The market availability of solutions to support the next generation of fibre networks has now been accelerated thanks to interoperability testing of 50G-PON and 25GS-PON technologies.
The latest Broadband Forum ‘Plugfest’ marked the first time that 50G-PON – or Higher speed (HS-PON) – was tested at the interoperability event series, and the second time for 25GS-PON. The Plugfest was held in conjunction with LANPARK and AT&T Labs’ at the latter’s facility in Plano, Texas.
Some of the biggest fibre technology vendors gathered to test the interoperability of their PON (Passive Optical Network) equipment with emulated networks. Participating companies included Adtran, Broadcom, Calix, CIG, Cortina Access, Gemtek, Lambda Networks, MT2, Nokia, Sagemcom, and Vantiva.
“It’s crucial that the industry prioritises interoperability, co-existence, and collaboration to help broadband service providers excel with the next generation of PON technologies,” said Craig Thomas, CEO, Broadband Forum. “Following the success of the previous Plugfest, it was great to see the industry come together again to advance both 25GS and 50G-PON technologies thanks to the participation of the vendors and involvement of LANPARK and AT&T Labs.”
The aim of this year’s Plugfest, part of a multi-year interoperability testing series in laboratories around the world, was to give vendors a chance to ensure their equipment is interoperable with and ready to be deployed when connecting homes and businesses to broadband service providers’ core networks.
The Plugfests are open to vendors of optical line terminal (OLT) and optical network unit (ONU) equipment, PON chipsets and software stacks, Residential Gateway devices directly incorporating a PON interface, and test and measurement equipment.
“During the Plugfest, AT&T Labs emphasised the importance of interoperability in diverse operator networks to enable a multivendor broadband ecosystem,” said Sumithra Bhojan, Director-Member of Technical Staff, AT&T Labs. “This is critical as PON technologies evolve. The Broadband Forum plays a key role in fostering collaboration among operators, silicon, optics, software, and equipment suppliers, ensuring seamless integration and innovation across the ecosystem.”
“At each Plugfest, we see significant interoperability improvements between the products presented by manufacturers,” added Thierry Doligez, CEO of LANPARK. “This demonstrates the importance of these testing events and the relevance of the PON interoperability program conducted by the Broadband Forum.”
25GS-PON TC-PMD Layer was tested for the second time at a Plugfest and, for the first time, 25GS-PON OMCI and 50G-PON TC-PMD Layer was tested – signalling the industry’s intent to be prepared to supply future fibre networks.
Feedback from participating vendors has been instrumental in refining test plans, organising future Plugfests, ensuring continued programme improvement, and the overall success of the test events. The next Broadband Forum PON Plugfest will be hosted by the LANPARK Laboratory in Tours, France, from 7-10 July, 2025.
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