Vodafone – in association with Alcatel-Lucent — is conducting field trial of TWDM-PON broadband access technology in Europe to address network data traffic and mobile backhaul demands.
Alcatel-Lucent said this is Europe’s first field trial of TWDM-PON technology that can offer network performance of up to 40 gigabits per second – 10Gbps per wavelength – over its existing fiber infrastructure.
Gavin Young, head of Fixed Access, Vodafone Group said: “We have been engaged with Alcatel-Lucent for several years on TWDM-PON development, testing and trial activities, and all of which have shown great results.”
Vodafone can offer new residential data services and deliver the capacity for business users. With over 446 million mobile customers worldwide, TWDM-PON will also play an important role in Vodafone’s strategy to address the increasing bandwidth needed to support its customers as they migrate to 4G mobile services.
At Vodafone’s lab trial in Vigo, Spain, Alcatel-Lucent’s TWDM-PON technology achieved bit rates of up to 20Gbps over two wavelengths. With TWDM-PON technology Vodafone can increase capacity, converge business and consumer services, drive operational savings and generate new-revenue opportunities, on its existing fiber network.
The deployment of TWDM-PON technology uses the same fiber infrastructure used by service providers’ residential customers, making it cost-efficient to deliver new, higher-bandwidth services.
Federico Guillen, president of Alcatel-Lucent’s Fixed Access Business Line said: “We are committed to providing them with innovative technologies that will allow them to reduce costs and deliver new services more easily. That is why TWDM-PON is such an important development for them.”
