Optical Connections Magazine Summer 2024

SPONSORED FEATURE ZTE

BUILDING AN ALL-OPTICAL FOUNDATION FOR A DIGITAL, INTELLIGENT FUTURE

ACCELERATING THE ALL- OPTICAL DIGITAL ECONOMY TOWARD THE 10G ERA All-optical networks have long been seen as the cornerstone of the digital economy and the main focus of network infrastructure creation in many countries due to the high transmission rate, large capacity and high reliability. For this purpose, the EU released the “EU digital decade”, new set of digital targets for 2030, preparing Europe for the roll-out of the next generation of broadband infrastructure with gigabit speeds. China came up with the “14th Five-Year Plan” to fully deploy gigabit optical networks as well as speed up gigabit city construction and 200G/400G upgrade. More than 20 countries including Thailand, Egypt, Morocco, and India have announced their national fibre broadband plans. Even in the global economic downturn, operators have not abandoned their investments in optical networks. This is caused by three factors. Firstly, advancements in optical communications technology lead to more affordable, efficient, and capable optical transport equipment. This reduces the expenses associated with building and maintaining an optical network, saving operators’ investments. Secondly, as industries become more digitally advanced, enterprise cloud services and data centre interconnection bandwidth are growing, necessitating the use of high- speed and large-capacity networks. The optical transmission technology is an ideal option for meeting a variety of rigorous requirements. Thirdly, all-optical

Ultra-wide coverage means that all-optical networks should be ubiquitous and be able to support

technologies are integrated with 5G, AI and edge computing to provide diverse solutions that allow enable efficient and intelligent information transport and management, as well as more complete and personalised digital services and user experiences for society as a whole. ZTE believes it is necessary for the operators to continue to innovate technologies and expand their market while investing in optical networks in order to stay ahead of the ever-changing market and technical obstacles. For example, the digital and intelligent all-optical network, a next-generation network featuring ultra-high bandwidth and low latency, is embracing the 10G era at full speed. The 10G network can easily serve high-bandwidth, low-latency services like 4K/8K UHD video, VR/AR, and cloud gaming, meeting customer demands for emerging digital services and providing enormous opportunity to operators. BUILDING AN “ULTRA-WIDE, ULTRA-FAST, AND INTELLIGENT” ALL-OPTICAL FOUNDATION TO EMPOWER DIGITAL CITIES The upgrade of digital and intelligent all-optical networks will accelerate the digital transformation of all industries and provide a fresh impetus for the digital economy. To provide computing power and information services to individual and industry users, many countries are actively promoting the construction of digital cities through the integration of broadband, cloud computing, big data, IoT, and AI technologies. As a result, all- optical networks need to have features like ultra-wide coverage, ultra-fast pipes, and intelligent O&M.

massive connections in rural, industrial, residential, and business scenarios. In the office scenario, the FTTR-B all-optical network further extends an optical network to each office of a medium, small or micro enterprise for a full-area ultra-gigabit coverage. In the school scenario, the FTTR-B all-optical network solution enables the students in each dormitory to achieve high concurrency and seamless roaming experience, and enables more people to enjoy high- quality education. In the industrial park scenario, the deterministic PON can apply to industrial control scenarios that are sensitive to delay and jitter. In 2023, ZTE provided all-optical coverage for online live streaming hubs in China to give viewers a premium stutter-free experience, and helped a provincial finance department build an OTN-based provincial information private network. Ultra-fast pipe refers to the network bandwidth capability. The average FTTx penetration rate will reach 80.2% in 2027 as a result of the acceleration of the worldwide optical fibre transformation. Continuous price declines enhance the 10G PON industry chain and lower network construction costs when the technology is deployed massively. The ITU-T has released the next-generation 50G PON standard after 10G PON. Currently in the pilot phase, 50G PON is anticipated to be commercially available by 2025. In the optical transport field, the operators’ MANs are evolving to 400G/800G, and the backbone

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| ISSUE 37 | Q2 2024

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