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2008 Health Care Conference: Frontiers of Health Care

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Technology: TriAccess, Calix in the middle of ‘triple-play’ battle

Two North Bay telecom equipment companies are supplying radio-frequency components for the latest electronic communications systems for both cable and telecommunications companies.

TriAccess Technologies makes tiny radio frequency amplifiers that amplify the video signal delivered to the home or plant by fiber-optic cable.

The Santa Rosa-based company has just released a new product that can be used either in the home or neighborhood hub to speed video traffic for cable companies.

“In 2008, a significant portion of our revenues will come from cable companies,” said TriAccess President and Chief Technology Officer Chris Day. The company is positioned to serve both the telecom and cable industries as they battle to be the main provider of the triple play: voice, video and data.

Verizon’s buildout of fiber to the home utilizes TriAccess technology. Soon, cable companies migrating to DOCSIS 3.0, the latest iteration of cable’s DOCSYS standard, will use it too. “DOCSIS 3.0 is highly competitive with Verizon’s fiber to the home, and cable companies are wisely keeping down expenses by building it out incrementally to areas of demand,” said Mr. Day.

Currently being researched is cable’s answer to the carriers’ gigabit Ethernet passive optical networks, which send video out to individual homes from a hub in a highly efficient, low-cost manner.

When it is deployed, DOCSIS, or DPON, will utilize the TriAccess RF amplifiers similar to the way GPON does.

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Also courting the cable industry with a new RF product is Calix, the Petaluma-based provider of broadband access solutions. The company just announced it has released the first GPON terminal that utilizes standards-based radio frequency over glass.

The technology will enable two-way communication with RF-enabled consumer devices. “The advantage to the cable companies is the ability to use the existing fiber pipe for both upstream and downstream traffic,” said Geoff Burke, Calix director of field marketing.

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Submit items for this column to Loralee Stevens at 707-579-2900 ext. 205, lstevens@busjrnl.com or fax 707-579-8475.