Fiber-to- The-Room (FTTR) Technologies for the 5th Generation Fixed Network (F5G) and Beyond

We review a series of innovative optical network technologies for the 5th generation fixed network (F5G) and beyond, aiming to support enhanced fixed broadband, full fiber connection, and guaranteed reliable experience. Particularly, the emerging fiber-to-the-room (FTTR) technology that offers telecom-quality Wi-Fi experience and premium home broadband connectivity is described. Proof-of-concept demonstrations of fast seamless Wi-Fi roaming, dynamic Wi-Fi power management, centralized traffic scheduling, and AI-enabled network slicing are presented. A throughput increase of up to 96% and a reduced roaming latency of 20 ms have been achieved by the FTTR-enabled coordination of the Wi-Fi access points. Finally, future network evolution beyond F5G is discussed.