Passive Optical Network Testing and Deployment at Telekom Slovenije

Fixed access networks have evolved from legacy copper infrastructure to fibre. The deployment of fibre is crucial for the development of a gigabit society. The majority of networks currently in use are based on a point-to-multipoint topology. By deploying new Passive Optical Network (PON) technologies, providers can offer their customers a better service and provide a baseline for new applications that require high bandwidth and lower latency. For every new technology that is being deployed, there are some key milestones that need to be crossed. Two of the most important factors are standardisation and interoperability. Vendor locking is not a viable option in current deployments; vendors must cooperate to provide interoperability. Providers must also play an active role in this process, as their influence on vendors is significant. It is crucial that vendor proprietary solutions are not confirmed and deployed. The Broadband Forum introduced the BBF.247 ONU Certification program, based on the ONU Conformance Test Plan document TP-247. In conjunction with standardised test procedures, it is incumbent upon the provider to undertake real-case test scenarios with their own specific configuration. A significant aspect of the standardisation of the Gigabit Passive Optical Network (GPON) is the ONU Management and Control Interface (OMCI), which is the source of the majority of interoperability issues. Providers are constructing their optical distribution network for future use, with the objective of deploying all new PON technologies over the same network. In order to deploy new technology, it is necessary to either swap or upgrade existing active equipment. XGS-PON technology, which is a successor to GPON with a symmetrical speed of 10 Gbit/s, is being deployed using a comboPON solution. Concurrently, Wi-Fi 7 is being developed on residential gateways, which represents a significant driver for the extensive deployment of XGS-PON. The advent of 25 Gigabit Symmetric Passive Optical Network (25GS-PON) and 50-Gigabit-capable passive optical networks (50G-PON) will necessitate the consideration of coexistence strategies by service providers. The key decision to be made is whether to retain legacy GPON in the network and combine it with new technologies or to transition completely to XGS-PON and beyond.