The TCO of RF over Fiber

Although product pricing can often be the deciding factor when purchasing goods, the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) is often overlooked.  However, this is an important factor which should be considered.

The cost of ownership of RF over fiber products varies greatly by manufacturer.  ViaLite Communications is one of the few to address TCO at the time of designing and manufacturing its RF over fiber links. ViaLite addresses the following three areas:

Power consumption

There is an increasing cost associated with power consumption as electricity prices rise.

ViaLite’s products have a considerably lower power consumption than other manufacturers with ViaLiteHD OEM Links and Transmitters using just 1.9 watts (W) and Receivers using just 1.3 W. This means a fully configured ViaLiteHD 3U rack chassis, housing 26 transmitters, uses under 50W.

The company’s re-branded ‘Green OEM Link’ module (previously the ‘Broadcast OEM’ *) uses even less power at Tx – 1.1 W, Rx – 0.8 W. This reduced power consumption is particularly important within the broadcast market because wireless mics and cameras are often battery-powered. Lower consumption means cheaper, smaller and lighter batteries with a shorter battery life can be used.

In comparison to ViaLite’s RF over fiber products, competitor products use 2-3 times as much power; increasing the TCO during the product lifetime.

Operating temperatures

As a result of the low power-usage and high-quality design, ViaLite’s products also produce less heat. This reduces or can remove the need for air conditioning in equipment rooms; providing further cost savings.

Product life expectancy

ViaLite products have a long life expectancy; aided by the cooler running temperatures.  This is one of the reasons the company is able to offer its industry-leading 5-year warranty as standard on every product.  As replacement of failed parts is mitigated, the TCO of ViaLite products is lower than other manufacturers’.

*  ViaLite has also re-branded its Edge module to ‘Yellow OEM’. This module is designed for integrating into existing customer systems and – along with the Blue OEM (previously known as the M-Link) and new Blue2 Link module – forms ViaLite’s OEM range of RF over fiber products.  Please see Hardware Formats for more information on the modules available.