Cost of the CPE
As with other mass-market broadband networks (e.g., xDSL or cable modem), one of
the most closely watched costs in EPON deployments is the cost of the CPE, and some
specific comments are warranted here. Early indications are that as EPON ramps into
high volume, it is following a cost reduction curve very similar to that of DSL: approximately
three years after the mid-2004 adoption of the IEEE 802.3ah standard, EPON
equipment costs have decreased more than 50 percent. Concurrently, the cost of the
most expensive ONU subsystem, namely the optical module, has fallen by 70 percent
or more. There is good reason to believe that, as it matures, EPON CPE costs will be
similar to those of other mass-market broadband-access devices.
EPON vs. Other PON Solutions
EPON is frequently compared with other PON solutions, most commonly with WDM
PON and the ITU-T systems (APON, BPON, and GPON). Compared with the IEEE and
ITU-T systems, WDM PON is in the earliest stages of development and commercialization
(initial prototypes based on tuneable lasers, injection mode locked FP LDs and
RSOAs are commercially available as for July 2007) and is not a single, well-defined
solution.
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