Calix announced that it is the first vendor to demonstrate ITU standards-based channel bonding for NG-PON2, which combines multiple 10Gb/s channels to create a single channel with throughput of up to 40Gb/s.
Channel bonding allows operators to deliver more bandwidth than a single channel can support. This technique is used to boost capacity in DSL and G.fast systems by combining the capacity from several copper cables into a single logical channel. In the case of NG-PON2, the channels are wavelengths running over the same physical fibre.
The demonstration used the Calix AXOS E9-2 Intelligent Edge System and channel bonding to combine multiple 10Gb/s wavelength pairs (one downstream, one upstream) into a 40Gb/s channel carried over a single fibre.
This capability will be important to service providers looking to provide high-bandwidth services over NG-PON2 networks, including 5G mobile backhaul, high-end business services, and high-density residential services to apartment blocks or multi-dwelling units (MDUs).
Verizon is seeking such capabilities. Live demonstration of NG-PON2 channel bonding was completed in only 12 days following a Verizon request to Calix. The vendor says it was able to respond at an “unprecedented pace” thanks to the flexibility of the AXOS platform on which its software-defined access architecture is based (see Calix unveils AXOS for access network virtualisation).
Calix is one of the vendors shortlisted for Verizon’s NG-PON2 roll-out (see Verizon evaluates suppliers ahead of NG-PON2 deployment).
“One of the key attributes of NG-PON2 for carriers is the ability to consolidate business and residential services onto one NG-PON2 network, and we expect NG-PON2 channel bonding technology could help with this convergence, especially as bandwidth needs increase,” said Vincent O’Byrne, director of access technology at Verizon. “This is the reason Verizon has championed channel bonding within the standards as an option to support higher capacities as well as challenged the industry for its standardization and implementation.
Verizon anticipates that channel bonding could be used to double the bandwidth to individual subscribers or network locations, giving the operator a means of moving from 10Gb/s to 20Gb/s and beyond without deploying new technologies.
The multi-wavelength capability of NG-PON2 technology is already a game changer for service providers in its promise to accelerate network convergence and massively increase available bandwidth capacity. However, the ability to bond NG-PON2 wavelengths takes this opportunity to a whole new level, rewriting the rules that historically governed how quickly and efficiently service enhancements could be deployed in service provider networks.
“NG-PON2 channel bonding, much like the unique Calix ability to provide gigabit services on G.fast via bonding, is another example of the transformative power of AXOS, accelerating the delivery of new technologies, features, and services for all Calix customers,” said Shane Eleniak, Calix vice president of systems products.
