Lightwave reports that Glenn Wellbrock, director of optical transport architecture at Verizon, the US-based carrier, has revealed that Verizon will deploy NG-PON2 networks in all 30 markets where 5G deployments are planned. The NG-PON2 technology will be the key enabler for the One Fiber solution for the Verizon 5G service. The goal of the One Fiber solution is to support 5G mobile, commercial and residential broadband services using a unified fiber access network.

As the leading operator of NG-PON2 deployment in the United States, Verizon believes that NG-PON2 technology is the best solution to support aggregation access network services, and has selected ADTRAN and Calix/Ericsson two suppliers. In January 2018, they had already deployed the first deployment of NG-PON2 based on Calix equipment. At present, it is speculated that Verizon has suspended the continued deployment of NG-PON2 due to the cost-effectiveness of IG-PON2 with tunable lasers. However, Verizon officially stated that it will continue to support the deployment of NG-PON2.

At the just-concluded FTTH conference in Orlando, USA, Wellbrock said Verizon will continue to push NG-PON2 deployment to support 5G. The first deployment will focus on the OLT side. The NG-PON2 network will be used to support interconnections between millimeter wave base stations. By integrating mobile radio base stations and broadband distribution equipment, Verizon expects to reduce latency, reduce distance limits for CPRI and eCPRI, and reduce the need for fiber.

In line with Verizon's statement, market research firm Dell Oro's latest broadband access market report showed that the broadband equipment market reached US$2.9 billion in the first quarter of 2019, down 2% year-on-year. However, the 10G PON equipment market has achieved a contrarian rise. Shipments of various specifications of OLT ports including XG-PON1, XGS-PON and NG-PON2 and 10Gbps DOCSIS 3.1 CPE ports increased year-on-year, with XGS-PON port sales increasing by 337%. Sales of the entire OLT port increased by 7% year-on-year.

The market for 10G PON has been brewing for many years. Although the scale deployment is not uncommon, the amount is always up, which cannot be said to be related to the carrier revenue model and the cost of the 10G PON equipment itself. Today, the deployment of 5G communication networks offers new opportunities for 10G PON deployment. The next-generation PON technology provides tremendous support for improving the performance of 5G networks and reducing their operating costs. For optical communication operators, we expect 10G PON to be deployed on a large scale before 5G.