Nokia, Google Fiber to test 50G PON speeds over live fiber network

Nokia has announced that GFiber Labs has successfully tested 50Gb/s broadband speeds over its existing fiber network. This is the first live network demonstration of 50G PON technology in the US and shows how operators can easily use Nokia's Lightspan MF fiber access platform to upgrade their fiber networks to meet the growing demand for faster, more reliable connectivity.

The trial builds on the 25G PON deployment GFiber Labs announced with Nokia last year and demonstrates how different PON technologies can be combined on the same fiber to evolve their broadband offerings.

Fiber is a future-proof, energy-efficient technology increasingly being used to connect everything to high-speed internet services. Today, operators worldwide are leveraging fiber to create new opportunities with 25G PON services. When the need for more speed arises, operators have a path to 50G PON upgrades and beyond. Nokia is the only vendor that can support all next-generation PON options, with 10G and 25G products available today, 50G in trials, and 100G PON as a technology demonstrator.

With Nokia’s Lightspan fiber access platform, operators can choose a PON solution that best meets a specific use case or business need. The 50G PON trial with Nokia showcases how Google Fiber is looking at the future and what’s needed for new broadband services that foster innovation and growth. Leveraging Nokia’s fiber solution, Google Fiber was able to simultaneously run 10/25G PON along with 25/50G PON broadband service over its fiber network. This showcased the network flexibility and scalability it can deliver to keep pace with the growing demand for multi-gigabit services in the future. Google Fiber is already at the forefront of the multi-gigabit evolution, having launched the first 25G PON commercial services with Nokia in 2023.

Liz Hsu, Senior Director, Product & Billing, at Google Fiber, said: “We are always looking for ways to push the capabilities of our fiber network to deliver the best possible experience to our customers. This test with Nokia builds on the 25G PON deployment we announced together last year, paving the way for future improvements to our network that enhance customer experience in terms of speed, reliability, innovation and support for future business cases that have yet to be defined.”

Geert Heyninck, vice president of broadband networks at Nokia, said: “Service providers need to be able to select the right technology, based on their needs and business case. It is why we already offer 10G and 25G today, are trialing 50G, and developing 100G - ultimately leading to a full range of PON technologies that can be mixed and matched on the same platform and the same fiber. Our expansive toolkit of fiber solutions allows Google Fiber to future-proof their network and flexibly address their evolving network demands.”