Tibit Communications, Inc. (Petaluma, CA), a developer of innovative network devices for fiber broadband access, in June announced a significant increase of investment in both its 10G passive optical networks (PON) manufacturing capacity and its 25G PON program.
The new $30 million investment, from Tibit's Series C venture funding round, includes Tibit's current investors Liberty Global (LGI), Swisscom Ventures, Intel Capital, Ciena, Juniper Networks and Solasta Ventures.
Tibit is simplifying PON for service providers with its MicroPlug OLT, a pluggable OLT.
"Liberty Global values suppliers that innovate core intellectual property to network services," commented Colin Buechner, chief network office at Liberty Global. "Tibit has proven an ability to deliver a new ASIC and HW design in the 10Gbps MicroPlug OLT, which has been tested through a lengthy deployment in LGI's UK network. We welcome, and are proud to support, their continued innovation at the 25Gbps PON speed."
According to a June 23 statement, the new investment will be used immediately to accelerate Tibit's 25G ASIC program, which will build upon the company's successful 10G ASIC and MicroPlug OLT product lines.
As stated by Tibit, "25GS-PON will be the next big step in PON access speeds for enterprise, multi-gig residential services and 5G wireless connectivity."
The company notes its MicroPlug's standard-based SFP+ form factor enables the device to plug into commercially available Ethernet switch platforms, greatly expanding architecture options for carriers. The platform is powered by the Tibit bridge ASIC, among the industry's smallest and lowest power 10G OLT chipsets, which supports a feature set across both ITU-T and IEEE 10G PON standards.
"Tibit's expertise down to the ASIC level enables a deep understanding of PON technology, and flexibility to innovate new form factors," noted Pär Lange, investment partner at Swisscom Ventures. "We are pleased to see their increasing success as both an investee and partner."
Tibit is a founding member and contributor to the 25GS-PON MSA, the 25 gigabit PON standard which now includes almost 50 carriers, system vendors and solution providers worldwide.
Tibit said its increased investment in 25GS-PON today will establish the Tibit MicroPlug OLT product line as a cornerstone platform "for the next big step in fiber broadband access speeds."
The Series C investment will also scale Tibit's manufacturing capabilities to meet demand fueled by its successful solution partnerships, technological innovations in simplifying PON, and control of its own OLT ASIC silicon.
"Tibit has been well positioned to take advantage of the tailwinds from operators investing in 10G PON fiber deployments, which have led to incredible momentum for the company in the marketplace and strong investor support," concluded Richard Stanfield, president and CEO of Tibit. "This funding will enable us to grow our 10G manufacturing capabilities and develop an innovative 25G solution."
Founded in 2014, Tibit contends it has introduced "a fundamental change to the architecture and economics of PON solutions, which have been mostly constrained to proprietary, chassis-mounted architectures available from only a few global vendors."