Openreach and Nokia have successfully tested its live 50Gbps broadband connection.
During a field test carried out from a residential property in Ipswich, the new Nokia 50G PON technology achieved download speeds of 41.9Gbps and upload speeds of 20.6Gbps. The test was run over a section of Openreach's existing full fibre network, which is already available to more than 17 million premises across the UK.
The service also excelled in simultaneous tests over a trial XGS-PON network - a faster version of Openreach's current network that supports higher symmetric speeds. The successful trial highlights the potential for a wide range of future services and benefits for both homes and businesses.
Trevor Linney, director, network technology at Openreach, said, “As the country’s largest full fibre provider, it’s crucial that we continue to research, innovate and evolve our network to meet our customers’ demands for decades to come.
“The full fibre network we’re building today is a platform for the UK’s economic, social and environmental prosperity, and this test proves we can keep upgrading the speeds and services our customers experience over that network long into the future.
“Today we’re deploying XGS-PON ready equipment, and this trial proves we’re ready for the next generational leap, as and when it’s needed.”
Sandy Motley, president, Nokia fixed networks, said, “This trial shows the incredible power of fibre to increase network capacity in an efficient way. As a futureproof, energy efficient technology, fibre is used by operators like Openreach to connect everything to multi-gigabit services. Our platform provides them with a full range of PON technologies and services that can be delivered over their existing fibre network. From 10G and 25G today to eventually 50Gbps or even 100G, our unique toolkit of fibre solutions allows Openreach to future-proof their network and flexibly address their evolving network demand.”