MaxLinear, GiaX team on symmetrical 10G over coax

June 6, 2018
GiaX GmbH has selected MaxLinear's (NYSE:MXL) MxL85110 Virtual Fiber broadband modem system on chip (SoC) for its HelEOS network ...

GiaX GmbH has selected MaxLinear's (NYSE:MXL) MxL85110 Virtual Fiber broadband modem system on chip (SoC) for its HelEOS network system that is designed to deliver 10 Gbps symmetrical throughput over coaxial cable infrastructure.

The MxL85110 is designed to provide 20 Gbps throughput (10 Gbps downstream and 10 Gbps upstream) and to support both distributed access architectures (DAA) and Full Duplex DOCSIS 3.1 (FDX) use cases. The MxL85110 offers latency of 5 microsends per node and adaptive code modulation ranging from BPSK to 1,024 QAM.

The GiaX HelEOS is intended to let cable operators to reuse existing coaxial infrastructure, provide high throughput, and be deployable on short notice on an as-needed basis.

GiaX says a European cable operator is now evaluating the HelEOS solution to provide a 10G Ethernet overlay network as backhaul technology for remote PHY or remote MAC PHY devices, utilizing the existing coaxial network. The GiaX HelEOS solution provides a virtual node split capability, retaining the existing coaxial infrastructure while also enabling fiber deep, DAA and FDX networks.

For Ethernet data transmission, unused spectrum above frequencies used for DOCSIS 3.x and DVB-C or MPEG is utilized. HelEOS is designed to transport up to 10 Gbps both upstream and downstream. Depending on the cable type and frequencies used, transmission can be accomplished over several hundred meters.

"I have been impressed at the innovation used by GiaX to bring this system to market. Leveraging the company's close service provider relationships, it has addressed a capacity constraint within the existing HFC networks," said Brendan Walsh, vice president of the Wireless Group for MaxLinear. "While its existing system can support data rates up to 10 Gbps, leveraging our technology, throughput of up to 25 Gbps will be realizable."

The HelEOS 10G Ethernet overlay system is a modem and switch technology that combines point-to-point Ethernet connections over existing coaxial cables into an Ethernet overlay system on the HFC network. This Ethernet overlay system is designed to offer fiber-like speeds as well as MEF management functions.