Vodafone, Nokia achieve 100 gigabit broadband speeds

Nokia and Vodafone have successfully trialled a new Passive Optical Network technology, capable of reaching speeds up to 100 gigabits per second (Gbps) on a single wavelength. This marks another industry achievement in fibre access to Nokia, following breakthroughs in 10G PON, TWDM-PON, universal PON and 25G PON.

The trial is the latest milestone in a collaboration between Vodafone and Nokia, to accelerate the potential of fibre broadband. With rising demand for broadband connectivity in terms of the service types, number of connected devices and the bandwidth consumed, it is essential that future fixed access networks have the capacity to absorb this growth.

To deliver 100 Gbps on a single wavelength, Nokia Bell Labs leveraged cost-effective 25G optics, along with digital signal processing (DSP) techniques. Going beyond 25G requires advanced DSP capabilities, as demonstrated in this trial. Once the DSP is adopted, the steps to 50G and 100G are straightforward and could be commercially available in the second half of the decade.

The Nokia Bell Labs 100G PON prototype is reportedly the first application of flexible rate transmission in a PON network. Flexible rate transmission works by grouping fibre modems (ONUs) that exhibit similar physical network characteristics (loss or dispersion), and makes data transmission more efficient.

Using flexible rate transmission results in lower latency on a PON and reduces power consumption, enabling fibre networks to have a greater role in the delivery of fixed and mobile broadband services.

Vodafone is striving to push fibre to customers and evolve to a unified fibre-based network for access, aggregation, backhaul of cable nodes and mobile transport. For Vodafone, 100G PON is a potential way to create flexible and scalable PON networks that will mitigate the risk of future peak-hour congestion and enable densification of cable and mobile networks.

Gavin Young, Head of Fixed Access Centre of Excellence at Vodafone, said the 100G PON has 40 times the capacity of current GPON networks and 10 times the capacity of XGS-GPON.

“In addition to ultra-high speeds, the technology supports our vision of highly efficient and adaptable next-generation networks. 100G PON enables flexible rates and works by grouping modems using a technique similar to the one we already use in our cable networks, so this experience can help us to better evaluate and exploit this new PON technology,” Young said.

Stefaan Vanhastel, Chief Technology Officer at Nokia’s Fixed Networks Division, added that these breakthroughs in speed can turn an existing fibre-to-the-home network into a fibre network that connects homes, businesses, remote cable nodes and 5G small cells.

“In 2020, we launched the first commercial 25G PON solution. Now, we’re delighted to show state-of-the-art 100G technology together with Vodafone,” Vanhastel said.

Peter Vetter, Head of Access and Devices Research at Nokia Bell Labs, said the company is focused on delivering the innovative technologies needed for the flexible, adaptable networks of the future.

“Optical innovations pioneered by Nokia Bell Labs, like shaping, are widely adopted by the industry. For the first time, we show a unique flexible rate capability that allows optimising capacity depending on the link losses and low-cost optical component capabilities in an optical network termination. We believe fibre will play a key role in 5G and 6G, and that is why we are truly excited about the 100G PON demo, and its potential in creating the future of fibre broadband,” Vetter said.

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