PacketFront selects Mindspeed’s Comcerto 1000 packet processor for Gigabit-to-the Home CPE

NEWPORT BEACH, USA: Mindspeed Technologies Inc., a leading supplier of semiconductor solutions for network infrastructure applications, announced that PacketFront Systems AB has chosen the Comcerto 1000 packet processor for its recently announced DRG 700 customer premises equipment (CPE), which combines Layer 2 switched and Layer 3 routed operation with a residential firewall for secure home networking.

“We have worked closely with Mindspeed to leverage the Comcerto processor’s significant performance advantages for triple-play service delivery,” said Stefan Tegenfalk, product manager for PacketFront.

“Comcerto optimizes throughput and quality of service across all of the DRG 700’s Wi-Fi, Voice-over-IP (VoIP) telephony and cable TV capabilities, and also gives us the processing horsepower to implement robust security features. The DRG 700 is not only intended for large-scale fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) rollouts, but also addresses medium-sized FTTH projects being implemented by utilities and municipalities.”

“Mindspeed’s innovative, programmable software architecture and carrier-class feature-rich voice package helped accelerate our DRG 700 development schedule, while reducing total system cost,” added Tegenfalk. “It has also ensured a high degree of product flexibility and scalability for future enhancements.”

Mindspeed’s Comcerto 1000 enables the DRG 700 to deliver a variety of advanced triple-play services and security features over fiber-access networks. The processor increases packet handling, while reducing power consumption and system cost compared to alternative solutions.

It also includes a powerful security engine capable of delivering scalable virtual private network (VPN) performance from 100 Mbps to full-duplex 1Gbit/s symmetric Internet protocol security (IPSec) rates. Additionally, Comcerto 1000 processors feature robust quality of service (QoS) hardware capabilities for demanding voice, high-definition (HD)-grade video and data applications.

“PacketFront has deployed its fiber-access CPE solutions throughout the world, and we are pleased that the company has chosen the Comcerto 1000 for its latest DRG 700 system,” said Marco Bello, director of CPE marketing and product management at Mindspeed. “With its multiple ARM core processors and application-specific hardware accelerators, the Comcerto 1000 device delivers the gigabit wire-rate packet performance that DRG 700 users need, so they can experience top voice and video quality, in an extremely power-efficient system.”

Infonetics Research reported in March 2010 that Ethernet FTTH and PON FTTH subscribers are forecast to top 100 million worldwide by 2014. The firm also reported in June 2010 that PacketFront had a 31.5 percent share of the worldwide Ethernet FTTH CPE market during the first calendar quarter of 2010.

The Comcerto family of processors uses energy-efficient ARM core technology to deliver one of the lowest power consumption rates in its class, and also incorporates advanced, programmable power-management features to support the energy-saving goals of service providers and product manufacturers worldwide.