Next Generation Optical Equipment is Able to Handle Burgeoning Bandwidth Demands, Says ADTRAN

December 17, 2020 — Networks of the future need to be scalable to keep up with burgeoning bandwidth demands, according to Greg Luhman, business development manager at ADTRAN.

“There has been a 56 percent increase in upstream usage, largely due to video conferencing,” said Luhman, during an event entitled the “End-to-End Gigabit Experience,” which aired Monday as part of Fiber Connect 2020. “We must start considering upstream demands in the home when building networks, as remote work and learning are part of a new normal.”

“We’re starting to see bandwidth usage numbers creep up,” said Luhman. “The average network is using the 2.5 Gigabit downstream and 1.25 Gigabit upstream capacity available in gigabit passive optical networks,” he said, adding “over the next few years, we expect to see constraints in GPON networks.”

To keep up with growing bandwidth demands, Luhman recommended internet service providers consider making a switch in the kind of passive optical fiber network technology they utilize. Luhman detailed that XGS-PON, a PON-based, fiber access technology, which can deliver upstream and downstream symmetrical speeds of up to 10 Gigabits per second, is steadily becoming the new industry standard.

“Many internet service providers are switching to XGS-PON to prepare for bandwidth demands of the future,” said Luhman. Providers are aiming to take advantage of the additional bandwidth and capacity offered, to deliver increased overhead to networks for customers, who are beginning to expect gigabit speeds.

XGS-PON further has many additional applications, such as the capability to mix businesses and residential services on the same network, making it a more future-proof option.

Unlike NG-PON, a previous generation of fiber network technology which held great capabilities but cost unreasonable prices, the industry has been able to optimize the cost of XGS-PON, according to Luhman.

Luhman also noted that transitioning GPON to XGS-PON in networks is relatively simple, as the two technologies can coexist. Network engineers must merely install a coexistence module and start to overlay XGS-PON overtop GPON. “The coexistence module brings all wavelengths together on the same fiber,” said Luhman, adding that “this is a good model for a brownfield situation, where you may have a handful of customers who want to move to a faster, alternative network.”