AT&T demos symmetrical 20-Gbps via 25G PON on production fiber network
AT&T, via a blog by Eddy Barker, the service provider’s assistant vice president, mobility and access architecture, has revealed that it has demonstrated 20-Gbps broadband services using 25G PON technology on a production fiber network. The demonstration leveraged AT&T’s FiberWise technology, which enables 25GS-PON, XGS-PON, and other point-to-point services to share the same fiber.
The service provider launched multi-gig services, including 2- and 5-Gbps offerings, earlier this year using XGS-PON and has demonstrated symmetrical 10 Gbps in a lab environment early this year. Barker writes that AT&T, a member of the 25GS-PON Multi-Source Agreement (MSA) group, began evaluating 25G PON in its production network this month. The platform used for the evaluation leveraged technology from fellow 25GS-PON MSA member Nokia, Barker subsequently informed LightReading.
“Symmetrical 20 gig capability gives developers and engineers a huge runway to the future. As concurrent and mass use of AR/VR, the metaverse, autonomous cars, telemedicine, robotic manufacturing, real-time video sharing and editing, and gaming continue to grow, our 20-Gbps service will provide plenty of bandwidth – that includes helping make possible connected apps and services that haven’t even been imagined yet,” Barker wrote in the blog.
Barker expressed belief that 25G PON technology would reach “maturity” in 6 to 12 months. Meanwhile, AT&T also is active in the development of 50G and 100G PON technologies via its work with relevant standards bodies. Nokia demonstrated a 100G PON approach at this week’s Fiber Connect 2022 event in Nashville, TN (see “Nokia demos 100G PON at Fiber Connect 2022”).
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Stephen Hardy | Editorial Director and Associate Publisher, Lightwave
Stephen Hardy is editorial director and associate publisher of Lightwave and Broadband Technology Report, part of the Lighting & Technology Group at Endeavor Business Media. Stephen is responsible for establishing and executing editorial strategy across the both brands’ websites, email newsletters, events, and other information products. He has covered the fiber-optics space for more than 20 years, and communications and technology for more than 35 years. During his tenure, Lightwave has received awards from Folio: and the American Society of Business Press Editors (ASBPE) for editorial excellence. Prior to joining Lightwave in 1997, Stephen worked for Telecommunications magazine and the Journal of Electronic Defense.
Stephen has moderated panels at numerous events, including the Optica Executive Forum, ECOC, and SCTE Cable-Tec Expo. He also is program director for the Lightwave Innovation Reviews and the Diamond Technology Reviews.
He has written numerous articles in all aspects of optical communications and fiber-optic networks, including fiber to the home (FTTH), PON, optical components, DWDM, fiber cables, packet optical transport, optical transceivers, lasers, fiber optic testing, and more.
You can connect with Stephen on LinkedIn as well as Twitter.