AT&T demos symmetrical 20-Gbps via 25G PON on production fiber network

June 16, 2022
The service provider launched multi-gig services, including 2- and 5-Gbps offerings, earlier this year using XGS-PON.

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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