Openreach, BT’s local network business, and Huawei, claim to have become the first companies in Europe to show how combining multiple access technologies on the same fibre could super-charge broadband speeds for businesses and consumers in the future.
The companies showed coexistence of 40Gb/s NG-PON2, 10Gb/s XGS-PON and 2.5Gb/s GPON technologies on the same fibre, giving an aggregate capacity of 52.5Gb/s on Openreach’s network.
This news comes hot on the heels of a similar announcement by Nokia and SK Broadband, using multiple access technologies to connect apartment buildings in Seoul, South Korea (see Nokia and SK Broadband experiment with 52.5G PON technology).
The Openreach trial took place over a connection between the University of Suffolk, Ipswich exchange, and BT’s R&D centre at Adastral Park. The University of Suffolk has been using the service for the past two weeks for research and teaching. During the next phase of testing the University will use the high bandwidth for streaming lectures, designing games, and delivering online courses – amongst other things.
Openreach says this latest experiment shows how its fibre to the premises (FTTP) network can be future-proofed to stay well ahead of prospective demand for bandwidth.
Clive Selley, Openreach CEO, said: “The trial proves that not only is our FTTP network fit for the future, but with the right equipment in the customer’s home and at the exchange, we can tailor speeds to suit their individual requirements. So whether you’re a small business specialising in graphic design or a keen gamer using UHD and virtual reality, we’ll make sure your communications provider can offer you the speeds and value for money services that you need.”
He added: “I’m looking forward to discussing this technology breakthrough further with our communications providers to see how it could help shape their future plans.”
