10G-to-the-Home and 10G-to-the-Enterprise: Prospects for 50G PON Applications

With the rapid development of information technologies, network bandwidth requirements are growing explosively. To meet this demand, the 50G PON standard has emerged, marking a new stage in the evolution of optical networks. Offering high bandwidth, low latency, and wide coverage, 50G PON is becoming the preferred technology for the construction of future home, campus, and government & enterprise networks. In light of the release of the 50G PON standard and the gradual improvement of the industry chain, we’ll delve into the potential of 50G PON in these applications.

50G PON Standard and Industrial Progress

The evolution of PON standards is shown in Fig. 1. In 2018, ITU/FSAN initiated the formulation of the single-wavelength 50G PON standard, also known as G.HSP or Higher Speed PON. In 2019, the ITU-T G.9804.1 standard (general requirements) was approved, defining the single-wavelength TDM PON architecture and the combination of uplink and downlink rates. It also specifies the coexistence of 50G PON with existing GPON, 10G PON, and the current optical distribution network (ODN) infrastructure.

In 2021, the ITU-T officially released a series of standards for 50G PON: G.9804.1 Amd1, which includes additional requirements for higher speed PON; G.9804.2, which specifies the common transmission convergence (ComTC) layer of HSP systems; and G.9804.3, which delineates the physical media dependent (PMD) layer specification. This indicates that 50G PON has completed the standardization of basic functions, laying a foundation for further product R&D and solution implementation and verification. The PON industry is moving towards convergence based on the ITU-T 50G PON standard.

50G PON adheres to the traditional TDM-PON point-to-multipoint architecture, and it employs advanced modulation and coding technologies and optical components to enhance the bandwidth and transmission efficiency of the optical fiber access network, increasing the single-wavelength rate to 50 Gbps. Additionally, 50G PON boasts robust transmission capabilities, and supports multiple ONU rates, including 50/12.5 Gbps, 50/25 Gbps, and

50/50 Gbps. This versatility ensures it meets diverse access requirements across a wide range of scenarios. Compared with traditional 1 Gbps and 10 Gbps PON technologies, 50G PON significantly improves bandwidth, latency, and coverage. These key technologies enable 50G PON to meet growing network bandwidth demands, providing users with faster and more stable network experiences, and addressing the rapidly increasing bandwidth requirements of  home, campus, and government & enterprise networks in the future.

The 50G PON industry chain is gradually maturing, covering multiple segments, from equipment vendors and optical component suppliers to network operators. Major equipment vendors have launched high-performance 50G PON devices and solutions. These devices provide higher bandwidth, better compatibility and better scalability, providing operators with more choices. As 50G PON technology commercialization accelerates, optical component suppliers have significantly improved the performance and reliability of their products. The performance of key components, such as optical modules and optical chips, is continually improving, ensuring the efficient and stable operation of 50G PON networks.

50G PON is evolving towards higher rates and lower latency. With the increase of the 50G PON line rate, receiver sensitivity decreases, necessitating improvements in the performance of transceivers to reuse the already extensively deployed ODN networks. To reduce the performance requirements of high-speed optical components, 50G PON introduces low-density parity-check (LDPC) coding for FEC. Low latency in 50G PON is achieved mainly through dedicated activation wavelength (DAW), cooperative dynamic bandwidth allocation (CoDBA), and reduced allocation periods. The DAW technology avoids opening the quiet window on the 50G PON uplink wavelength, canceling the delay caused by the quiet window. In CoDBA, the OLT learns about the uplink service transmission requirements of the ONU through the upper-layer device, and allocates bandwidth to the ONU in advance, minimizing service data buffering time within the ONU. Regarding reduced allocation periods, each T-CONT can be configured with multiple burst frames within a 125 µs period to reduce the time interval for the ONU to obtain bandwidth allocation, thus reducing the service data buffering time in the ONU.

50G PON optical components are the key factors influencing the development of the 50G PON industry chain. These include optical transmitter and receiver components, laser diode drivers (LDDs), burst-mode TIAs, CDR chips. The OLT can use the electro-absorption modulated laser (EML) or integrated semiconductor optical amplifier (SOA)-EML components as the transmitter, and the avalanche photodiode (APD) or integrated SOA-PIN components as the receiver. The ONU driver requires burst-mode support, and its receiver does not necessitate burst-mode clock data recovery (BCDR), whereas the OLT receiver does. Degradation of high-speed optical signal transmission needs to be compensated and restored through a dedicated DSP. The 50G PON industry chain is gradually maturing, with cutting-edge technologies continually emerging. As technologies advance and the market expands, 50G PON will be widely deployed in home, campus, and government and enterprise broadband networks, playing an increasingly important role in the future information and communication field.

50G PON Applications

Home Application Scenario: 10 Gbps Residential Communities

l High-speed broadband experience

The introduction of 50G PON technology enables home users to enjoy Internet access speeds of up to 10 Gbps. This advancement ensures that users won’t be limited by network bandwidth when streaming HD videos, playing online games, or downloading large files, resulting in a smoother and more stable network experience.

l Smart home upgrade

With the rise of IoT technologies, smart home devices are increasingly popular. The introduction of 50G PON technology will provide stable and high-speed network connections for these devices, enabling home security systems, smart lighting, and smart home appliances to respond to user instructions in real time and with greater accuracy, thereby enhancing the intelligence and convenience of everyday life at home.

High-Speed Campus Network

l Enterprise network upgrade

For enterprises within the campus, 50G PON technology offers a comprehensive upgrade to their networks. High-speed bandwidth will provide enterprises with more efficient and stable support for video conferencing, data transmission, and cloud computing, enhancing their operational efficiency and market competitiveness.

l Smart campus construction

50G PON holds immense potential for the development of smart campuses. With the increasing demand for high-speed and high-capacity networks in smart campuses, 50G PON has emerged as a crucial technology driving this development, offering high bandwidth of 50 Gbps, low latency, and high reliability.

By leveraging 50G PON technology, smart campuses can achieve more efficient data transmission, faster information processing, and more stable network connections. This enhances the campus’s intelligence while optimizing its management and service models, ultimately improving its overall competitiveness.

Additionally, 50G PON can meet the requirements of smart campuses for high-definition videos, big data, cloud computing, and other applications, providing strong support for their innovation and development. It is foreseeable that 50G PON will play an increasingly important role in the construction of smart campuses, driving their development to new heights.

Government & Enterprise Application Scenario: Low-Latency Smart Factory

With the development of industrial Internet, enterprises are placing increasingly stringent demands on network bandwidth and low latency. 50G PON technology will provide enterprises with high-speed and low-latency network connections, enabling them to obtain production data in real time, perform remote control and scheduling operations, and improve production efficiency and product quality.

Smart factories are a key manifestation of Industry 4.0, and 50G PON technology will offer essential network support for the construction of smart factories. By building a high-speed and low-latency network within the factory, devices can interconnect and share data, ensuring the development of smart factories. In addition, 50G PON technology supports multiple industrial protocols and interfaces, meeting the requirements of smart factories for network flexibility and scalability.

Conclusions

50G PON technology is poised to revolutionize home, campus, and government & enterprise applications, thanks to its unparalleled advantages, including high bandwidth, low latency, and wide coverage. As the industrial ecosystem matures and market adoption increases, 50G PON technology will deliver a consistently stable and ultra-high-speed network experience to users, boosting the advancement of smart home, campus, and factory applications. Looking ahead, there is every reason to anticipate that 50G PON will play an even more pivotal role within the broader ICT landscape, shaping the future of connectivity and driving innovation forward.