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AT&T deploys XGS-PON to power FTTH

nets
Posted on March 5, 2020 (https://techblog.comsoc.org/2020/03/05/att-deploys-xgs-pon-to-power-ftth-
nets/) by Alan Weissberger (https://techblog.comsoc.org/author/aweissberger/)

AT&T has enhanced its fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) “last mile” network by deploying XGS-PON [1.]
technology which will be live in 40 markets. AT&T will start out providing 1 gigabit download speeds before
eventually boosting them to 10 gigabits per second in both directions as it upgrades from GPON networks.
The company said it has deployed XGS-PON in “a few thousand locations” noted that it has employed
multiple vendors in the process. It’s part of AT&T’s road map to virtualize network access functions within
its last mile network.

NOTE 1. XGS-PON is a fixed wavelength symmetrical 10 Gbps passive optical network technology.
The “X” in XGS represents the number 10, and the letter “S” stands for symmetrical, XGS-PON = 10
Gigabit Symmetrical PON. An earlier, non-symmetrical 10 Gigabit PON version (XG-PON) was limited to 2.5
Gbps in the upstream direction.

PON technology originated in the 1990’s and has continued to develop through multiple iterations with
differing wavelengths, speeds and components emerging as the technology has improved. The common
denominator of all fiber optic PON networks remains the unpowered or passive state of the fiber and its
splitting or combining components, i.e. no active elements such as optical amplifiers, which would require
power, are present in the network. With streaming, high definition, 5G and other emerging technologies
continually pushing bandwidth demands, the development of XGS-PON and other standards has proven to
be essential.

Simultaneous upstream and downstream transmission over the same fiber is made possible
through wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) (https://www.thefoa.org/tech/dwdm.htm). This
technology allows one XGS-PON wavelength or color of light transmission for upstream and another for
downstream.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Two years ago, AT&T completed trials of 10 Gbps XGS-PON by using Open Source Access Manager
Hardware Abstraction (OSAM-HA) software in Atlanta and Dallas. OSAM-HA was released into the Open
Networking Foundation (https://www.fiercetelecom.com/telecom/at-t-releases-voltha-into-onf-community-
drives-focus-cloud-based-xgs-pon) (ONF) in 2017 as VOLTHA.

OSAM, which used the Open Networking Automation Platform (ONAP) platform that AT&T helped
develop, is a vendor-agnostic operational suite for managing consumer and business broadband
access network elements and capabilities. ONAP has undergone several major releases over the past
few years.
ONF’s Virtual OLT Hardware Abstraction (VOLTHA) open source software project, which is a
component of ONF’s SDN Enabled Broadband Access (SEBA) platform, abstracts a PON network to
make it manageable as if it were a standard OpenFlow switch.
SEBA describes how to assemble a collection of open source components to build a virtualized PON
network to deliver residential broadband and mobile backhaul. SEBA uses a disaggregated white-box
approach for building next generation access networks by using open source.

“AT&T continues to work with open communities such as ONF, ONAP, and OCP (Open Compute Project) to
drive innovation, time-to-market, and cost improvements as we build next generation networks,” the
company said in a March 4th statement in regard to a request for more information on the deployments in
the 40-plus cities.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Conventional wisdom in the fiber broadband industry suggests NG-PON2 is the platform most providers will
eventually adopt, with XGS-PON as an interim step to get there.

Verizon seems to be leapfrogging that approach. For what it’s worth regarding conventional wisdom, the
AT&T spokesperson tells Telecompetitor, that “AT&T is not currently planning to use NG-PON2 at this time.”

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

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 AT&T Fiber Begins Transition to Next Generation XGS-
PON FTTH
AT&T Fiber networks are getting upgraded, with news that XGS-PON powered FTTH is
now available in 40 markets. The next generation FTTH technology offers symmetrical 10
Gbps throughput, improving on the 2.48 downstream/1.24 upstream Gbps limitation of
widely deployed GPON. Key AT&T XGS-PON markets now include Atlanta, Charlotte,
Chicago, Detroit, Los Angeles, Miami, and San Francisco, among many others. An AT&T
spokesperson wouldn’t confirm total homes passed with XGS-PON, telling
Telecompetitor in a statement that it equates to a “just a few thousand locations as we’re
at the beginning of our deployment.” The spokesperson says AT&T is using multiple
vendor XGS-PON platforms, all of which have been certified by the carrier. AT&T XGS-
PON FTTH will support gigabit speeds, and perhaps beyond. AT&T has been looking at
XGS-PON since 2017 or earlier. Back in 2018, AT&T shared additional XGS-PON plans
with Telecompetitor, including a plan to leverage software-based networking and
network virtualization. A stated goal at that time was to leverage an open control plane
that can work with any customer premises equipment with the appropriate open
interfaces. Several other carriers have announced XGS-PON migration plans, Including
Frontier and Lumos. One notable carrier has not. Verizon, the largest FTTH provider in …
Continue reading

Telecompetitor 0

https://www.fiercetelecom.com/telecom/at-t-tees-up-1-gig-xgs-pon-speeds-over-40-cities
(https://www.fiercetelecom.com/telecom/at-t-tees-up-1-gig-xgs-pon-speeds-over-40-cities)

https://www.viavisolutions.com/en-us/xgs-pon (https://www.viavisolutions.com/en-us/xgs-pon)

http://www.tarluz.com/ftth/specification-differences-among-gpon-xg-pon-and-xgs-pon/
(http://www.tarluz.com/ftth/specification-differences-among-gpon-xg-pon-and-xgs-pon/)

This entry was posted in AT&T (https://techblog.comsoc.org/category/att/), XGS-PON

(https://techblog.comsoc.org/category/xgs-pon/). Bookmark the permalink
(https://techblog.comsoc.org/2020/03/05/att-deploys-xgs-pon-to-power-ftth-nets/).

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technology-and-its-future-in-mobile-communication/)
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(https://techblog.comsoc.org/2020/03/06/softbank-to-be-1st-to-launch-5g-network-service-in-japan/)

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