In the evolving landscape of Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH), the ZTE ZXA10 C650 stands out as a critical mid-capacity member of ZTE’s TITAN series. Designed for service providers who need a balance between massive port density and compact cabinet space, the C650 offers a future-proof path from GPON to 10G-PON and even 50G-PON.
1. ZTE ZXA10 C650 Overview
The ZTE C650 is a 6U-high optical access OLT platform that fits into a standard 19-inch rack. It is built on a fully-distributed architecture, separating the control plane from the forwarding plane. This ensure that data traffic remains uninterrupted even during system upgrades or control board switchovers.
Key Specifications:
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Chassis Height: 6U
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Service Slots: 7 slots for subscriber line cards.
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Switching Capacity: Up to 7.36 Tbit/s system switching capacity.
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Backplane Bandwidth: 6 Tbit/s.
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PON Port Density: Supports up to 112 GPON/XG(S)-PON ports.
2. Main Hardware Components (The Full Chassis)
A standard ZTE C650 configuration typically includes the chassis, dual control boards for redundancy, dual power boards, and a fan unit.
Main Control & Switch Boards
The control board is the “heart” of the C650. Depending on your network’s bandwidth needs, you can choose between several models:
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SFUL / SFULV: Standard L-type control and switch cards.
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SFUB: Provides 4x 10GE optical uplink interfaces per board, popular for standard 10G deployments.
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SFUH: Enhanced H-type card with higher switching performance and integrated 10GE uplinks.
Power & Interface Boards
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PRVR Board: The DC Power Interface Board. Usually deployed in pairs for $-48V$ DC power redundancy.
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CICG / CICK: Common Interface Cards for external clock synchronization and management.
3. High-Performance Service Boards
The versatility of the ZTE C650 comes from its wide range of service boards, allowing ISPs to mix GPON and 10G-PON subscribers in the same chassis.
| Board Model | Technology | Description |
| GFGH | GPON | 16-port GPON subscriber card (B+ / C+ / C++ modules). |
| GFCH | XGS-PON & GPON | 16-port Combo PON board. Supports both GPON and XGS-PON on one port. |
| GFBH | XG-PON & GPON | 16-port Combo PON board for asymmetric 10G evolution. |
| GFXH | XG-PON | 16-port dedicated XG-PON service board. |
| GFTH | XGS-PON | 16-port dedicated symmetric XGS-PON service board. |
| XFTO / XFTH | Uplink | 8 or 16-port 10GE/GE uplink expansion boards. |
4. Why Choose ZTE C650 for Your ISP?
1. Seamless Evolution with “Any-PON”
The C650 supports ZTE’s Combo PON technology. This allows you to deploy GPON today and upgrade to XGS-PON by simply swapping the SFP module or adding new ONTs, without changing the ODN (Optical Distribution Network) or the line card.
2. High Reliability
With ISSU (In-Service Software Upgrade) and NSR (Non-Stop Routing), the C650 ensures that your high-value enterprise customers never experience a connection drop during maintenance.
3. Energy Efficient Design
The TITAN platform uses self-developed chips that reduce power consumption by up to 30% compared to previous generations (like the C300 series), significantly lowering operational costs (OPEX).
Conclusion
The ZTE ZXA10 C650 is the ideal “sweet spot” for modern ISPs. It provides enough density to handle over 10,000 subscribers (via splitters) while maintaining a compact 6U footprint.
