Whatever you do, don't call it PON. Wave7 Optics' fiber-to-the-home and -business system may mimic the structure and function of passive optical networks (and it may compete directly with them), but there's nothing “passive” about it. Because the system contains active electronics in the outside plant gear, its makers say it can do much more than PON.

Wave7's tackle-box-sized “last-mile core” (LMC) device can sit as far as 44 miles from the central office or headend, from there serving 96 endpoints up to six miles away. Unlike PON gear, the LMC contains active electronics that require about 80 watts of power (the equivalent of a common light bulb). From the LMC, bandwidth flows through as many as 12 fibers to an array of smaller, passive “last-mile tap” devices — what the company calls “mini-PONs” — which can serve eight customers each with voice, data and video services.

The range alone (about 80 kilometers total) is “probably about 16 times” that of typical PON systems, according to CEO Tom Tighe. And it costs about 20% less than a comparable PON setup (the LMC runs about $10,000 and the customer premises gear between $500 and $3000, depending on whether it's for businesses or residences and multi-dwelling units).

More important, said Tighe, this gear delivers more bandwidth. Each fiber leaving the LMC can carry 500 Mb/s symmetrically to be divided in fixed increments among as many as eight customers or as few as one. Put in perspective, with a 108-minute run time, it would take PON users between 53 minutes and 3.5 hours to download “The Matrix” DVD, according to Wave 7 (depending on the type of PON being used). With Wave7, the download time is 2.3 minutes.

The system requires fiber to the customer, which limits its applicability but also makes it a good fit for cable multiple systems operators (MSOs) looking to serve office parks that don't already have cable infrastructure. And to give it a boost, Wave7 has made some influential friends. Equipment giant Hitachi peddles private-label Wave7 gear in Japan and Korea, and Lucent Venture Partners has invested in all three rounds of Wave7's funding, which now totals more than $47 million.

Between the LMC and the customer, the system is proprietary, not standards-based, a fact that may dissuade some customers — Bell companies in particular, which fear being locked into a single start-up vendor (a potential municipal customer in Washington rejected it for that very reason earlier this year).

But plenty of other customers don't seem to mind. Wave7's current clientele include six municipalities, three independent telcos, three overbuilders and four large cable MSOs. Recent wins include Indiana's Rochester Telephone, which plans to deploy the gear to 1500 homes and businesses by the end of the year, and rural Missouri co-op Chariton Valley Telephone.

“Two and a half years ago, if you came to an RBOC with an Ethernet solution, you wouldn't get anywhere,” said Tighe, hopeful that the Bells will come around eventually. “In the meantime, we'll keep selling products to municipalities, telcos and MSOs.”

A relaxed approach, perhaps. Just don't call it “passive.”