During UBBF 2023, Richard Jin, President of Huawei Optical Business Product Line, delivered a keynote speech entitled “Bring F5.5G to Reality: Milestones on Our Way to Intelligent World”. In the speech, Richard proposed the concept of three-phase network construction for the first time. Specifically, there are three driving forces for network development, that is, video (100Mbps network), experience (1Gbps network), and intelligence (10Gbps network). Against this backdrop, Huawei launched the F5.5G-oriented three-phase all-optical target network architecture — all-optical coverage for 100Mbps home broadband, all-optical connections extending 1Gbps to each room, and all-optical computing for 10Gbps Everywhere. The three-phase construction of the all-optical target network can meet the network connection requirements of hot services in each phase, bringing F5.5G into reality and striding towards an intelligent world.
Phase 1: Video-Driven, All-Optical Coverage for 100Mbps Home Broadband
With the continuous improvement of video resolution and the rapid popularization of video interaction and immersive XR, the bandwidth is upgraded from 10 Mbps to 100 Mbps and 1000 Mbps. In this phase, HD video and video interaction become the major driving force to realize the goal of building an all-optical network with a 100 Mbps home broadband rate. Operators need to fully move towards FMC, and replace cooper lines and cables with FTTH all-optical network. Serialized AirPON can accelerate FTTH construction and support GPON and 10G PON compatibility, enabling rapid provision of gigabit services in hotspot areas. Meanwhile, operators need to deploy OTN to metro aggregation layer, and build 3D-mesh 400G ready backbone networks, supporting non-blocking bandwidth and zero video lagging. Typical technological innovations in this phase include FlexPON, DQ ODN, and high-performance 400G.
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Phase 2: Experience-Driven, All-Optical Connections Extending 1Gbps to Rooms
With increasingly diversified digital applications, fibers are extended from living rooms to bedrooms, studies, and kitchens, enabling click-and-start applications and delivering an immersive network experience. All these developments pose higher requirements on network coverage, bandwidth, latency, and roaming. In this phase, users are willing to pay for a more premium home network experience. Therefore, End-to-end (E2E) service experience assurance becomes the key to achieving the goal of all-optical connections and 1 Gbps extending to each room. Operators need to upgrade 10G PON to fully deliver gigabit services, introduce fiber-to-the-room (FTTR), metro 100G OTN to CO, backbone 400G non-blocking ultra-broadband. Typical technological innovations in this phase are FTTR, metro pooling WDM, and the intelligent network management and control system.
Phase 3: Intelligence-Driven, All-Optical Computing for 10Gbps Everywhere
AI accelerates content manufacturing and promotes the intelligent transformation of industries. To cope with traffic surges and migration of massive data to the cloud, a computing-centric network is required to provide bus-level connection capabilities. Similar to the CPU, bus, and accessories of a computer, the computing power and storage of the data center (DC) need to exchange information with end-users in real time through a high-performance network to achieve the goal of all-optical computing for 10Gbps Everywhere.
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In this phase, the FTTR-based all-optical home bus supports connect-and-play of IoT devices and integrates connection, sensing, computing, and storage capabilities for 10Gbps throughout the house. In addition, the all-optical cloud bus based on 50G PON and 800G OTN implements all-optical one-hop user-DC or DC-DC connections. Typical technological innovations in this phase include 50G PON, metro OTN completely to CO, and backbone 800G. In addition, OTN needs to be designed for DC scenarios. Upon this, Huawei launched Kepler, the next-generation OTN platform, delivering more than 100T single-subrack switching capacity. Leveraging new materials and structures, Kepler reduces power consumption per Gbit by 65%, and the power usage effectiveness (PUE) to 1.2. It also provides intelligent computing units to comprehensively improve connection efficiency.
The three-phase all-optical target network can ensure parallel evolution and smooth upgrade from F5G to F5.5G. According to Richard, “Operators need the most appropriate all-optical target network construction solution in different development phases. So far, 100Mbps has changed the content, 1Gbps is changing the broadband experience, and 10Gbps will change society. Let’s work together to bring F5.5G into reality and stride towards an intelligent world.”
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