Verizon in migrating FiOS from its original BPON platform to GPON, which enables total throughput of 2.4 Gb/s downstream and 1.2 Gb/s upstream to customers connected to fiber-to-the-premise network.
In its latest trial, Verizon delivered close to 1 Gb/s to a customer on “… a live production FiOS network setting.” For the test, Verizon deployed a second optical network terminal (ONT) to a current business FiOS customer. The second ONT was provisioned for the GPON test.
“The throughput speeds were measured at 925 Mbps (megabits per second) to a local server and more than 800 Mbps to the regional test speed servers. The customer’s existing FiOS service was left in place, and showed no degradation in the voice, data or video services during this trial,” says Verizon in a press release.
“This trial demonstrated that the current architecture has sufficient headroom to allow for a progressive increase in capacity as needed by our residential and business customers on our current GPON platform, and validates our decision to support both residential and business services on the same platform,” said Vincent O’Byrne, director of Verizon’s technology organization, who managed the trial.
Like other early FTTH providers, Verizon is migrating to a faster platform, in part to help keep the speed edge over its cable competitors. Trials like this demonstrate that while FTTH is the preferred method for delivering broadband, its claim of being ‘future proof’ leaves a little to be desired. Like all broadband platforms, FTTH will require upgrades to keep pace with both market demands and competition.
