Next-generation PON technology, the first 50G PON technology

ITU-T officially released the 50G PON standard in September 2021 as the only standard for the next-generation PON after 10G PON. 50G PON adopts single-fiber bidirectional transmission, and can be upgraded and deployed based on the existing PON network. It is the next-generation PON technical standard confirmed by ITU-T.

Compared with 10G PON, the 50G PON standard can provide more than 5 times the access bandwidth, better service support capabilities (large bandwidth, low delay, low jitter), network protection/security, and support for the coexistence and integration of GPON and 10G PON. Smooth evolution and compatibility with existing ODN networks as much as possible to protect operators‘ investment.

The establishment of the 50G PON standard has laid the foundation for broadband services to move from Gigabit to 10 Gigabit.

In July 2023, China Telecom (601728) Research Institute and Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. successfully completed the verification of the world‘s first 50G-PON technical solution for the coexistence of three generations of the GPON system that meets the ITU-T standard. The system performance of the prototype fully met the test expectations.

The tested 50G-PON prototype adopts GPON/XGS-PON/50G-PON three-mode MPM optical module in QSFP package format, which can realize GPON, XG(S)-PON and 50G-PON three-generation ONU under the same PON port Coexist on the same ODN. The test results show that this technical solution can meet the needs of operators for smooth evolution and upgrade of Gigabit optical access networks to 50G-PON.

The 50G-PON technology this time is based on simulating the typical optical power budget of the existing network, simultaneously connected to a PON port and realized the normal registration and online of GPON, XGS-PON and 50G-PON three-generation ONU equipment, and all ONU At the same time, it runs stably without packet loss under the condition of maximum business throughput. The uplink/downlink service throughput of 50G-PON ONU can reach 17Gbps/42Gbps, and the uplink and downlink throughput of GPON and XGS-PON ONU can also reach the maximum value defined by the standard. This technical verification successfully demonstrated the feasibility and system capability of the MPM-based multi-generational PON coexistence technology solution, further promoting the development and maturity of the 50G-PON industry chain.