Cable-Tec Expo 2019

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Is a Generic Access Platform (GAP) Node Coming to a Node Near You? (Room 211-213)

This session will describe an emerging SCTE•ISBE standard that addresses the need for a re-usable, common and modular approach for network nodes, intended to reduce the number of housing variations and allow operational and material savings that stand the test of time (or at least the next few decades.)  Modern “GAP” (generic access platform) nodes will contain modules such as RPDs and RMDs for distributed access architectures – as well as modules for PON, Wi-Fi, cellular, IoT, and distributed computing. The session will bring a vendor and an operator perspective for outlining the business cases for deploying GAP modules instead of the traditional, single-purpose styles. It will detail how manufacturers are working to overcome the space and power constraints that accompany the move of transmission and compute equipment into the node. Also included are operations considerations, like training, to manage this increasingly complex network, and examples of revenue-generating services that the converged, intelligent edge network of the future will support.