At present, 10G PON has entered the stage of mass deployment. In the future, with the demand for higher bandwidth home broadband access and government and enterprise access becoming more popular, 50G PON will be the next stage of deployment of the wireline broadband access trend. So what is 50G PON? What kind of speed can 50G PON achieve? What are the prospects for the future?
Follow us to briefly understand the 50G PO-related information; let’s start!
What is 50G PON?
50G PON is a technology based on optical fiber communication. The ‘50G’ in its name indicates its excellent data transmission speed, reaching 50 Gbps (Gigabits per second). This huge bandwidth enables it to meet the growing demand for the Internet and provide users with faster and more stable network connections.
50G PON technology is based on the development of previous PON technologies (such as GPON and EPON) but has made significant breakthroughs in bandwidth, latency, and density. Its core principle is transmitting optical signals through a single optical fiber to the subscriber end for efficient fiber optic communications.
PON evolution
PON (Passive Optical Network) is a fiber-optic access technology that connects service providers’ hubs and end users by transmitting data using optical fibers. The evolution of PON technology is critical to meeting the growing demand for bandwidth.
1. GPON and EPON (Gigabit PON and Ethernet PON):
- GPON and EPON are the dominant PON technologies, providing a symmetric bandwidth of 1 Gbps.
- These two technologies are widely deployed to provide high-speed broadband access to users.
2. 10G PON technology:
- 10G PON technologies include 10G GPON and 10G EPON, providing up to 10 Gbps bandwidth.
- These technologies have been widely commercialised to meet the demand for 4K/8K video and early VR/AR convergence.
3. 50G PON
50G-PON as a next-generation option:
It is the next-generation PON technology, inheriting XGS-PON and using time-division multiplexed passive optical networks (TDM-PON) to coexist with previous PON technologies.
ITU-T standardisation:
ITU-T formally standardized 50G-PON in September 2021 to support asymmetric rates, dual-generation coexistence (10G-PON or GPON), and later triple-generation symmetric 50G-PON (50 Gbps downlink and uplink).
Support for coexistence:
One year later, 50G-PON added the coexistence features, allowing support for GPON, XG(S)-PON, and 50G-PON three-generation coexistence for smooth network upgrades.
Bandwidth increase:
It increases bandwidth by five to meet the growing demand for diverse applications in digital homes, industrial digital transformation, and urban digital infrastructure.
Characteristic advantages:
It provides higher bandwidth and features low latency, minimal jitter, and higher reliability, providing users with an unparalleled service experience.
New applications and services:
Many new applications and services are introduced to utilize the large bandwidth and advanced computing power.
50G PON technical characteristics
1. High Bandwidth
One of the most significant features of 50G PON is its excellent bandwidth. The transmission speed of 50 Gbps per second enables users to download and upload data at unprecedented speeds for a smoother Internet experience. This will be a quantum leap for high bandwidth applications like HD video, virtual reality, and online gaming.
2. Low Latency
In addition to high bandwidth, 50G PON technology also focuses on reducing data transmission latency. Low latency is critical for real-time applications such as online video conferencing and cloud gaming. By optimizing the optical signal transmission and processing flow, 50G PON successfully reduces data transmission latency and improves the network’s response speed.
3. High Density
With the popularity of Internet devices and the surge of network traffic, the density requirements for network devices are getting higher and higher. 50G PON technology can better accommodate large-scale user connections while supporting high bandwidth. This makes it ideal for future multi-scenario networks in cities, enterprises, and homes.
Critical technologies of 50G PON
Wavelength Selection
50G PON uses a limited portion of wavelengths in the O-band. ITU-T has defined specific wavelengths and is discussing the possibility of other wavelengths.
Line Coding
Various line coding schemes, including PAM-4 and dual binary modulation, were considered.ITU-T chose the NRZ code because of its superior signal reception performance, which is critical for high optical power budgets in PON systems.
Line Rate
The downlink rate is 50Gbps
Uplink rates are available at 12.5Gbps, 25Gbps, and 50Gbps line rates.
FEC (Forward Error Correction)
Since increasing the line rate requires an increase in receiver sensitivity, 50G PON uses the LDPC scheme for FEC to reduce the specification requirements for optical devices. This helps to achieve high performance while reusing optical distribution network (ODN) resources.
Common Transmission Convergence
Technologies such as distributed antenna systems (DAWs), centralized dynamic bandwidth allocation (CO-DBA), and others achieve low latency and shorter bandwidth allocation intervals. DAWs introduce new wavelengths, CO-DBA optimizes upstream service transmission, and shorter intervals reduce the caching time of service data in the optical network unit (ONU).
PHY Components
This includes critical optoelectronic components such as optical transmitter and receiver modules, laser device drivers (LDDs), trans-impedance amplifiers (TIAs), and clock data recovery (CDR) chips.
Application of 50G PON in ultra high-speed Internet
The application scenarios of 50G PON still focus on home broadband, small and medium-sized enterprises, parks, industry, and other scenarios. Below is a detailed description of the application scenarios in home broadband and enterprise networks.
Home Broadband
Faster downloads and uploads
With the popularity of high-definition video, virtual reality, and smart home devices, the demand for home broadband continues to increase. 50G PON technology, with its transmission speed of up to 50 Gbps, can easily cope with the needs of multiple devices online simultaneously, providing users with a faster and more stable network connection. Watching high-definition videos and uploading large files online makes it more convenient.
Multi-device simultaneous connection
With the popularity of smart devices in the home, the demand for simultaneous connection of multiple devices is also growing. 50G PON technology can meet this demand by providing high-density connectivity, high-bandwidth support, and more robust support for smart homes, online learning, and other applications. For example, multiple family members can participate in XR game interaction.
Enterprise Networking
Large-scale video conferencing and real-time data transmission
Enterprise networks urgently need high-speed and stable Internet connectivity, and 50G PON technology plays a key role in these networks. It supports applications such as large-scale video conferencing and real-time data transmission, which significantly improves cross-regional enterprise collaboration, online training, and telecommuting.
for cloud computing and big data applications to provide higher performance
With the increasing popularity of cloud computing and big data applications, the requirements for network performance are also increasing. 50G PON technology provides higher bandwidth and lower latency, providing stronger support for enterprise cloud computing and big data applications and promoting the process of digital transformation of enterprises!
The Bright Future of 50G PON
50G PON demonstrates the potential for significant progress in fiber access and offers a bright future for the future network.
Network evolution and standardization
Global user bandwidth demand is growing at approximately 20% per year, and 50G PON provides five times the bandwidth of 10G PON, accommodating future network trends.
Operators typically upgrade to next-generation PONs every 8-10 years, and 50G PONs offer performance that will meet user demand for years.
ITU-T standardisation
ITU-T leads the history of PON industry evolution, such as the widely deployed GPON, making 50G PON the only standardized higher-speed PON. 50G PON is the next-generation PON standardized by ITU-T, laying the foundation for its successful commercialization.
Operator support
Leading operators such as AT&T, Verizon, Orange, Vodafone, China Telecom, and China Mobile, which cover about 70% of the global PON networks, have chosen 50G PON as their next-generation network.
Mainstream operators worldwide, including Tier 1 operators in North America, Europe, and Asia, actively support and participate in 50G PON standardisation. More mainstream carriers have expressed support for 50G PON, showing that the technology is widely adopted in the industry.
Supply chain and maturity
50G PON is widely supported by the PON industry supply chain, ensuring maturity and commercialization shortly.
Global mainstream equipment manufacturers, chip suppliers, and device suppliers support 50G PON.
Following standardization, manufacturers have released technology prototypes, and component suppliers are developing the necessary chips and optoelectronic devices, paving the way for commercialization in 2024.
Cost-effectiveness
50G PON is one of the most cost-effective solutions in optical access.
Digital signal processing (DSP) and 25G-class components achieve the required optical loss budget. This cost-effective approach allows 50G PON to provide higher bandwidth at twice the speed of 25G systems at the exact cost, demonstrating its competitiveness in the market.
Future Trends of 50G PON
As technology continues to advance, the future of 50G PON is expected to usher in more advanced and upgraded versions. From the current 50G to higher transmission speeds, lower latency, and higher density characteristics, it will be better adapted to the needs of future Internet applications.
The progress of 50G PON technology relies on optical fiber transmission and the continuous innovation of optical module technology. Future optical module technology may involve more efficient optical modulation and demodulation and more complex optical transmission methods to improve the efficiency and stability of optical signal transmission.
Future 50G PON technology may introduce more flexible hybrid wavelength division multiplexing to meet different network requirements better. This will make the network more scalable, adapt to the needs of other regions and industries, and provide more possibilities for network customization.
50G PON technology is expected to be used in more emerging industry applications. The digitalization and intelligence needs of healthcare, education, and smart cities are increasing, and the high-speed, low-latency, and high-density connectivity features of 50G PON technology will provide more substantial network infrastructure support for these industries.
The wide application of 50G PON technology will promote industrial upgrading and innovation. In the manufacturing and service industries, high-speed and stable network connections will give rise to more intelligent and automated solutions, promoting the continuous optimization and upgrading of the industrial chain.
The future application of 50G PON technology will pay more attention to sustainable development. Innovations in energy efficiency and environmental protection will become an essential direction of technological development, making 50G PON networks have a minor environmental impact while providing efficient network connections.
Conclusion
Through a comprehensive introduction to 50G PON technology, we have gained a brief understanding of this crucial technology leading the development of ultra-high-speed Internet. 50G PON technology’s high bandwidth, low latency, and high-density connectivity have enabled it to excel in many areas, including home, enterprise, and cross-region networks.
Through a series of actual cases, we have seen the successful application of 50G PON technology in different industries, providing strong support for digital transformation and intelligent development. With continuous technological innovation and industry demand growth, it is expected to show its power in more fields.
Overall, 50G PON technology’s emergence and development meet the demand for high-speed communication and lay a solid foundation for the future digital society and intelligent era. Through continuous technological innovation and extensive application, it will continue to play a pivotal role in promoting the development of the Internet.
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