Provisioning 1 Gb/s symmetrical services with next-generation passive optical network technologies
Venue
IEEE Communications Magazine, vol. 54 (2016), pp. 72-77
Publication Year
2016
Authors
Rafael Sanchez, Jose Alberto Hernández, Julio Montalvo, David Larrabeiti
BibTeX
Abstract
Service providers spend billions upgrading their broadband access networks to the
latest access standards. Fiber has become the technology of choice in the medium
and long term, thanks to its speed, reach, and future-proofness. A differential
advantage of fiber over other broadband access technologies is that it makes it
possible for operators to deliver symmetric-rate services. Most of today's
commercial offers based on regular PON range from 10 to 100 Mb/s of committed
information rate, and higher rates are advertised as peak rates with unspecified
guarantees. In this article we focus on delivering symmetrical 1 Gb/s access to
residential users with a target temporal guarantee at the least cost using
next-generation PON technologies. We compare four NG-PON standard access
technologies, GPON, XGPON, WDM-PON, and the emerging TWDM-PON, from technical and
economic perspectives. The study shows that if a service provider wants to keep up
with the growing user traffic pattern in the long run, only TWDM-PON can provide 1
Gb/s nearly guaranteed at a moderate cost with respect to the fully dedicated 1
Gb/s point-to-point connection available in WDM-PON technologies.
