Verizon and Calix deliver 34 Gbps over fiber using bonded ONT technology

WALTHAM, MA –  Small and mid-size business customers who want greater bandwidth and lower latency will soon have yet another reason to choose Verizon. In the Verizon Innovation Center in Waltham, Massachusetts, Verizon and Calix, a global provider of cloud and software platforms, systems and services used in next generation access networks, achieved 34 Gbps speeds over fiber optic cable through use of a bonded NG-PON2 (Next-Generation Passive Optical Network 2) ONT (Optical Network Terminal) prototype on Verizon’s simplified, increasingly automated fiber network.

In 2018 Verizon announced it began testing NG-PON2 technology. NG-PON2 is the newest standard for Passive Optical Networks (fiber networks that don’t require active amplification due to signal loss).  NG-PON2 technology will provide faster speeds, lower latency, simplification of operations and increased automation in the fiber network.  To achieve those benefits, NG-PON2 technology must be deployed throughout the entire fiber network.  Last year, Verizon and Calix successfully trialed NG-PON2 on the OLT (Optical Line Terminal) and in this latest demonstration used Calix AXOS® systems to deliver multiple Gbps for each of four wavelengths and bond them together at the ONT (Optical Network Terminal.)

To reach 34 Gbps, Verizon and Calix extended intelligence and improved wire speed to the ONT by bonding all four available wavelength channels using software, achieving service data rates in excess of individual wavelength channel capacity. Bonding the wavelengths together in this way allowed Verizon to deliver speeds far in excess of what each individual wavelength could deliver, and when commercialized will provide an unprecedented level of connection for business customers.

“We know how important connectivity is to small and mid-size businesses,” said T.J. Fox, Senior Vice President and President of Verizon Business Markets. “These advances will deliver the promise of the cloud for our customers and bring them technology at parity to what previously was only in reach for large enterprises.”

“The AXOS Intelligent Access Edge simplifies the network, dramatically increases service velocity, and creates the foundation to unify both business and residential services into a single access transport,” said Michel Langlois, chief development officer for Calix. “The latest test results demonstrate how this approach enables CSPs to extend the benefits of AXOS all the way to the subscriber edge. With new services becoming increasingly bandwidth-intensive, our work with Verizon has demonstrated that AXOS systems leveraging NG-PON2 will provide the future-proof connectivity needed to meet these demands.”

**Editor’s Note: Kevin Smith, Vice President of Technology Development and Planning for Verizon, will deliver the first customer keynote of ConneXions 2019 on Monday, October 28. Now in his twenty-fourth year at Verizon, Kevin Smith leads a team that develops the Intelligent Edge Network and roadmap with partners and suppliers to evolve and modernize Verizon’s wireline infrastructure.  Registration is now open for Calix ConneXions 2019, the industry’s premier Innovation and Learning Conference, taking place October 26-29, 2019 at the Wynn in Las Vegas.