Expanded solution adds NTP and SyncE to industry leading IEEE 1588 Grandmaster platform

17 January 2012 - Chronos supply partner SymmetricomInc. (NASDAQ: SYMM), a worldwide leader in precision time and frequency technologies, has announced new capabilities for its TimeProvider®5000, a leading carrier-grade IEEE 1588-2008 Grandmaster Clock built to handle stringent frequency and phase requirements of next generation networks.

Major enhancements include the addition of carrier-grade Network Time Protocol (NTP), Synchronous Ethernet (SyncE), and T1/E1 support to its industry leading Precision Time Protocol (PTP) synchronization platform. Service providers can ensure they have the necessary timing protocols for 4G/LTE services. The TimeProvider®5000 Master Clock is the first solution of its kind supporting legacy networks that will enable service providers to deploy the necessary synchronization protocols to support next generation services.

"The transition to Ethernet and the convergence of IP-based voice, data and video are placing new demands on network synchronization," said Daryl Inniss, Components Practice Leader at Ovum. "Upcoming rollouts of 4G/LTE mobile networks are also adding new and unique timing demand on wireless backhaul. The forward looking approach that Symmetricom is taking with its products and enhancements with the TimeProvider®5000 is well targeted to provide operators with solutions for the next wave of carrier services and network technologies."

Benefits that the TimeProvider®5000 IEEE 1588 Master Clock delivers:

• Multi-Sync Operation:
  • Simultaneously supports PTP 1588, SyncE, T1/E1 and NTP
  • Adds scalable expansion box support to industry leading TimeProvider(R) 5000 Grandmaster to support LTE FDD and TDD synchronization requirements:
    • TimeProvider Expansion 10 -- SyncE plus PTP phase profile support for LTE-TDD
    • TimeProvider Expansion 30 -- E1 plus Time of Day (TOD) sync outputs
• Capacity:
  • Solution can support up to 1000 PTP clients (ITU-T G.8265.1 Frequency Profile)
  • Up to 10 expansion shelves with a TimeProvider(R) 5000 Grandmaster
  • Each TimeProvider®Expansion 30 shelf adds 12 E1 and 12 1PPS/TOD (time-of-day) ports to the configuration
  • The TimeProvider(R) Expansion 10 shelf adds 16 Ethernet ports capable of supporting IEEE 1588 Layer 2 precision timestamps for LTE-TDD phase synchronization requirements and SyncE physical layer frequency synchronization. It is compliant with the ITU-T G.8275.1 telecom profile delivering time and phase synchronization now in development.

"The demand for bandwidth has grown exponentially, driving the need for increased capacity from mobile operators and the subsequent deployment of 4G/LTE supporting small cells and femtocells," said Manish Gupta, vice president of marketing for Symmetricom. "The TimeProvider® 5000 Master Clock is the industry's first solution to deliver multi-sync capabilities with massive scale on a single platform to support the sync requirements of next generation networks."