F5G-A All-Optical Connectivity Enables Digital Intelligence Across Industries

Communication Target Networks Boost Digital Intelligence to Help Build a Future Power System

David Sun

Vice President of Huawei, CEO of Huawei Electric Power Digitalization BU, and China Representative of CIGRE SC D2

In the renewable energy field, China has achieved world-class results in both power generation and load, while also facing immense challenges to its power grids. Digital intelligence is critical to addressing the uncertainties of the future power system, while an efficient communication network is the key to making this power system informatized, digital, and intelligent.

Four features of the new communication target network in the F5G-A era

Construction of communications infrastructure should be driven by the communication target network. It is essential to address current issues and challenges while also anticipating the needs that will arise over the next five to ten years. In particular, when planning the communication target network, we need to focus on both business scenarios and communication technologies. We must find technologies for scenarios, and also scenarios for technologies.

The communication target network in the future power system offers four key features: an intelligent and robust main network, medium-voltage integration, low-voltage transparency, and full coverage, as shown in Figure 1. An intelligent and robust main network needs to be constructed with consideration for "optical power transportation" represented by the "East Data, West Computing" project, "electric power transportation" represented by edge computing, and the demands for renewables integration and peak shaving based on spatiotemporal characteristics. In addition, in past typhoon emergency response efforts, it was found that the 10 kV communication network is the weakest link in power grid communication, and is a typical blind spot. Overcoming this requires systematic planning of a communication target network made up of optical fiber and wireless private networks that delivers full wired and wireless coverage capabilities. Furthermore, given large-scale distributed PV access, charger access, distributed energy storage, user interaction, and potential load-side transactions, a systematic approach is needed for 400 V low-voltage transparent communication.

At the end of 2023, ETSI released the F5G-A standard. Today, the electric power industry is also planning the electric power communication target network by following the F5G-A roadmap and has achieved large-scale deployment. In main network communication, the State Grid Corporation of China has conducted pilot and commercial use of fgOTN, while EDM in Mozambique has put fgOTN into commercial use. For medium-voltage backhaul of power distribution networks, State Grid Shanxi and other power companies have deployed optical fiber networks such as hard-isolated PON. For low-voltage communication, State Grid Shaanxi and other power companies have utilized computing power and IoT connection technologies to achieve 400 V transparency.

Figure 1: Four features of the power communication target network

Main network communication: Consider intelligence-computing collaboration and generational evolution. Dual-plane networking is adopted for all networks to support 99.9999% reliability.

fgOTN is introduced to seamlessly replace SDH networks, achieving generational evolution in communication networks. On power grids, there are abundant optical fiber resources, which play a vital role in addressing the core challenges of the future power system. The intelligent development of the electric power industry will demand a hundred times more network connections, ten times more bandwidth, and increasingly stringent requirements for network security and reliability. Additionally, the lifecycle of SDH is nearing its end, and the fgOTN standard was officially released by ITU-T in November 2023. fgOTN inherits SDH's hard pipe feature while providing tenfold bandwidth.

Network reliability is crucial, and a minimum of 99.9999% reliability is required to ensure deterministic computing connections. For one thing, low-latency and highly secure connection technologies should be selected to maintain high reliability. For another, a dual-plane assurance private network must be established to support highly reliable intelligent computing. The principle of "creating new planes before removing old ones" must be followed to ensure that there are always two active planes to deliver high reliability.

Medium-voltage backhaul in power distribution networks: Medium-voltage communication is the weakest link in power grids and has a direct impact on the balance and stability of power grids as well as providing essential assurance in extreme conditions. Optical fibers and spectrum should be utilized as strategic assets to construct a hybrid communication network that integrates optical fibers and wireless technologies, tailored to local conditions, to support 99.99% reliability.

Main network communication can fully utilize existing optical fiber resources. For 10 kV backhaul in power distribution networks, coordination between optical fibers and wireless networks is essential. The question is, how can we establish a synergy mechanism among the optical fiber network, wireless private network, and wireless public network based on the target network?

Optical fibers support physical isolation, ensuring that services do not interfere with each other. This is the most effective solution for achieving high security and reliability in electric power networks. Fibers are also a critical asset for intelligent and digital development. Where possible, fiber networks should be deployed in all transformer districts, after which differential protection, RTU/FTU backhaul, and digital twin services can be further rolled out. In the past, digital twins needed to be configured with dedicated rendering hardware. Nowadays, optical fibers and universal tablet addresses can be combined to implement cloud rendering, cloud-edge synergy, and ultra-fast delivery, which is both cost-effective and practical.

In the past, power distribution networks had low requirements for communication and digitalization. If a fault occurred, the affected segment would either be switched or isolated from the network. Today, these networks are evolving from unidirectional to bidirectional and from passive to active, becoming more reliant on digitalization and intelligence. This shift necessitates a robust communication infrastructure. In extreme scenarios, the lack of reliable communication can lead to significant losses. Over time, establishing an electric power wireless private network has become essential for 10 kV backhaul. The medium-voltage hybrid communication network demands comprehensive planning of both optical fiber and wireless private networks, complemented by wireless public networks when necessary. Additionally, optical fiber dual-route protection, as well as network protection between the optical fiber and wireless private network, between the optical fiber and wireless public network, or between the wireless private network and wireless public network, should be implemented as needed to safeguard the future power system.

Low-voltage transparency: Redefine the 400 V communication network to provide systematic bottom-layer support for balanced and stable power grids and user satisfaction. Manage the network as the target network to deliver 99.9% reliability.

The challenge of building a future power system lies in power distribution networks, where communication is the key. With the rapid rise of new technologies such as widely distributed renewable energy and electric vehicles, maintaining the balance, stability, and security of distribution networks has become increasingly complex. Issues like reverse power flow and device overloading pose significant challenges. To address these, we need both top-down scheduling and bottom-up transformer district autonomy, along with greater transparency at the 400 V level to streamline primary and distribution networks and micro-grids.

High-speed power line carrier (HPLC) technology is already widely used in the 400 V transparent communication field, achieving good results. In the future power system, low-voltage 400 V must evolve from merely collecting customer satisfaction and power consumption information to enabling power generation-grid-load-storage interaction. Distributed PV, distributed energy storage, numerous charging piles, and user interactions mean that 400 V carrier communication should be added to the integrated communication network and managed as part of the target network to achieve over 99.9% reliability, second-level interaction, integrated sensing, communication, and computing, and topology identification. These capabilities will play a crucial role in systematically addressing 400 V challenges.

F5G-A Accelerates ISP Industrial Intelligence with Fast and Stable Networks

York Yue

Vice President of Huawei and CEO of the ISP & OTT BU

As AI services such as ChatGPT and DeepSeek become increasingly popular, more and more industries are embracing digital intelligence. Users' demand for high speed, services' strict requirements on stability, and networks' desire for intelligence all constantly present challenges to traditional network services.

In November 2023, the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) released the F5G Advanced (F5G-A) international standard, which features FTTR, Wi-Fi 7, 50G PON, 400G/800G OTN, and Alps-WDM. This marks that the optical industry starts to deploy the fifth generation of fixed networks. Compared with F5G, F5G-A offers ten times the bandwidth, ten times the fiber connection density, and ten times the energy efficiency. It also delivers 99.9999% reliability (up from 99.999%), meter-level precise sensing, sub-millisecond latency, and L4 autonomous networks. This cutting-edge technology, which integrates ultra-broadband connectivity, deterministic experience, and intelligence, is redefining the values of the ISP industry.

Amid the current wave of digital intelligence and AI, the ISP industry can seize the opportunities brought by F5G-A to achieve industrial intelligence from the following three aspects:

Improve end user experience, making networks faster and more stable in the intelligent era.

In the intelligent era, many services and applications are based on cloud-device synergy, and network performance has a great impact on the quality of user experience delivered by intelligent services.

On the transmission network, we adopt multi-plane and multi-service integrated bearing, and combine IP with optical to achieve the single-wavelength 400/800G aggregation and transmission. In addition, the wide deployment of all-optical cross-connections further reduces the network transmission latency, allowing services to reach the destination with one hop and improving service experience.

On the access network, F5G-A provides 10 times the bandwidth of F5G, with symmetric uplink and downlink rates of 10 Gbps that meet high-performance service requirements. On the home network, technologies such as fiber to the room (FTTR) and Wi-Fi 7 ONT are used to provide Wi-Fi experience of over 2 Gbps, improving the stability and speed of home networks and providing localized experience for intelligent services such as ultra-fast cloud NAS, cloud eSports, cloud rendering, AI assistant, and AI-generated content (AIGC).

Enhance system resilience to ensure the reliability of intelligent services.

F5G-A improves reliability to 99.9999% to ensure the network runs stably. In addition, it provides sub-millisecond latency to meet real-time requirements of intelligent services. For example, smart ONT is used to analyze service flow characteristics to identify computing, video, and Internet access services, and end-to-end hard slicing pipes from home Wi-Fi to the CO OLT are automatically created to steer computing services to premium transmission networks. All this helps achieve deterministic 10 Gbps bandwidth, 1 ms latency, and μs-level jitter, thereby ensuring SLA-committed computing access services.

Build a highly autonomous network for intelligent network operations.

By embracing AI, F5G-A can achieve highly autonomous networks and efficient O&M, significantly lowering the operational cost of ISPs and improving their operational efficiency. AI can implement automatic network O&M, reduce manual intervention, and improve network operation efficiency. For example, AI algorithms can automatically detect and diagnose network faults, quickly locate faults, and take appropriate measures. AI technologies can analyze large-scale network data in real time to provide valuable insights. For example, AI analyzes network traffic to predict future network requirements and optimize network resource allocation. AI can also enhance the network security protection capability, as well as identify and prevent potential network attacks through machine learning algorithms. For example, AI can detect network traffic in real time, detect abnormal behavior in a timely manner, and take corresponding countermeasures.

As we move towards the era of intelligence, F5G-A drastically improves network performance, and also reshapes service models as well as industry values. When optical connectivity meets AI and deterministic networks encounter digital twins, the ISP industry will undergo a profound transformation from pipe providers to intelligent service providers. This intelligent transformation driven by F5G-A will redefine the boundaries of network services and unlock unlimited possibilities for industry upgrades. In the new era with intelligent connectivity of everything, mastering F5G-A is the key to the successful future of the industry.

City Optical Networks Are Bringing Smart Cities into the Optical Era

Ado Du

CEO of Wide Area Network Team, Huawei

Today, we are seeing explosive growth in data elements, and computing power demands are increasing exponentially. However, traditional network architecture remains like a one-way country backroad. Our cities need multi-lane highways if they hope to carry the traffic of smart cities. Choppy video streaming, vehicle-road synergy hindered by lag, and isolated computing silos all remind us that for our cities to be smarter, optical network connections themselves need to first become smart.

F5G-A is a technology that can address this issue, as it can connect data and computing power and pave the way for truly smart cities.

City networks: From interconnections and IoT to all-optical digital and intelligent connections

Data has emerged as a new factor of production and a driving force behind economic growth. In response, China's National Data Administration has decided to reform the country's market-based allocation system for data elements. Their aim is to turbocharge the evolution of city networks, so that they can provide not only traditional connections and IoT, but digital and intelligent connectivity based on all-optical connections.

Digital connectivity refers to connections between data elements. These connections accelerate the large-scale, efficient, and reliable flow and utilization of data across different levels, regions, systems, departments, and businesses. This streamlines the process of data supply, transfer, and utilization.

Intelligent connectivity, on the other hand, refers to the connections of intelligence and computing power. These connections form a network that interconnects massive amounts of data, efficient computing resources, and intelligent services, so that every person, home, and organization can benefit from intelligence.

Finally, all-optical connectivity mainly refers to the connections that make up a city's optical network, which is the foundational infrastructure that powers smart cities. Both digital and intelligent connectivity rely on optical connections, which makes optical networks as important as traditional infrastructure, like water, electricity, gas, and roadways. In fact, communications networks can be considered the fifth layer of critical infrastructure in a city, as they serve the digital economy, digital government, and digital society.

F5G-A: Transforming the digital foundation of smart cities

A city's all-optical infrastructure is its optical network, which is based on fiber transmission functions. Urban optical networks serve as the foundation of new information infrastructure, so they must be able to transmit massive amounts of data and meet the requirements of a wide array of upper-layer applications (see Figure 2).

Figure 2: One city optical network foundation + N service networks

F5G-A comes with a number of core capabilities that are needed to build a solid foundation for smart cities, including ultra-high bandwidth, ultra-low latency, ultra-high reliability, ultra-high security, energy saving technologies, intelligent O&M, and advanced quality assurance. F5G-A has already demonstrated its immense value in many fields, such as private network integration for digital government, foundation model training for city governance, video private network upgrade, vehicle-road-cloud synergy, computing private network construction, and digital twin construction. At the same time, it plays a significant role in digital and intelligent connectivity.

First, for digital connectivity, F5G-A optical networks are able to support secure and reliable data element flow.

To unleash the value of different data elements, data sources must be accurately identifiable, data flows must be secure and reliable, and data platforms need to be able to efficiently store, analyze, and apply data.

Security and trustworthiness: Different data elements often contain a large amount of sensitive information, including confidential business secrets, so networks must be highly secure to ensure secure and reliable data flow. Hard pipe–based optical networks can ensure the physical isolation of different types of service data. In addition, these networks can use the AES256 algorithm or quantum encryption to separate plaintext data from ciphertext data for transmission, further improving data security.

Ultra-high bandwidth: There are many types of data elements, and many elements are unstructured data such as video. These types of data require higher bandwidths to transmit. As IoT technologies become more widely used, devices and sensors will continuously generate larger and larger amounts of data. Enterprise services will produce foundation model data and research institutes will produce explosive amounts of experimental data. F5G-A optical networks provide the ultra-high bandwidth needed to ensure efficient data flow for these elements.

Second, for intelligent connectivity, F5G-A optical networks allow computing centers to efficiently collaborate thanks to their ability to provide 1 ms latency circles (with access to computing power) in cities.

Many new service scenarios are emerging thanks to this efficient access to computing power, including multimodal AI interaction, intelligent computing training, and device-cloud synergy. A future-oriented premium network is required to unleash the value of this computing power. The high bandwidth, low latency, and high reliability of optical networks are ideal for efficient interconnection of computing power, which then further enhances computing with fiber and drives computing with fiber.

AI and general-purpose computing power are also expected to see rapid growth in the near future, which will put even higher requirements on network bandwidth. By 2030, AI computing power is expected to increase 500-fold and general-purpose computing power 10-fold. This means city networks will need to be able to provide at least 100 Gbps bandwidths. Ultra-broadband optical networking enables a single optical fiber to carry over 100 Tbps of bandwidth, which is more than enough to handle these computing power surges and ensure efficient data flow.

Ultra-low latency: Latency is a key factor for applications that require high real-time performance, such as autonomous driving in smart transportation and real-time control in industrial automation. Computing power needs to quickly respond to input data and output results in a timely manner. A high-latency network slows down system responses, which can affect the security and reliability of many applications. Again, city optical networks can provide a 1 ms intra-city latency circle, which ensures ultra-low latency for computing power.

Ultra-high reliability: Applications like foundation model training and inference, local storage + remote computing power, and computing power collaboration have high data accuracy and continuity requirements. A faulty or interruption-prone network will affect services and cause computing power performance deterioration. City optical networks with ultra-high reliability can guarantee stable connection and long-term stability thanks to their multi-level redundancy features and real-time network monitoring.

Intelligent and digital connectivity, in the context of city networks, relies on optical network infrastructure. This makes optical connections a must for smart cities. Governments everywhere need to begin thinking about building their own F5G-A optical networks to streamline urban data flows and computing power connection. This will be the only way to ensure secure, reliable, and efficient operations and drive the continuous evolution of smart cities.