Huawei AirPON Helps Mobile Operators Quickly Build Premium FTTH Networks

[Shenzhen, China, October 13, 2020] At the Broadband World Forum (BBWF) 2020, Jeffrey Zhou, President of Huawei's Access Network Product Line, delivered a keynote speech to elaborate on how the Huawei AirPON solution helps mobile operators quickly and economically build all-optical access networks that deliver premium experience.

Jeffrey Zhou, President of Huawei's Access Network Product Line

Fibers are crucial to the digital era and greatly boost economic development by providing ubiquitous connections. However, a major issue is that FTTH is developed in some regions while in other regions it is still developing, signaling a huge market space. Due to a lack of experience and site resources, mobile operators face a number of challenges in FTTH network construction as they try to achieve fixed-mobile convergence. Therefore, operators are seeking solutions to build FTTH networks efficiently and economically.

According to Jeffrey Zhou, mobile operators face challenges in FTTH network planning, construction, and user experience assurance. In traditional network construction, OLTs are deployed in Central Office 10–20 km away from users. It takes up to 6–10 months to obtain the right of way (ROW) for deploying optical cables, and the civil engineering period is as long as 6–12 months. The cost of ODN construction is one of the biggest burdens for operators, therefore an efficient and economical network construction solution is urgently needed. Another issue concerns how Wi-Fi experience can be guaranteed. Currently, 76% of home broadband problems are Wi-Fi related. To address these challenges, Huawei launched the AirPON solution to help mobile operators quickly build premium FTTH networks. The solution shortens the site acquisition period from three months to three days, reduces the TTM by 70%, cuts CAPEX by 27%, and saves O&M costs by 30%. The solution also reduces the latency of online learning, games, and office work by more than 50%, providing users with a smooth experience without frame freezing.

The Huawei AirPON solution consists of Huawei OptiXaccess series blade OLTs, Digital Quick ODN (DQ ODN), and OptiXstar series eAI ONTs, delivering the following benefits:

Zero site acquisition: Outdoor blade OLTs can be installed at existing mobile pole or tower sites to share upstream fibers for wireless backhaul. Fibers at the home pass section are reduced from 5 km to 1 km, reducing the overall CPAEX by 27%.

Zero fiber splicing: The DQ ODN uses pre-connection to eliminate the need of fiber splicing, and uses AI image recognition to digitize and accurately record dumb ODN resources in the construction phase. Regular technicians can quickly become experts at installing and maintaining an all-optical network. The efficiency of network construction is improved by 70%, and ODN resources statistics are accurate in the long term, facilitating fast service provisioning and precise fault locating.

Zero frame freezing: An eAI ONT intelligently identifies service types and uses Wi-Fi 6 slicing technology to provide dedicated channels for VIP services such as online learning and gaming. Operators can now monetize user experience for a higher ARPU.

Huawei not only provides an end-to-end solution, but also provides the Smart CAPEX tool which supports precise planning. This tool can help operators identify high-value users, select optimal wireless sites for network construction, achieve fast network construction and revenue growth, and shorten the ROI period to less than three years.

Jeffrey Zhou ended by saying, "Fixed networks are the cornerstone of full-service operation. Huawei AirPON is an innovative solution that enables mobile operators to quickly build cost-effective fiber networks, and delivers premium broadband experience to users. Huawei is committed to helping operators realize fixed-mobile convergence, grow the user base, and achieve business success.