XGS-PON, NG-PON2, 10G EPON: Choices Have you Baffled?

In my blog titled “The Stars Have Aligned – 2020 is the Year of 10G PON,” I talked about how VR and cloud gaming will impact the need for more bandwidth at the subscriber premises as well as in the network itself. The increase in the need for bandwidth isn’t going to stop. Service providers are therefore asking how much time there is before the PON network runs out of bandwidth. 

In looking at the various applications using bandwidth, you can quickly see how a house with four residents could need a 300 Mbps service or greater. With the typical 32-way split ratio on the GPON network, at that speed, the PON is already oversubscribed by nearly four times. With projections indicating bandwidth growth is approximately 30 percent per year, in just three years, the same home would need a 600 Mbps service. 

We’ve also heard from service providers that it can take that three years to roll out a new technology in their network. This means now is time to move to ensure you aren’t caught off guard.

With this is mind, service providers are asking which 10G PON technology to choose. In the blog titled “XG-PON, XGS-PON, NG-PON2-Which option is right for your network?,” I review the options. However actual deployments have narrowed the option to two main choices, XGS-PON and NG-PON2. The beauty of these two options is that XGS-PON and NG-PON2 are complimentary. Service providers who are just getting started can start with XGS-PON and easily add NG-PON2 with AXOS when they are ready or when they need additional wavelengths to deploy more services or bandwidth. 

In the next blog in this series, I will cover recommendations for deploying 10G PON and how you can future proof your decisions. In addition, in the first webinar of our new Network Edge Innovation Tech Talk Series, we explore 10G PON in more detail, dig deeper into what it takes to be successful when deploying 10G PON, and how to ensure your network is ready for what’s beyond 10G PON.