Passive markets get aggressive as XGS-PON surges

Officially adopted by the ITU-T as the G.9807 standard, Next Generation Symmetric-Passive Optical Network (XGS-PON) is rapidly becoming the optical broadband technology du jour for different operators around the world. It’s currently being deployed in roles as diverse as FTTH/FTTP, high-speed residential and business services, mobile anyhaul, triple play, video streaming and HDTV, smart cities and the IoT, and rural telecommunications provision.
Standardization is one thing. Conformance certification is another, and is viewed by experts such as Craig Thomas, the Broadband Forum’s VP of Strategic Marketing and Business Development, as essential to mass market, commercial deployment of new technology. In 2011, the Broadband Forum initiated the BBF.247 G-PON Certification Program to verify the conformance of G-PON products and their adherence to the ITU-T G-PON standard and to Broadband Forum specifications. In mid-2020 the Forum announced that it had expanded the BBF.247 ONU Certification Program to include XGS-PON.
“The Certification Program addresses a variety of ONUs and once certified, vendors can deploy their ONU products with greater interoperability to existing OLT equipment already deployed,” states Thomas. “Attaining XGS-PON market readiness with the BBF.247 certification ensures that vendors’ products are trusted and proven, and therefore operators and equipment manufacturers have the confidence that the products will provide their end-users with the seamless service they require.”
To view the full article on pages 8-10 in the spring edition of Optical Connections Magazine, click here.

OpenVault study shows impact of pandemic on upstream broadband usage and network capacity

According to a new OVBI Special Report issued by OpenVault, Upstream usage grew 63% – from 19 GB to 31 GB – between December 2019 and December 2020, far outpacing the 18% rate of increase for the upstream in each of the two prior years.

The report also details how average upstream traffic during the 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. timeframe grew from 5.25 GB to 10.42 GB per subscriber per month as of December 2020, a 98.5% increase, while per-subscriber monthly downstream consumption during the same period increased just 51.74%, from 91.90GB to 139.45GB.

Remote work, education, entertainment, and personal communication put significant pressure on operators’ significantly limited upstream capacity beginning in March 2020.

“Pandemic lockdowns changed the nature of upstream usage – in all likelihood, forever,” the report notes. “Continued high levels of remote work and a new embrace of videoconferencing for communication needs mean that consumption will pressure the limited upstream capacity of many broadband infrastructures. Moreover, the unique role of the upstream as an enabler of two-way communication makes unfettered performance essential.”

The full whitepaper can be downloaded here