U.K. network operator CityFibre is taking its fiber infrastructure to the next level by revamping its entire network to XGS-PON technology – with the help of Nokia and Calix.
CityFibre recently upgraded a city-wide network from G-PON to XGS-PON in York, England. That pilot project is the largest of its kind so far in the U.K., according to the company. It’s aiming to deploy XGS-PON technology as standard beginning in April 2023.
To assist in this goal, CityFibre on Monday inked a 10-year deal with Nokia, which will serve as the operator’s XGS-PON equipment vendor along with Calix. CityFibre is leveraging Nokia’s technology – including Lightspan access nodes and fiber modems – to build an open access network connecting over 8 million locations in the U.K. by 2025.
Nokia has provided support for CityFibre’s service aggregation platform since 2016. And CityFibre tapped Calix in 2018 to deploy a software defined access OS across its fiber network.
“We’re delighted that our 25G-ready solution has been chosen by CityFibre to enable their GPON to 10G XGS-PON national network upgrade program,” stated Sandy Motley, president of fixed networks at Nokia.
She added Nokia is supporting CityFibre’s goal to offer “the highest capacity wholesale services into the U.K. market.”
The operator in March struck its third nationwide wholesale deal with Zen Internet, adding to earlier agreements made with Vodafone and TalkTalk.
News of CityFibre’s XGS-PON initiative comes just over a month after the operator received a debt raise of roughly $6.1 billion (£4.9 billion). With this debt package, CityFibre said it now has sufficient funds to finish its fiber rollout.
Jeff Heynen, VP of Broadband Access and Home Networking at Dell’Oro Group, told Fierce CityFibre is “clearly trying to differentiate itself from a growing contingent of fiber ISPs in the U.K.”
He went on to say that in markets where fiber competition has increased, symmetric speed is “an important decision point” for broadband subscribers, along with price.
Recent data from OpenVault highlighted average uplink speeds have outpaced download rates since 2018. Moreover, the proportion of subscribers with gigabit service rose 37% since Q1 2021.
XGS-PON also provides CityFibre flexibility in its service tiers, Heynen said. While video gamers may value multi-gig speeds, customers who don’t require as much multimedia can subscribe to a lower-tier service.
CityFibre’s partnership with Nokia is beneficial, Heynen added, because Nokia can provide combo modules and optical line terminal (OLT) ports – something Calix doesn’t currently offer. With this technology, CityFibre can more efficiently use ports for G-PON, XGS-PON and potentially 25G PON.