN were designed and deployed to solve issues other than those
that are prevalent in the Telecom environment. The Metro Ethernet Forum (MEF) has thus defined
the concept of Carrier Ethernet, which builds on the advantages of Ethernet and enhances the
technology to provide the level of performance required in Telecom environments.
A carrier would summarize their service requirements thus:

• Customers need to able to define exactly what network characteristics they require for each
application or flow
• I need to know clearly what bandwidth is committed to my customers and at what rate my
network resources are being consumed
• I need to be able to respond quickly to changes in my customer demand
• I need to provide all aspects of service management, efficiently and effectively
• I need to offer a level of reliability expected from Metro and WAN services
• I need to be able to communicate Ethernet service attributes with my customers and
partners in a consistent, uniform format
• I need to integrate into end to end manageable services
• I need to be able to reflect the efficiencies of Ethernet in my costs and my prices to
customers

To meet these requirements the MEF has defined 5 key attributes of a Carrier Ethernet service:
 E-Line, E-LAN provide transparent, private line, virtual private line and LAN
services
 A ubiquitous service providing globally & locally via standardized equipment
Standardized  Requires no changes to customer LAN equipment or networks and
Services accommodates existing network connectivity such as, time-sensitive, TDM
traffic and signalling
 Ideally suited to converged voice, video & data networks
 Wide choice and granularity of bandwidth and quality of service options
 The ability for millions to use a network service that is ideal for the widest
variety of business, information, communications and entertainment
applications with voice, video and data
Scalability  Spans Access & Metro to National & Global Services over a wide variety of
physical infrastructures implemented by a wide range of Service Providers
 Scalability of bandwidth from 1Mbps to 10Gbps and beyond, in granular
increments
 The ability for the network to detect & recover from incidents without
impacting users
Reliability
 Meeting the most demanding quality and availability requirements
 Rapid recovery time when problems do occur, as low as 50ms
 Wide choice and granularity of bandwidth and quality of service options
 Service Level Agreements (SLAs) that deliver end-to-end performance
Quality of Service matching the requirements for voice, video and data over converged business
and residential networks
 Provisioning via SLAs that provide end-to-end performance based on CIR,
frame loss, delay and delay variation characteristics
 The ability to monitor, diagnose and centrally manage the network, using
standards-based vendor independent implementations
Service Management
 Carrier-class OAM
 Rapid service provisioning
By designing products and services to the levels of these 5 attributes, the MEF community of
equipment manufacturers and service providers have been able to define and build a series of
Carrier Ethernet services that are now widely deployed in the global market place.
Applications for Carrier Ethernet

Carrier Ethernet is being deployed globally to support a large number of next generation
applications and services. This paper will identify the most popular applications for Carrier Ethernet
today and provide an overview to illustrate how carriers are supporting their customer’s need for
increased performance, reliability at a lower cost with Metro Ethernet services. The services that
will be discussed herein include:
Business Services using Carrier Ethernet
Ethernet Access for Residential Triple-Play
Ethernet Access for Mobile Backhaul

Business Services using Carrier Ethernet

For enterprise customers, the availability of very high symmetrical bandwidths is more and more
important to their business, and therefore a key to services and connectivity offered by the carrier.
From a user perspective, the beauty of all-Ethernet connectivity is the use of the same protocol for
the WAN as is already used in the LAN by most enterprises.
When moving from a “legacy” business service, such as ATM, Frame Relay, or leased lines, to
Carrier Ethernet, users expect more bandwidth, but at a lower cost per bit than before. Easy, fast
and flexible provisioning and changes of bandwidth and strong SLAs therefore play a major role for
the carrier in recovering the lost revenue per bit. To take advantage of Ethernet’s capabilities, a
true carrier-grade Ethernet solution allows the creation of new revenue-generating services. With
Ethernet’s versatility, both LANs (E-LANs) and lines (E- Lines), shared or private, can be created.
With just one platform, carriers can support legacy private line traffic while also creating new,
shared VPN (virtual private network) services. Several potential services are described below.
Point-to-Point (Business-to-Business)
Ethernet is an ideal platform for point-to-point and business-to-business services because it scales
easily and allows the same level of SLA and QoS control as ATM and Frame Relay, and preserves
concepts such as Committed Information Rate (CIR), but at very low lifecycle costs. In point-to-point
applications, Ethernet can provide DSL service for small offices (SOHOs) and residential customers,
with the potential for converged voice, data and video (each with its own traffic priority and QoS) over
one line. Enterprises can also use Ethernet for transparent and private LAN extension, maintaining
consistent quality of service between all long-distance links, allowing all sites, whether nearby or
thousands of miles away, to be part of the enterprise network.
Virtual Private Networks - VPN

Whether connecting a data warehouse to the corporate LAN, extending a high-bandwidth corporate
LAN across country, or interconnecting several branch offices in a metro area, VPNs are a, cost-
effective solution.
A key benefit of metro Carrier Ethernet is the potential to provide VPN (virtual private network)
services to enterprises that support converged IP application traffic. With this service, medium-size
to large enterprises enjoy all the performance and security benefits of guaranteed bandwidth,
encryption and SLAs, that were previously only available via private line services, with the cost
benefit of using a shared medium as they may have done when using DSL connections and the
public Internet.
When Carrier Ethernet is used for the VPN, bandwidth and SLAs can be tailored in real time, in
1Mbps increments, as easily as with other technologies, but at significantly lower cost to the
carrier, a fact that is therefore reflected in the cost of the service to end users.
High Bandwidth Multimedia

A true carrier-grade Ethernet solution’s ability to provide end-to-end SLAs and QoS allows carriers
to create high-bandwidth multimedia networks for enterprises, multi-tenant dwellings, and also
residential users. For instance, voice traffic and videoconference traffic can have the highest quality
of service, guaranteeing low latency and low jitter. Video, which is buffered, can have a lower
quality of service, so that customers save money on their telecom services. Email and LAN traffic
can have an even lower quality of service. Through one broadband connection, customers enjoy

the most efficient and cost-effective Triple Play reception of voice, video, and data. In addition,
carriers can upgrade the QoS and SLA parameters for their customers in real-time without the
need for a truck roll. Customers can even change their QoS and SLA values themselves, through
Web-enabled applications, reducing carrier costs even further.
IP Telephony and Video on Demand

For enterprises with IP PBXs or IP Centrex service, and for residential customers subscribing to new
IP telephony services, metro Carrier Ethernet provides an ideal low-cost data-link and service
platform. And for new multimedia, video on demand and videoconference services, the QoS and
end-to-end SLAs customers require can now be provided by carrier Ethernet achieving the same
quality of service as in frame relay, ATM, and SONET/SDH networks, but at dramatically lower cost.
Videoconferencing
Enterprises are adding videoconferencing capabilities for improved communications with
customers, suppliers and offices, and they are aided by new desktop real-time collaboration
software and videoconferencing equipment. They are constrained, however, by the high expense of
private lines dedicated to Videoconferencing. Home workers using web cameras and standard DSL
connections experience unacceptable levels of jitter, latency, and unreliable bandwidth for business
use.
True carrier-grade Ethernet networks overcome all these problems. By opting for higher QoS and
greater bandwidth, enterprise and home workers can participate in high-quality videoconferences
inexpensively.
Support for Legacy TDM Services

For carriers with a large installed base of traditional circuit switched Telecom equipment and
services, true carrier-grade Ethernet products will support legacy Frame Relay, ATM and private
line services. Their SLA and QoS characteristics can all be duplicated to ensure seamless migration
of customers to a Next Generation Network. The advantage of this migration path is that new
carriers can provide much less expensive legacy services, and traditional carriers can continue
supporting legacy customers with a new broader service portfolio.

Ethernet Access for Residential Triple-Play

One of the main drivers for the roll out of a high-performance, carrier-grade access and
aggregation infrastructure based on IP is the increasing demand for Triple Play services.
Incumbent carriers have been suffering the loss of traditional wireline revenues for some years
now, due to a combination of factors, including a reduction in service pricing, loss of wireline
customers to mobile and cable telephony, and the cancellation of second dial-up lines as customers
have moved to broadband Internet, often provided by cable companies.
Triple Play makes it possible for a traditional telco to offer voice, broadband Internet and television
services over the existing copper plant, to at least hold or even win back of customers and increase
Average Revenue Per User (ARPU). In some markets, the offering of Triple Play services is
becoming a “must” to retain a competitive market position, since more and more service providers
are offering these service bundles. Due to the increasing volume of broadband access, and the
introduction of bandwidth consuming services like video, there is a growing demand for bandwidth
in the access, transport and core networks. The increasing use of voice and the desire to offer
video on demand has also changed the oversubscription and packet delay models used in the
backhaul of traffic from the pedestal or roadside cabinet to the exchange or POP. This has a
profound impact on the necessary capacities of telecommunication networks and therefore also on
the investment of carriers and service providers.
Carrier Ethernet – Next generation residential access

At the heart of a digital home lies the Triple Play concept. This combines voice, video and data
applications, and includes VoIP, Video (Broadcast TV and Video on demand) and High Speed
Internet (HSI). Several potential services are described below.
Figure 3 Service offering for Residential subscribers
Each of the following services requires different service attributes and terminates in a different
location in the network:

Residential Data Service

High Speed Internet requires a large amount of bandwidth in the Metro network with no stringent
requirements for the delay, jitter, and packet loss. The HSI services are terminated by the BRAS.
Conventional Internet access often provides customers with a fixed block of bandwidth over private
lines with hard-to-change SLAs. With true carrier-grade Ethernet solutions, however, customers
can upgrade their SLAs and bandwidth in 1 Mbps increments, in real-time. When they need more
bandwidth, or when they add equipment with different qualities of service (such as
videoconferencing or IP telephony equipment), carriers can provision it in seconds without the need
for a truck roll. By markedly increasing customer service and therefore satisfaction, carriers retain
customer loyalty and gain additional revenue.
Voice Services
VoIP applications require much less bandwidth, but they are delay and jitter sensitive and are
terminated either by a voice gateway or forwarded to the IP core for backhaul and delivery either
as IP or via voice gateway at the far end. Technical advances and market adoption of products
from companies such as Vonage, and particularly Skype, have overturned the conventional wisdom
that toll quality voice is a pre-requisite, even for a free telephone service, and carriers are
therefore having to respond to IP telephony by offering their own services that take advantage of
the additional features that IP telephony supports, while retaining their core advantage of call
quality and guarantees of emergency service (911) availability.
A true carrier-grade Ethernet solution is designed from the ground up for the most demanding Next
Generation applications, IP telephony in particular, offering reliability, security, and end-to-end
QoS that matches the capabilities of a circuit switched legacy network. With its complete carrier-
class design, the system ensures maximum network uptime. In the unlikely event of a link or node
failure, IP telephony traffic is protected and switched over to active links, ensuring that no IP
telephone calls are lost. Switchover is as fast as the 50ms industry standard set by older
generation SONET and SDH equipment. A full suite of network management software, including a
management system for access, aggregation and service provisioning, ensures easy end-to-end
operation.
Call quality and service reliability are key factors in reducing customer churn. Even though VoIP is
likely to be a minor part of the overall traffic volume transported and switched in the Ethernet
network, it is of the highest importance that it receives the right priority and is handled
appropriately. Using VLAN tagging allows the creation of specific voice VLANs in the network, which
in turn allows priority handling (QoS) and security based on separation from other network traffic
in other VLANs.
Video Service
Real time video applications are delay and jitter sensitive and have a high bandwidth requirement
when they are delivered as an alternative to terrestrial TV or cable, and in particular High Definition
Television (HDTV). Video services originate with a Video server located either in the core, or closer
to the subscriber in the Metro if the provider has adopted distributed server architecture.
Since the number of broadband households is continuing to increase, the next challenge for
carriers is to deliver a range of mass market value-added services for sustainable long-term
revenue growth within an affordable broadband infrastructure build out. Factors such as
multicasting scheduled television and the key difference between near video on demand (which is
multicast) versus true video on demand (unicasting) mitigated by the evolution of compression
technology make bandwidth and infrastructure planning a critical calculation as consumers look to
the digital home hub to become a true entertainment and communications center.

In the future, the evolution of service usage and the evolution of access technology will reinforce
the migration toward carrier-grade Ethernet. The requirements of a carrier-class video solution on
access are high bandwidth, QoS and multicast capability. With increasing usage of services (e.g.
several TV sets in the household, each one accessing different movies and television channels), an
infrastructure based on a true carrier-grade Ethernet solution is the best approach to meet these
requirements.
Carrier Ethernet – based

access yields the necessary
bandwidth to support triple play
Figure 4 Carrier Ethernet for Residential Access
Summary
Carrier Ethernet stands poised to support a wealth of residential information and entertainment
services. As the successful business deployments continue to increase the footprint of Metro
Ethernet, residential access to the every expanding broadband Ethernet services will follow. Carrier
Ethernet will prove to the be only access technology capable of delivering the capacity, reliability
and quality of service required to support the residential triple-play of Voice, IP Telephony and data
services.

Ethernet Access for Mobile Backhaul

As penetration of mobile phones is reaching saturation in many parts of the world, and competition
increases, mobile operators are under increasing pressure to protect or increase ARPU and reduce
churn. Revenues for traditional voice services are quickly eroding as competition increases, not
only from rival mobile service providers but also from fixed-line operators offering emerging
Broadband Wireless Access (BWA) solutions or simply competing on price.
Mobile network operators have invested billions of dollars in government auctions for new mobile
spectrum in order to be able to deliver new high speed data services to their customers. At the
same time, the continued evolution of IP and peer to peer applications has created a major
opportunity for the mobile operators to enter the traditional market spaces of the fixed network
operators and, with the advent of the latest fast packet networks such as HSDPA/HSUPA and
UMTS, to take on the ISPs for broadband services and mobile television and video.
At the same time as these opportunities present themselves, the carriers need infrastructure
solutions that allow them to rapidly build out capacity in their networks to support this potential
explosion of traffic, and to so with a manageable amount of Capex and acceptable ROI.
The need to protect the significant sums already invested in legacy TDM/ATM-based transport for
2G and 3G networks, as well as the gradual evolution of different network components, dictate that
legacy transport will persist alongside Carrier Ethernet for some time. A phased approach where
only new bandwidth-consuming services are introduced over Carrier Ethernet, or alternatively the
use of standardized mechanisms for emulating ATM and TDM over packet networks, will provide an
answer to this issue.
Quality-of-Service and high-availability concerns are addressed by the use of fast rerouting or
Ethernet ring protection mechanisms, both offering sub-50 ms resiliency, as well as end-to-end
guaranteed QoS.
Mobile Radio Access Networks (RAN) evolution

Traditional 2nd generation GSM backhaul is based on TDM T1/E1 links, dubbed Abis, between the Base
Transceiver Stations (BTS) and the Base Station Controller (BSC). From there the traffic continues to the Mobile
Switching Centre (MSC), a switch which sets up connections to other MSCs and to the BSCs. The MSCs form the
fixed backbone of a GSM network and can switch calls to the public switched telecommunications network
(PSTN).
The next step in mobile network evolution was the introduction of the General Packet Radio System (GPRS).
GPRS allowed network operators to provide data applications via an IP based core architecture. Handling packet
based traffic required additional parallel components in the core network, and GPRS traffic is therefore split at the
Base Station Controller between the Packet Switched and the Circuit Switched domains.
The topology of the core in 3rd generation UMTS networks is based on GSM/GPRS topology. However the UMTS
terrestrial radio access network, is based on ATM interfaces are typically T1/E1's, often utilizing IMA as a means
to increase bandwidth. TDM transport is also used at the switching centre.

Figure 5: 3G Network architecture based on 3GPP R99
Standards are evolving towards all IP architecture, with SIP traffic being carried in a dedicated IP signaling
channel, however existing ATM and TDM technologies will continue to be supported.
This architecture is depicted in Figure 6
Figure 6: 3G Network architecture based on 3GPP R5

Why use Carrier Ethernet for mobile backhaul?

Reducing OpEx
Mobile operators' urgent need to control OpEx while enabling new, bandwidth consuming services
is the foremost motivation for capitalizing on the unchallenged low cost per bit offered by Carrier
Ethernet. Leasing additional E1's as bandwidth increases will result in linearly escalating costs.
Ethernet on the other hand offers significantly lower initial cost for equivalent bandwidth with an
ever decreasing marginal cost, as is illustrated in
Figure 7: Carrier Ethernet offers a decreasing marginal cost per bandwidth
shows list prices for leasing bandwidth quoted by 2 leading operators. As is readily seen, for a
bandwidth of 10Mbps, Ethernet is 3-5 times cheaper than a leased T1/E1 line.
Monthly list prices in EUR Verizon USA BT UK

E1/T1 Leased Line (~15km) 780 500 – 1090
Ethernet 4Mbit/s N/A 1000
Ethernet 10Mbit/s 1430 1120
Ethernet 50Mbit/s 2130 1450
Table 1: Leasing costs
Estimates of the proportion of leasing costs within a typical service provider's technical operational
expenses range from a conservative 15% by the Yankee Group to a more aggressive 40% by the
metro Ethernet Forum. Either way, this constitutes a significant line item on their income
statement, worthy of reduction.
One homogeneous network for 2G and 3G transport

OpEx reduction is achieved not only through reduced leased line costs, but also through simplified
Operations and Maintenance. Operating two parallel ATM and TDM transport infrastructures for 3G
and 2G respectively is complex and costly. Converging both over Carrier Ethernet is economical
Ethernet is a native building block for IP transport

ATM has evolved to become the established standard or the de facto standard technology in both
2G and 3G RAN backhaul applications. This due to its strength in traffic aggregation, admission and
traffic control. Despite its performance strength the technology also cater some strategic
drawbacks, especially when it comes to production cost and complexity. Simultaneously
IP/Ethernet evolved as the dominating protocols for convergence and transport.

Although 3GPP R5 does not explicitly specify Ethernet as the layer 2 of the "all IP" network, it is
clearly an integral part of many IP services. Therefore Carrier Ethernet does not require additional
segmentation and reassembly and adaptation layers, so that protocol overheads are minimal.
Legacy TDM access and leased-lines will co-exist with carrier Ethernet for a long time. The
ATM/leased-line service price is likely to continue to drop, which makes the service attractive for
sites with small bandwidth needs. Carrier Ethernet is better suited for sites with high bandwidth
requirements and scalability needs which will lead to its increasing use as 3.5G and 4G networks
are rolled out.
Summary
Mobile operators' urgent need to reduce OpEx while enabling new, bandwidth consuming services
has been established above, and is the first and foremost motivation for capitalizing on the
unchallenged low cost per bit-rate offered by Carrier Ethernet. Leasing additional E1's as bandwidth
increases will result in linearly escalating costs. Ethernet on the other hand offers significantly
lower initial costs per bandwidth with an ever decreasing marginal cost.
Carrier Ethernet in RAN will eventually happen. In the first phase, many operators will introduce
Ethernet in RAN backhaul in a limited geographical area and evaluate the service performance. The
first rollouts are expected to happen in the metropolitan areas, where Ethernet access is available.
The RAN backhaul networks of the future will continue to be a mixture of different access types,
technologies and transport services, depending on the prerequisites of the operators, the
availability of existing and future infrastructure and carrier services, corporate strategies and more.

Wireless Mesh Networks (Wireless Ethernet)
Introduction
Outdoor wireless mesh networks used for Ethernet access have distinct ease and speed of
deployment, cost and reliability advantages. Reliability is obtained by creating diverse redundant
paths back to the serving data center. Speed and ease of deployment occurs as there are fewer
wired connections in this network to be trenched, pulled through conduit, or outside plant to be
installed. Cost benefits occur over the life-cycle of the service – initial installation cost is lower,
equipment costs are lower and maintenance costs are lower due to the fact that with redundant
paths there will be fewer service affecting outages. Often overlooked wireless mesh technology
gives service providers advantages in the marketplace.
The new Internet revolution is mobility. The very notion of mobility implies wireless ubiquity.
Wireless Ethernet technologies extend the access network in harmony with this revolution. A
wireless access point will have two modes of user access. The access mode on most people’s mind
when wireless access points are mentioned is the WiFi access point with IEEE 802.11g user access.
While wireless access mode is the most common wireless Ethernet mesh access points (MAPs) will
have a second wired access mode too. One or more Ethernet ports on a MAP can be used as the
UNI for Ethernet services. These wired Ethernet ports are the focus of this access paper.
A wireless NID that has an 802.11g connection back to the MAP is also in scope for the Ethernet
UNI. From a user’s prospective a wireless NID is no different than the hardwired ports on the MAP,
except SLGs for the service may be modified. Also wireless access introduces heightened security
concerns. Access via this mode should be managed as recommended by IEEE 802.11i, using IEEE
802.1x network access control and strong encryption.
Mobility is the defining characteristic of a WiFi mesh network. Mobility of Ethernet services can be
accomplished by one of two methods. The first is to allow the wireless NID to roam within the
wireless network. The second and more powerful method is to create a roaming MAP. Since
millisecond failover is designed into the wireless mesh network a MAP that roams will failover as it
moves throughout the access network. This second method of creating a roaming Ethernet service
can be applied to many novel environments such as emergency service vehicles, or to trains
roaming at 240 km/hr. Ethernet can embrace the new Internet revolution and seamlessly travel at
150 miles per hour.
Why use wireless mesh for network access? The answer is easy – by using an alternative backhaul
technology such as wireless mesh the OPEX for 2G cellular access is reduced between 30 to 50%.
This is but one example of the cost advantages of an Ethernet access network. Ethernet has shown
itself to be a low-cost high value service. Wireless mesh Ethernet access networks extends the
reach of wired Ethernet networks.

Wireless Ethernet UNIs

The MEF has defined two services E-Line and E-LAN. The MEF specifications do not impose
architectural restrictions on how these services are implemented which is why so many diverse
technologies, including wireless mesh, can support these Ethernet services.
A wireless mesh network is used to provide access services not core switching functionality.
Without loss of conformity to MEF specifications some service processing for E-Line and E-LAN can
be distributed upstream from the MAPs and placed into the wired part of the network. This
architecture reduces the size, complexity, cost of the MAP and MAP deployment. A consequence of
this is that all ingress traffic will exit the wireless mesh network, even traffic bound for egress on
another UNI within the same mesh network.
The Service Node Interface (SNI) is defined as the demarcation between Core Ethernet Network
and Access Network. It is at this interface that service processing not done at the MAP occurs. The
SNI is also where aggregation of multiple Ethernet services from the wireless mesh is managed.
This aggregation functionality of the SNI allows for multiple UNIs to be supported on a single
wireless mesh network. Wireless mesh network UNIs un-tether Ethernet from its wire enabling
Ethernet to join the world of mobility as wireless LANs (WLAN) extend the economical reach of
Ethernet.
Figure 1 shows a wireless mesh network access configuration with the placement of the SNI. For
network redundancy two SNIs are shown in the figure; only one SNI is required for service.
Also shown in figure 1 is an Inter-working Function (IWF) for T1/E1. This mediation service is used
to convert non-UNI interfaces and payloads such as T1/E1 into a service that can be transported
over an MEN.

Figure 8 – Wireless mesh access network
Wireless Ethernet Network Architecture
Wireless mesh Ethernet architecture delivers high throughput, low latency, and end-to-end quality
of service. Wired LAN services are extended and devices on this wireless access network will
experience throughput of 25Mbps today evolving to 100+Mbps as IEEE 802.11n technology is
deployed.
The below 10GHz unlicensed wireless mesh architecture is based on a multi-radio, multi-channel
approach utilizing IEEE 802.11a, b, g radios and supports 2.4 GHz, 5GHz and 4.9GHz frequency
bands. The multi-radio architecture utilizes dedicated radios for access and inter-node links; and
sophisticated mesh networking protocols (Layer 2 or Layer 3) for optimal path selection. Using
separate radio channels for access and inter-MAP traffic gives the wireless access network high
throughput that can be maintained across multiple hops. By coupling high throughput with 3 - 5
milliseconds per-hop latency real-time services such as voice can be supported over large wireless
mesh networks.
QoS and VLANs are also important attributes of an Ethernet Access Network. QoS on 802.11
networks is traditionally handled via 802.11e, WiFi Multimedia (WMM) and SpectraLink Voice
Priority protocol. But these solutions are designed for the access portion of the network and do not
address the network QoS solution. At a UNI 802.1p bits are the best means for classifying traffic
for CoS/QoS processing and for security policy management. The UNI will map the .1p bits into
provisioned CoS profiles for treatment across the wireless mesh network. Then at the SNI further
classifying, marking and other service processing can occur; completing the E-LAN/E-Line service
functionality and transport through the MEN.
To further the integration between the Ethernet and wireless services a one-to-one mapping
between a VLAN tag value and an SSID can be created. With this wireless NIDs can be mapped to
an SSID/VLAN tag tuple for VLAN and security policy management. And 802.1p bits will indicate
the CoS profiles used within the wireless access network.
Figure 2 shows the measured traffic capacity on a deployed wireless mesh access network. The hop
count referred to in figure 2 is the number of wireless links between MAPs (nodes) that lie between
the ingress UNI and the SNI. The network used for measurement covers a 40 square mile area in
the USA. The capacity of this network is 360 Mbps per square mile. Clearly wireless mesh networks
provide the capacity needed to support Ethernet services.
As 802.11n technology rolls out the data transfer rates and capacity of the wireless mesh network
will increase by a factor of 4 to 8 times.

FIGURE 9 – Measured Network Performance
Wireless mesh networks feature self-configuration, self-optimization and self-healing functionality.

These functions enable the wireless Ethernet architecture to preserve the performance and quality
of the access network. As MAPs are turned-up, automatic network discovery,
authentication/authorization and topology creation is performed. Smart mesh networking
minimizes manual intervention, enabling high quality of service while keeping the costs contained.
Continual network quality is assured by mesh network self-healing via automatic re-routing traffic
so all MAPs remain connected and optimized for transport. In dense areas with obstructions, the
wireless Ethernet architecture automatically adjusts to environmental conditions switching traffic
around large physical objects, such as buildings and trees forwarding network traffic around an
object via intermediate relay nodes. All self-tuning and self-healing processes are dynamic,
occurring in the background and transparent to the user and without the need for manual
intervention.
Security is a major concern for wireless networks. Administrative, customer traffic and backhaul
must be secured. Other wireless devices which are not part of the network, called “rogues”, must
not only be detected but prohibited from accessing internal mesh traffic. Rogue detection and
isolation is a requirement of wireless Ethernet networks. Every point in the network is potentially
accessible. With the innovation of rogue detection and link encryption, the requirement for
administration is less than it would be with an alternative wireless solution. Mesh communications
and packet transport is secured across the network while additional levels of authentication and
encryption may be applied as needed.
The wireless mesh architecture is well suited to providing Ethernet access services. The ability to
support E-Line and E-LAN services, the scalable nature of the architecture, reliability through self-
healing, ability to manage CoS/QoS across the wireless network and provide centralized service

management makes wireless mesh an excellent alternative access technology for Ethernet
services.
Evolution of Wireless Ethernet Access Architectures
All wireless data technologies (cellular, WiMAX and WiFi) have a few common attributes with
regards to their future evolution: 100+Mbps data transfer rates at the MAC, OFDMA and the use of
MIMO technology at the PHY. WiFi is the first wireless data technology to commercialize these
advanced features with IEEE 802.11n standards. As the data rates over the wireless channel
increases through the use of these advanced technologies the convergence of applications and
integration with wired Ethernet services will accelerate.
Benefits and Summary

Wireless Ethernet is not limited by any boundaries and enables 100% reach-ability and 100%
mobility. It’s a natural extension for carrier Ethernet services, a singular homogeneous network for
2G and 3G transport and makes possible new services such as Voice over IP to a larger distributed
mobile population at both lower CapEx and OpEx. Multi-radio wireless mesh network architectures
support the five MEF criteria for carrier Ethernet services: (1) Standardized services, (2)
Scalability, (3) Reliability, (4) QoS, and (5) Service management.

Active Optical Ethernet

Introduction to Active Optical Ethernet Access
As voice, video, internet and other new data applications in the Metro Ethernet market create an
insatiable appetite for bandwidth; optical fiber provides the future-proof first mile access technology
that meets this bandwidth demand.
Unaffected by the inherent distance, bandwidth and security limitations of copper and wireless
technologies; optical access supports both residential and enterprise applications. The residential
Fiber to the Home (FTTH) market is dominated by point-to-multipoint Passive Optical Networks
(PON) while the Fiber to the Business (FTTB) market is dominated by point-to-point Active Fiber
networks.
This section discusses the basic architecture, the important consideration and the benefits of
deployment of active fiber access technology in the Metro Ethernet small / medium business (SMB)
and enterprise markets.
Active Optical Ethernet Metro Architecture

The most common active optical Metro Ethernet physical architecture is point-to-point. Connecting
between a Service Provider’s (SP) central office aggregation switch and a customer premises
installed Network Interface Device (NID).
As depicted in the diagram below, the SP side aggregation switch can be equipped with fiber ports or
alternatively copper ports which are converted to fiber using fiber converters. Using the fiber
converters facilitates a scalable rollout where build-out cost is expended as customers are turned-up.
The customer side is normally equipped with a SP owned fiber-to-copper, fiber-to-fiber or a fiber-to-
multi-copper NID. The single customer sided port NID enables the delivery of Ethernet Virtual
Connection (EVC) services to a single customer whereas the multi-copper port NID creates a
secondary customer location installed aggregation switch that enables the delivery of multiple EVC
services to multiple customers. Using the SP’s owned assets facilitates the User to Network (UNI)
demarcation that isolates and removes the SP’s responsibility for maintaining customer owned assets
and better enables the SP to meet its SLA obligations.
Considerations
Just as the traditional TDM access technology, the fiber access method must adhere and be aligned
with industry standards such as the 100 Mbps and 1000 Mbps (GigE) IEEE 802.3 standard. Some of
the critical layer 1 interoperability aspects include dual and single-fiber implementations that utilize
the IEEE prescribed wavelengths and energy levels. This adherence enables the interoperability of
equipment sourced from different vendors.
When the bandwidth requirements exceed the standard data rates or when link redundancy and
protection is required, wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) hardware is used to facilitate link
aggregation and redundancy at minimal cost. This relatively inexpensive WDM hardware is scalable
and easy to install.
Another critical aspect is the Operation, Administration and Management (OAM) built into the
aggregation edge and NID customer premises equipment. The OAM features that are governed by
the IEEE 802.3ah standard enable the monitoring of network operation, including performance
monitoring that can indicate network performance quality, the remote configuration and provisioning
of customer installed equipment and the immediate notification of catastrophic equipment failure. As
a result, the OAM maximizes network up-time and customer satisfaction. Also, the 802.3ah OAM

increases SP profitability by reducing maintenance and Operating Expenditures (OPEX) and

maximizing SP revenue by enabling the enforcement and documentation of SLAs.
The ability to meet customer required services is critical in the acquisition and retention of
customers. With the high bandwidth and distance potential, coupled with the ability to support
different classes of service, rate-limiting and services prioritization, the fiber optic medium enables
the SP to effortlessly calibrate customer services to meet present needs and scale the services to
meet future needs.
Benefits
The major benefit of using fiber optic access technology is its ability to future-proof bandwidth and
distances requirements that other technologies can not meet. The easy scalability and ability to meet
and adapt to the increasing customer needs results in customer satisfaction and service
differentiation that enables SP profitability and customer retention.
The CAPEX investment in fiber optic infrastructure is a one-time investment with minimal OPEX cost
follow-up. Fiber’s ability to service 100 Mbps, Gigabit, 10 Gigabit data rates as well as multiplex
multiple channels using Wavelength Division Multiplexing (WDM) enable it to support any foreseeable
future data rates.
The distances that can be supported by the fiber infrastructure are limited only by the power
supported by the active interface hardware. Using off-the-shelf interface hardware, 5-10Km and 100-
150Km distances can be easily reached. This enables the SP to standardize on a specific equipment
set, and with scalable fiber optic interface such as Small Form Pluggable (SFP) transceiver interface,
it can be deployed to meet the full range of customer bandwidth, distance and physical interface
needs.
Summary
Delivering Metro Ethernet services over fiber enables service providers to extend network distances
to reach more customers, and meet growing customer bandwidth requirements. The challenges of
Metro Ethernet services over fiber include:
 Meeting the unique and specific distance and bandwidth of different customers.
 Secure demarcation between service provider and customer data.
 Providing a variety of copper and fiber interfaces at the customer premises.
Ethernet equipment vendors are addressing these challenges with intelligent NIDs that support
802.3ah OAM management and provisioning and use integrated scalable fiber conversion to enable
carrier-class Metro Ethernet services.
Figure 10 – Active Optical Ethernet in the First Mile

Ethernet over Copper

Executive Summary
The large incumbent telecom carriers are struggling to meet the demand for Ethernet services, as
the demand is outpacing their ability to build fiber optic networks capable of delivering Ethernet
services. Alternative carriers are successfully meeting this demand with Ethernet access networks
that extend the reach of the optical core networks to reach many customers within a carrier serving
area. These networks are able to deliver a range of converged voice video and other media services
to both consumer and business customers. This core build out is extending to the edge, with the
deployment of IP DLSAMs, WiFi and 3g Wireless, with the associated backhaul of IP traffic from
remotes and Cellular towers.
As nearly all business today is run on Ethernet, customers want native Ethernet connections to carry
their own internal Ethernet traffic across the WAN. This is creating an opportunity to leverage the
existing copper infrastructure to deliver carrier grade voice and data services over Ethernet to
business customers. Many carriers are providing these services over fiber, but new technologies
make it possible to deliver these same services over existing voice grade copper. This breakthrough
makes the services ubiquitously available to all customers within a carriers market without sacrificing
the performance or reliability. Being able to deliver Ethernet over copper lets carriers reach not just
the 10% of customers with access to the fiber network, but 100% of their customers who have
access to existing copper infrastructure.
Ethernet services therefore offer a significant revenue opportunity for service providers and deliver
great productivity gains for customers. This up-selling opportunity for carriers more than offsets
the risk of cannibalization of existing Frame Relay and circuit-based data services such as T1/E1.
There has been significant progress in that last few years in providing robust DSL transport
technologies based on state of the art DSL technologies for delivering ubiquitous carrier Ethernet in
the local loop. The two most popular approaches are:
1) The IEEE 802.3ah Ethernet in the First Mile project standardized two new versions of
Ethernet suitable for use in carrier networks. An extended reach version of Ethernet known
as IEEE 2Base-TL based upon the G.SHDSL transmission method enables delivering 2Mbps
per pair at distances up to 3km and IEEE 10Pass-TS based upon the VDSL transmission
method provides 10Mbps per pair for short runs of up to 750 meters. The standard also
specifies a means of bonding multiple pairs together to create a single aggregated channel
which yields significant amounts of capacity over the existing copper network.

Figure 12 – IEEE 802.3ah EFM Standard
2) ITU Pair Bonding standard G.992 supports multiple PHYs like GSHDSL for 802.3ah above
and DMT based systems like VDSL2. Flexible band plans (and extended US0) can support
both symmetric and asymmetric services (G.993.2 Annex A). The superior rate reach
performance for the entire Carrier Serving area service providers to market 10mb/sec or
higher service offerings on available pairs without harming their other services in the binder
like ADSL, asymmetric VDSL2, and HDSL.
Ethernet over Copper is now posed to become a mainstream service. Necessary features have been
added to ensure that the operations, administration, and maintenance (OAM) tools that providers
were comfortable with on their SONET/SDH-based networks are now supported over copper-based
Ethernet applications. The Metro Ethernet Forum is now offering certification programs to ensure
compatibility between networking vendors and operators.

Applications for Ethernet over Copper
Ethernet Business Services

The Largest opportunity for Ethernet over Copper is the extension of metro Ethernet services to
enterprises. Customers are asking for Ethernet at all locations and are asking for migration paths
from their existing Frame Relay and ATM-based services, which today typically offered over T1 or E1
Ethernet services today are typically offered only over fiber connections. Vertical Systems Group
estimates that fiber reaches only 12% of the business locations in North America and less than 9%
of locations in Europe, which severely limits the revenue potential of Ethernet. For the remaining
locations, these services are just as much in demand, making for a huge underserved potential
market. Vertical Systems also estimates that Ethernet services in the range between 10 Mbps and 50
Mbps will generate over $14B USD in revenue over the next five years as these users migrate from
frame relay and ATM connections to carry their converged IP traffic.
The technologies now available to service providers enable ubiquitous deployment of much higher
bandwidth services on the same pairs of copper, which were previously limited to just T1/E1 rates.
This not only provides a wide footprint of Ethernet availability, but also allows much higher speeds,
guaranteed at 10Mb/sec or above, on the same pairs of copper that are now serving those
businesses with only 1.5 or 2 Mb/sec.
Figure 12 – Carrier Ethernet Business Services

Cell site Backhaul

Of the 184,000 cell sites is the US, less than 10% of them are fiber connected. Multiple T1s are the
only transport media that serve the other 90% of these sites. With the rapid deployment of 2.5 and
3G services like EVDO, Edge and HSDPA, the demands for bandwidth at these sites is growing
rapidly. Most of the growth is on the data, image and video side of the network with very little new
growth on TDM voice. Ethernet over Copper with bonded pairs provides the required bandwidth
beyond traditional T1s and the bonded systems improve the service reliability to these sites,
improving customer service and helping to reduce churn.
IP DSLAM Backhaul
The race for greater bandwidth to DSL subscribers in full has created a challenge for those 30 to
40% of the subscribers that are served out of remotes that are backhauled by T1 (768 kb/sec/pair)
on multiple pairs of copper. With Ethernet over copper those very same pairs can now provide 3 to 5
Mb/sec of bandwidth. This allows the Telcos to rapidly and cost effectively provide greater coverage
and bandwidth to its customers without undertaking major fiber construction.
Summary
Carrier Ethernet over copper bridges the economic and a technical chasm between copper based T1/E1
and fiber based DS3/STM1. It is the ideal solution for extending the reach of Ethernet services, meeting
both the performance gap and the fiber gap that will enables service providers to cost effectively and
reliably meet the growing demand for carrier Ethernet for business and residential customers.

Hybrid Fiber Coax (HFC)

Introduction
The Cable industry’s access network is referred to as a Hybrid Fiber Coax (HFC) architecture. This
means that signals are transported from an ingress point (or Headend) over fiber (passing through
a Hub) to an opto-electric node (HFC node) where it is converted into an electrical signal for
onwards transmission over a coaxial network, in spectrum up to 860MHz. In addition to a forward
broadcast path, cable networks use the spectrum between 5-42MHz to transmit upstream data,
used for signaling, Internet access, and voice. Each fiber node area typically passes between 500
and 1000 homes. The coax running from the node along streets is known as trunk, and coax to the
home is the drop. Typically four coax trunks emanate from each node. Approximately 75% of
trunking in the US is aerial. The network from the node to the home is considered the Access
Network.
For the delivery of residential and small business data services the Cable industry has used
technologies known as DOCSIS. CableLabs is considering a revision to the DOCSIS specification to
make it compatible with Carrier Ethernet.
Architectures
There are a number of ways to implement Carrier Ethernet in the Access Network for the HFC
network today, each differentiated by the depth of the fiber.
Figure 13 – Fiber to the Node (FTTN)
Fiber to the Node (FTTN): In FTTN, an outdoor Ethernet switch is located at an trunk aggregation
point. This can be at or south of the HFC node, taking one wavelength pair and switching this
Ethernet capacity onto the existing coax trunks. Two QAM carriers are used, one for upstream and
one for downstream. At each branch in the network another switch is used to distribute capacity.
These intermediate Ethernet switches both switch and regenerate. The Ethernet trunk terminates
at a drop device, known as a tap switch. Each tap switch takes a portion of the trunk capacity and
switches it onto existing coax drops. A modem presents a RJ45 interface with capacity up to
100Mbps symmetric.

Fiber to the Curb (FTTC): In FTTC, one or more outdoor Ethernet aggregation switches are located
at or south of the node. The major difference between FTTN and FTTC is that the southbound
trunks for FTTC are fiber trunks, whereas the
southbound trunks in FTTN are coaxial trunks. The switch accepts one wavelength pair, typically
using existing fiber to the node. The 1Gbps or 10Gbps of WDM
Figure 14 – Fiber to the Curb (FTTC)

capacity can be shared across fiber trunks. In FTTC, fiber is constructed along the street in an
“overlash” mode. This may be a literal aerial overlash, or it may use conduit. The Ethernet
connection terminates at a tap switch similar to the FTTN architecture. The path to the home is the
same coax drop, with the tap switch combining the fiber-fed Ethernet signals with the coax-fed
CATV signals. When businesses do not elect video service, combining is not required.
Figure 15 – Fiber to the Premise (FTTP) Switched

All Fiber (FTTP): There are three main approaches to FTTP under consideration in Cable. Video
could be delivered over the existing coax network, which would require two physical lines (one
coax, one fiber) into a home, or video could be switched onto the fiber. For non-video business
customers, this is not a concern.
(1) Active Ethernet Switching: In this implementation successive fiber aggregation switches follow
the existing tree architecture. At the tap location, an Ethernet tap switch is used to drop capacity
onto a fiber newly pulled to the premise. This presents a very efficient use of the both the existing
MAN and the trunk fiber.
(2) WDM: This takes fiber straight to the premise, in a dedicated point-to-point link. A single user
uses a pair of wavelengths and receives up to 1Gbps of capacity with high performance attributes.
This may involve running a new fiber a relatively long distance (e.g. from the existing HFC node
location) to the premise. This approach is suitable for isolated heavy users such as large
enterprises.
(3) Another all fiber approach uses Passive Optical Networking (PON). Today’s PON economics
make it a challenging business case in an existing HFC environment, but may make sense for new-
build development projects.
FTTC is viewed as the preferred architecture in residential uses, and in all but the highest
bandwidth commercial uses. It is less disruptive than FTTN and brings the full capacity of fiber
deep into the node at a very low cost per Mbps. It leverages existing coax drops and increases the
efficiency of long haul fiber usage.
Considerations
Considerations when implementing Metro Ethernet in HFC include:
 Cost of construction: the more existing plant equipment that can be exploited, the better.
 Time delay due to construction
 Symmetry: Some candidate technologies are inherently asymmetric.
 Reuse of long haul capacity: the use of architectures requiring point to point links back to
the headend or hub should be avoided.
 Cost per Mbps
 Capacity in terms of subscriber count and raw bandwidth
 Capital budgets: An approach that starts with FTTN or FTTC, and then transitions to
switched FTTP using modular outside plant equipment can extend the period required for
capital investment.
Benefits
Benefits accruing to any network operator in offering Carrier Ethernet include: the ability to peer
easily with other operators; clear performance characteristics; strong management; clear
marketing terms; and the ability to increase subscriber capacity without a truck roll. For cable
operators using an FTTN or FTTC approach, other advantages include:
 Low construction costs.
 Low pay-as-you-go capital costs required to enter the market
 Rapid deployment timeframes possible. Even the first customer in a node may be installed
within a week or even a day.
 Ability to avoid stranding capital investment.
 One network that serves commercial and residential customers equally.

These advantages may be achieved through broadly deploying FTTC while maintaining an end goal
of FTTP. Carrier Ethernet dovetails well with the MSO goals to serve new businesses, increase
residential capacity, increase network management capabilities and achieve acceptable returns on
investment. FTTC presents a lower cost per subscriber than other capacity expansion techniques,
and it solves the upstream capacity bottleneck as well as the downstream.
Summary
Carrier Ethernet is viewed as the right answer for Commercial services for Cable. Stringent
applications such as cellular backhaul demand it. Cable’s infrastructure follows the population, as
does cell tower distribution in metropolitan areas. Cable has an inherent advantage in serving this
segment due to shortest distance to the tower, and Carrier Ethernet is the service MNOs want to
buy. Switched Ethernet FTTN and FTTC, and FTTP in some cases, present the operator with a
method of leveraging their current investments in the HFC plant and associated rights of way to
rapidly offer service. Switched Ethernet supports the strategic direction of the Cable industry.
Wireless Optical Mesh

Introduction
Most SMBs are connected to “N x T1” services (e.g. fractional or dual T1s for POTS/ISDN and
Internet service) at a cost ranging anywhere from $800 to $1500 monthly.
Certified carrier Ethernet services could easily be deployed as a convergence medium, integrating
these services onto a single managed facility, with the added benefit of flexible Ethernet service
bandwidth and business-grade LAN service behavior.
However, in most cases, the costs of suitable access facilities are too high. Hence, only 11.7% of
commercial buildings with more than 20 employees are connected to fiber facilities in the US
(Source: Vertical Systems Group, May 2006).
What if it were possible to replace dual-T1 services with an integrated services bundle based on a
10Mbps carrier Ethernet access service - at a lower price than 2 T1s – and while maintaining a
50% gross profit margin for the deploying service provider?
This is the promise held by the wireless optical mesh – targeted to bring wireless carrier Ethernet
services to the majority of the SMB market, situated in metro areas and business parks.
Architecture of a Wireless Optical Mesh

Like with all wireless mesh solutions, the two key elements of the wireless optical mesh
architecture are mesh nodes and centralized mesh management system (see below). Combined,
these two form the Metro Grid architecture, delivering scalable carrier Ethernet services to a
variety of targeted building segments, housing the majority of SMB and remote branch offices.

Figure 164 – Wireless Metro Optical Metro Grid
Wireless Optical Mesh Nodes (Nodes): Nodes are comprised of several low-cost optical transmission
links, tightly integrated with high-capacity GE mesh switching based on open Ethernet standards.
Nodes link up with other nodes in the mesh to form a fully automated switching topology, thereby
establishing a service distribution mesh based on a resilient multipoint-to-multipoint topology.
An essential capability of the Nodes is to automatically redirect optical paths when the mesh
topology grows or fluctuates, driven by customer sign-up and churn. Thus, additional Nodes can be
added to or removed from the mesh topology in a highly automated fashion, and newly added
Nodes automatically serve as a connection base for further mesh expansions.
Several Nodes can be co-located on the same roof-top, building a fully redundant and resilient LAN
topology comprised of locally connected Ethernet interfaces, as well as wireless optical Ethernet
links connecting to other buildings.
A central management system provides for remote “over-the-air” element management of all
Nodes in the mesh, as well as automated “mesh operation” tools to provision and monitor mesh-
wide service capabilities – such as specific customer or service provider topology overlays.

Figure 17 – Wireless Metro Grid—Wireless Service POP
The wireless optical mesh architecture is a flat Layer 2 service distribution mesh, providing for a
very low OPEX - one of the fundamental value propositions of all carrier Ethernet solutions.
There is no need for special routing mechanisms or adjustments to accommodate variable link
speeds, as caused by spectrum interference. Operational links always operate in “full-duplex, wire-
speed” mode.
As the wireless optical mesh architecture is based on open standards mesh switching principles, it
can be integrated with standards conformant 3rd party equipment, such as carrier grade LAN
switches, routers or high-speed P-t-P wireless equipment.
The resulting end-to-end service mesh topology can be managed via standards based network
management systems – based on proven management system vendors and solutions.
Figure 18 – Service Distribution Mesh

Considerations
The expectations for wireless mesh deployments to enable delivery of converged services are
running high – with demand for VoIP or multi-media services. Wireless optical mesh technology
delivers on the promise of wireless carrier Ethernet, as it overcomes the impeding issues.
The technology is globally license-free, has no inherent loop delay (micro seconds per hop), no
interference issues (always “wire speed”), and is well proven to reach full-duplex fast and gigabit
Ethernet speeds. In essence, a wireless optical mesh behaves like a “distributed” Ethernet switch.
Optical transmission links are a line-of-sight technology, and thus are better suited for short link
deployments – and as part of a wireless mesh that can switch traffic around obstacles.
Benefits
Facility-based service providers typically face heavy up-front capital expenditures for the build-out
of fiber access infrastructure – often requiring long-term financial tools to secure the project. On
the other hand, operators leasing lateral fiber access facilities end up paying high monthly tariffs.
In either case, SMBs typically can not be served in a profitable manner, based on fiber facilities.
No large up-front investments and no recurring tariffs: The wireless optical mesh is deployed in a
true “pay-as-you-grow” fashion. Hence, wireless optical mesh deployment fundamentally changes
the business paradigm of the facility-based service provider – without any co-location equipment.
The initial foot-print of a wireless optical mesh is the roof-top of a “lit” building – the wireless
service POP (see picture above). The wireless optical mesh then distributes the desired service
capacity to many surrounding buildings – also benefiting from over-subscription across the mesh.
At the service POP the wireless optical mesh connects to the metro fiber core. One (or several
redundant) wireless optical Nodes are the only up-front deployment to get started – subsequently
connecting to other buildings after customers have committed and signed up (pay-as-you-grow).
Maintaining roughly the same ARPU from a converted dual-T1 SMB, the first customer in any given
building drives a typical ROI in less than one year. Nodes serving several customers, e.g. SMB
tenants in MTU buildings, can often achieve ROI in a few months.
The main business aspects of an optical “wireless carrier Ethernet” mesh are:
 The wireless optical mesh infrastructure is a carrier Ethernet service distribution facility.
The recurring cost of the central back-haul service in the service POP is typically highly
over-subscribed across all buildings and customers in the mesh deployment.
 There is no large up-front capital investment when rolling out services on a wireless optical
mesh – just the deployment of a wireless service POP, taking about one day.
 All subsequent customer deployments are “pay-as-you-grow”.
 Future service or capacity expansions are also “pay-as-you-grow”.
Summary
Deploying a wireless optical mesh, service providers can use wireless mesh technology to extend
the reach of existing fiber facilities, and deliver between 5 and 100 Mbps of carrier-grade Ethernet
service capacity to hundreds of connected buildings.
As the underlying technology is interference-free, a wireless optical mesh can distribute several
gigabits worth of carrier Ethernet service capacity across the spanned topology, ideal for dense
built-out areas - such as metro areas, business parks and campus.

A license-free wireless technology, with the resulting “pay-as-you-grow” business model, the
wireless optical mesh can be deployed by all service provider segments globally – and does not
require any co-location equipment or expensive access facility build-outs.
Ethernet over TDM

Market Drivers for Ethernet Services over TDM
Enterprises both large and small are interested in finding an inexpensive carrier-class solution for
delivering Ethernet-based local data, voice over IP, and video over IP among various corporate
regional locations and selected customers. In turn, service providers are being challenged to create
a wide area LAN service that supports these services, using different access technologies. The goal
of these service providers is to deliver Ethernet services ubiquitously both in–region and out of
region, off-network and on-network, regardless of the underlying transport infrastructure. Re-using
existing TDM assets in-region can reduce the turn-up time and cost to deliver an Ethernet service
to a new customer. When delivering Ethernet services out of region, leasing a fiber access
connection is often not an option. However, traditional leased line services such as T1/E1, T3/E3
and OC-n/STM-n are universally available from most carriers, and enable service providers to
deliver Ethernet ubiquitously. To provide higher bandwidth services with more precise granularity,
the carrier can use bonding to bundle multiple TDM access links to support a higher rate Ethernet
service which could not otherwise be supported.
Architecture
The most economical solution for delivering Ethernet traffic over a TDM/SDH/SONET transport
network is the deployment of Ethernet access devices, which offer 10/100/1000M Ethernet ports to
the customer and utilizeT1/E1, T3/E3, STM-1/OC-3, STM-4/OC-12 or other TDM access links. To
provide additional granularity of Ethernet bandwidth delivery, bonding of multiple links can be
used. To transport an Ethernet service over the TDM access infrastructure requires three key
functions:
 Ethernet encapsulation: The encapsulation function maps the Ethernet packet into an
alternate frame format. In the case of TDM, this also requires a rate change to align the
Ethernet service with the TDM rate used for transport. It may also include a bonding
function if multiple uplinks are used.
 UNI: The rate change or rate limiting is achieved using a user network interface (UNI) to
ensure that the correct service prioritization is applied during this rate transformation.
 Ethernet Link/Service Termination (EST): For OAM support an Ethernet Link/Service
Termination (EST) function is required to support remote maintenance for turn up, test and
performance monitoring, and provide termination/demark of the Ethernet service.
The combination of these three functions is often referred to as an Ethernet Access Device (EAD).
Considerations
Alignment with industry standards is important in the Ethernet over TDM application to ensure
interoperability between products of different vendors, as well as to provide “access agnostic”
delivery of Ethernet services – seamless transport of Ethernet traffic over various access media

options. In particular the Ethernet-over-TDM encapsulation techniques must align between the
demarcation-devices at the customer premise and the aggregation elements at the edge of the
network. Common encapsulations used in these devices include X.86 (or HDLC), Generic Framing
Procedure (GFP) according to G.8040/Y.1340, and Point-to-Point Protocol (PPP). These
encapsulations may be bonded together utilizing multi-link PPP (ML-PPP), virtual concatenation
(VCAT)/link capacity adjustment scheme (LCAS) and proprietary bonding techniques. Most edge
devices support some or all of these encapsulations, in addition to enhanced capabilities at the EAD
and the TDM aggregator, to enable scalable Ethernet services and compatibility with existing
products in the market.
Other considerations include the Operations, Administration and Maintenance (OAM) capabilities of
these products. The industry has been working to create a full suite of standard OAM capabilities,
in order to control an end-to-end service to the customer, and while insuring interoperability at the
OAM level between Ethernet access devices of different vendors, using different access media.
Figure 20
 Three key functions for Ethernet over TDM

 Ethernet Link/Service Termination (EST) or Network Termination
Equipment (NTE)
 Link/Service layer Ethernet OAM – 802.3ah & 802.1ag
 Ethernet Service UNI (User Network Interface)
 Service layer policing and definition – MEF/ITU
Media conversion or encapsulation function
Finally the user network interface (UNI) that provides the service personality should be compatible
with MEF’s specifications, to ensure that the Ethernet service that is delivered over TDM will have
the same personality as an Ethernet service delivered over alternate access technologies.
Compatibility with MEF specs enables carriers to utilize a variety of access technologies while
providing a consistent Ethernet service for their end users. In short, it lets the carrier hide the
complexity of their networks from the users.

Figure 18 – End-to-end Ethernet Path & OAM
Summary of benefits
Utilizing EoTDM enables carriers to deliver Ethernet ubiquitously without requiring a major
infrastructure investment. It provides the smoothest and simplest migration to the Ethernet-based
world of the future while leveraging existing TDM/SONET/SDH infrastructures. The frame relay and
ATM networks that carriers want to migrate to Ethernet-based services reached all customer
locations, whether on-net or off-net, in-region or out-of-region. EoTDM provides a way to expand
the Ethernet services footprint and reach all required customer locations with the high degree of
service manageability needed for a successful service rollout.

Summary - Carrier Ethernet Access Service Delivery
The advantages of Ethernet are based on its simplicity, widespread adoption in many
devices both at home and in the Enterprise and the economies of scale that this has
provided. Furthermore, as more and more communication services are based on Internet
Protocol (IP) technology, Ethernet becomes more attractive given that it was originally
designed for transport of IP data. Ethernet thus has the capability of providing a common,
unified transport layer that allows the delivery of multiple services based on IP, over a
single connection.
Figure 21 – Multiple technologies in Carrier Ethernet Access networks
The ability to offer a much wider range of price and service choices between the legacy
TDM access speeds ensures that the service provider receives more revenue from users
who want more than the basic speed but have been unwilling or unable to pay for the
services that they need, due to the high cost of delivering this (DS3, OC3, STM-1)
capacity . This gap between demand for bandwidth to support next generation
applications and the ability to deliver them affordably has created a tremendous market
for Ethernet Access. In practice, provider revenues can increase revenue and margin per
line by as much as a factor of three times over that of traditional TDM-based fixed-price
service offerings, by deploying more cost effective Ethernet Access solutions to meet this
market demand.
Carrier Ethernet in the access network can be delivered at a lower initial capital cost and
the lower operational costs associated with operating a Carrier Ethernet network. Ethernet
Access extends the 5 attributes of Carrier Ethernet into the access network, with a variety
of access methods for every type of networking media, including fiber, copper, coaxial and
wireless mesh.

For more information about the various types of Ethernet access solutions for these
specific media, please read the MEF’s white papers, available on the MEF’s web site at:
http://www.metroethernetforum.org
Editor Company Telephone Email
Israel.Abramovich@seabri
Israel Abramovich Siemens +972-54-2200944
dgenetworks.com
Contributors Company Telephone Email
Kirby.Russell@strixsystem
Kirby Russell Strix +1-805-660-1563
s.com
Joachim Hallwachs ClearMesh Joachim@clearmesh.com
Louise@naradnetworks.co
Louise Wasilewski NARAD Networks +1-978 589 1832
m
Craig Easley Actelis +1-510-545-1034 CEasley@actelis.com
Fred Ellefson ADVA +1-972 759 1244 FEllefson@advaoptical.com
Hamid Lalani Aktino Hamid.Lalani@aktino.com
Omnitron agoldberg@omnitron-
Arie Goldberg +1-949-250-6510
Systems systems.com
Joshua Etkin RAD joshua_e@RADUSA.COM
olle.gustafsson@ericsson.c
Olle Gustafsson Ericsson
om
Overture chip.redden@overturenetw
Chip Redden +1919 337 4134
Networks orks.com
Disclaimer
The information in this publication is believed to be accurate as of its publication date. Such
information is subject to change without notice and the Metro Ethernet Forum is not
responsible for any errors. The Metro Ethernet Forum does not assume any responsibility to
update or correct any information in this publication. Notwithstanding anything to the
contrary, neither The Metro Ethernet Forum nor the publisher make any representation or
warranty, expressed or implied, concerning the completeness, accuracy, or applicability of
any information contained in this publication. No liability of any kind shall be assumed by
the Metro Ethernet Forum or the publisher as a result of reliance upon any information
contained in this publication.
About the Metro Ethernet Forum

The Metro Ethernet Forum (MEF) is a non-profit organization dedicated to accelerating the
adoption of Carrier Ethernet.
The Forum is comprised of leading service providers, major incumbent local exchange
carriers, service providers, cable operators, top network equipment vendors and other
prominent networking companies that share an interest in metro Ethernet. As of March,
2007, the MEF has 116 members.

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Carrier Ethernet

The technology of choice for

Metro Ethernet Forum

MetroEthernetForum Page 2 of 42 March 2007

MetroEthernetForum Page 3 of 42 March 2007

Figure 1: Carrier Ethernet Services Forecast

MetroEthernetForum Page 4 of 42 March 2007

The History of Ethernet

Ethernet today and in the future, a Carrier Ethernet Vision

The development of Ethernet into

MetroEthernetForum Page 5 of 42 March 2007

Carrier Ethernet Access

Unified way to deliver services

MetroEthernetForum Page 6 of 42 March 2007

Figure 2: Multiple technologies in Carrier Ethernet Access networks

MetroEthernetForum Page 7 of 42 March 2007

MEF Definitions for Carrier Ethernet Services

MetroEthernetForum Page 8 of 42 March 2007

5 Key Attributes of Carrier Ethernet

A carrier would summarize their service requirements thus:

MetroEthernetForum Page 9 of 42 March 2007

Applications for Carrier Ethernet

MetroEthernetForum Page 10 of 42 March 2007

Business Services using Carrier Ethernet

Virtual Private Networks - VPN

High Bandwidth Multimedia

MetroEthernetForum Page 11 of 42 March 2007

IP Telephony and Video on Demand

Support for Legacy TDM Services

MetroEthernetForum Page 12 of 42 March 2007

Ethernet Access for Residential Triple-Play

Carrier Ethernet – Next generation residential access

Figure 3 Service offering for Residential subscribers

MetroEthernetForum Page 13 of 42 March 2007

Residential Data Service

MetroEthernetForum Page 14 of 42 March 2007

Carrier Ethernet – based

Figure 4 Carrier Ethernet for Residential Access

MetroEthernetForum Page 15 of 42 March 2007

Ethernet Access for Mobile Backhaul

Mobile Radio Access Networks (RAN) evolution

MetroEthernetForum Page 16 of 42 March 2007

Figure 5: 3G Network architecture based on 3GPP R99

This architecture is depicted in Figure 6

Figure 6: 3G Network architecture based on 3GPP R5

MetroEthernetForum Page 17 of 42 March 2007

Why use Carrier Ethernet for mobile backhaul?

Figure 7: Carrier Ethernet offers a decreasing marginal cost per bandwidth

Monthly list prices in EUR Verizon USA BT UK

One homogeneous network for 2G and 3G transport

Ethernet is a native building block for IP transport

MetroEthernetForum Page 18 of 42 March 2007

MetroEthernetForum Page 19 of 42 March 2007

Wireless Mesh Networks (Wireless Ethernet)

MetroEthernetForum Page 20 of 42 March 2007

Wireless Ethernet UNIs

MetroEthernetForum Page 21 of 42 March 2007

Figure 8 – Wireless mesh access network

Wireless Ethernet Network Architecture

MetroEthernetForum Page 22 of 42 March 2007

FIGURE 9 – Measured Network Performance

Wireless mesh networks feature self-configuration, self-optimization and self-healing functionality.