Two Helpful Reasons 50G-PON is the Only Future-Proof Network Investment

Broadband service providers (BSPs) are at a crosspoint in passive optical network (PON) technology evolution, choosing between 25G-PON and 50G-PON. With its advanced characteristics, 50G-PON is poised to significantly boost revenue, usher in transformative experiences, and streamline operational expenses for BSPs.

50G-PON Lowers Your Investment Risk

Network engineers want to ensure today’s investment will carry their network seamlessly into the future with minimal effort. Investors, company leadership, and board directors want an optimal return on investment (ROI) for new technology—plus peace of mind that it’s low risk and can meet future business objectives for growing revenue and reducing operational expenses.
 

The only future-proof option is 50G-PON, a ratified International Telecommunication Union (ITU) standard (ITU-T G.9804.3) supporting 50Gbps symmetrical or 50/25 (download/upload) asymmetrical services. The ITU is a specialized United Nations agency that facilitates international connectivity in communication standards, creating confidence in investing in digital technology. An estimated 95 percent of international data traffic runs over fiber networks built to ITU standards.
 

Not an ITU standard, 25G-PON is a Multi-Source agreement (MSA)—but there’s nothing multi-source about it. A single, vertically integrated vendor controls the 25G-PON MSA main PON component supply—and since the supply chain is a single source, it can be prioritized to meet one vendor's needs over another. Given past dynamics in supply shortages, this degree of risk is the last thing BSPs want to worry about when deploying new technology.

50G-PON Meets Future Use Case Needs

The emergence of 50G-PON technology offers higher bandwidth and better cost efficiency. The effective 42 Gbps capacity of 50G-PON provides significantly more flexibility to meet the needs of use cases over the next decade than the 21 Gbps payload capacity of 25G-PON MSA.
 

In addition, next-generation experiences and network convergence will require capacity, which makes 50G-PON the only future-proof option for network engineers. Converging services for private networks, large companies, fixed wireless, and mobile networks aggregation from disparate, separately managed networks to the PON network will require capacity 50G-PON can deliver. Also, Wi-Fi 7 access point transport supports peak throughput rates of over 40 Gbps. As a result, there is increased momentum and preference among vendors and operators to shift to 50G-PON. 
 

For residential and small business subscribers, 10G-PON (specifically XGS-PON) is expected to meet demands for the foreseeable future. However, consumer-driven demand for extreme gaming and 8K streaming, plus business demand for bandwidth-hungry real-time streaming services (like immersive collaboration, telehealth, conferencing, AR/VR, and mobile backhaul), will push the envelope for new network technologies to support higher capacity. 50G-PON will help BSPs deliver these new experiences to subscribers.

50G-PON is in Your Future

When selecting a future-proof technology for broadband access networks, 50G-PON checks all the boxes.

• 50G-PON supports industry standards.
  
  
• 50G-PON seamlessly coexists on the same optical distribution network (ODN) as GPON and XGS-PON, allowing flexible and cost-effective evolution that scales with the growth of your network. 
  
  
• 50G-PON leverages the supply chain and the momentum of a growing number of vendors and operators to meet the target total cost of ownership required for critical use cases.
  
  
• 50G-PON can cover all the use cases and applications for the next era of fiber to the x (FTTx).  

BSPs face constant challenges and competitive pressures to keep up with changing technology and innovate service offerings to bring new experiences to the market. Ensure your evolution involves 50G-PON to maximize ROI and deliver a future-proof network.
 

Learn more about how 50G-PON and the Calix Broadband Platform can help you deliver new experiences to your subscribers.