IEEE 802.3bn “IEEE Standard for Ethernet Amendment: EPON Protocol over Coax (EPoC)” is currently under development by the IEEE P802.3bn EPON Protocol over Coax (EPoC) Study Group and is anticipated to publish in August, 2014. This project will add a new Physical Layer (PHY) specification for operating the EPON protocol over point-to-multipoint RF distribution plants comprised of either amplified or passive coaxial media in subscriber access network applications.
In November, 2011, a call-for-interest (CFI) presentation noted that it is common practice for optical fiber cabling providing subscriber network services to be pulled just to the edge of the neighborhood, street, curb, or basement. Pulling new or additional optical fiber cabling can be expensive and a significant number of subscribers are already served by existing coaxial networks that are owned by the customer, carrier, or service provider/operator. EPoC bridges the gap between the two existing media types and facilitates migration to a unified Ethernet-based architecture. IPTV, video telephony, and high speed internet and gaming are example applications that are driving the need for Ethernet in the subscriber network access space.
The current focus of the IEEE P802.3bn EPON Protocol over Coax (EPoC) Task Force is the development of a draft for Task Force review.
The EPON Protocol over a Coax (EPoC) PHY Call-For-Interest Consensus Presentation can be found here: http://www.ieee802.org/3/epoc/public/nov11/CFI_01_1111.pdf
The Project Authorization Request (PAR), approved on July 18, 2012, can be found here: http://www.ieee802.org/3/epoc/P802_3bn_PAR_180712.pdf
The project objectives, adopted on May 16, 2012, (refer to: http://www.ieee802.org/3/epoc/EPoC_objectives_draft_0516.pdf) are as follows:
- Specify a PHY to support subscriber access networks capable of supporting burst mode and continuous mode operation using the EPON protocol and operating on point-to-multipoint RF distribution plants comprised of either amplified or passive coaxial media
- Maintain compatibility with 1G‐EPON and 10G‐EPON, as currently defined in IEEE Std. 802.3 with minimal augmentation to MPCP and/or OAM if needed to support the new PHY
- Define required plant configurations and conditions within an overall coaxial network operating model
- Provide a physical layer specification that is capable of:
- A baseline data rate of 1 Gb/s at the MAC/PLS service interface when transmitting in 120 MHz, or less, of assigned spectrum under defined baseline plant conditions;
- A data rate lower than the baseline data rate when transmitting in less than 120 MHz of assigned spectrum or under poorer than defined plant conditions;
- A data rate higher than the 1Gb/s baseline data rate and up to 10 Gb/s when transmitting in assigned spectrum and in channel conditions that permit
- PHY to support symmetric and asymmetric data rate operation