Finnish telecom operator Elisa has completed a field trial of Nokia’s XGS-PON technology, a next-generation passive optical network standard that boosts broadband performance and supports symmetric multi-gigabit speeds.
XGS-PON succeeds XG-PON and adds symmetric capability—the extra “S” denotes that upstream capacity matches downstream capacity. Whereas XG-PON provides 10 Gb/s downstream and 2.5 Gb/s upstream (10/2.5G) using a single fixed wavelength in each direction, XGS-PON delivers 10 Gb/s in both directions and supports dual-rate operation to accommodate varied service needs.
“Adopting XGS-PON enables high-speed, higher-quality fixed broadband connections. Faster and more reliable links are necessary for emerging TV and video services and for higher-resolution formats such as 4K,” said Matias Castren, head of Broadband Subscription Business at Elisa. The technology helps future-proof networks as consumer and business demand for bandwidth continues to grow.
More than half of Finnish households already have access to fixed ultra-broadband connections of at least 100 Mbps. XGS-PON gives Elisa a cost-effective path to deliver multi-gigabit services to both residential and enterprise customers, improving upload capacities and enabling symmetric service tiers that better support cloud applications, teleworking, online gaming and rich media uploads.
“With nine commercial deployments and over 40 trials of next-generation PON technologies worldwide, we brought our experience to Elisa and demonstrated how our XGS-PON solution can help evolve their network to meet rising demand,” said Federico Guillen, president of Nokia’s Fixed Networks business group. The trial highlights how mature vendor experience accelerates operator transitions to newer optical access technologies.
The trial used Nokia’s 7360 ISAM FX platform, featuring a universal next-generation PON solution, together with the 7368 ISAM optical network terminal (ONT). These products are designed to support multi-gigabit symmetric services and to integrate into existing fiber access infrastructures while enabling smooth migration from legacy PON systems.
By validating XGS-PON in a real-world environment, Elisa and Nokia demonstrated the practical benefits of symmetric multi-gigabit access: improved upstream speeds, better support for bandwidth-intensive applications, and an economically viable upgrade path for operators looking to expand capacity without replacing their entire fiber plant.
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