The AI era has arrived, and an increasing number of applications are placing higher demands on computing power. In addition to the need for larger-scale computing capabilities, there is a requirement for rapid accessibility and on-demand availability of computing power. This is the capability offered by the transport network supporting computing power in the AI era—providing ultra-low latency and ultra-high bandwidth & reliability to support the networking and access of computing power. This transport network is characterized by F5G-A, a new generation all-optical network designed for AI. Only the F5G-A all-optical network can support the future AI-driven world.
Explore the future of fixed networks in this insightful discussion on the significance of ETSI's F5G Advanced Release 3, the role of WBBA in shaping next-gen connectivity, and how AI is driving sustainability and growth within the industry. Learn about the strategic collaborations leading the way to more efficient, innovative, and scalable fixed network solutions. Watch now to understand how AI is transforming the landscape of fixed networks and powering the next generation of digital infrastructure.
0:05
Welcome back to FNTV at MWC 25.
0:09
I'm Steve Saunders.
0:10
Let's talk about fixed networks with Martin Creaner, Director General of the WBBA, which is not the Women's Basketball Association, but is in fact the World Broadband Association.
0:23
And Martin was also formerly the president and CEO of the most excellent TM Forum.
0:29
So a real expert on our couch today.
0:32
Welcome, Martin.
0:33
Thanks very much, Steve.
0:34
So ETSI last year released the 1st F5G-A standard.
0:40
What is that?
0:42
Well, I mean when you think about standards and people at home might get quite bored about standards, but the reality is everybody's familiar with 2G-3G-4G-5G in mobile networks and people talk about that with their mobile phones.
0:58
while infixed networks and in fiber networks, we've done something similar. ETSI has released an F5G standard a while back and just recently has released F5G-A , it's kind of like a 5.5 version of F5G, which means it, it starts looking at where are we going next?
1:18
People might be lucky enough to have Gigabit broadband at home, but F5G-A is about how do you get 10 gig broadband?
1:24
How do you get it to be very reliable?
1:26
How do you get it to be very, very low delays and so on.
1:29
So that's really what we're talking about with F5G-A.
1:38
Yeah.
1:38
Is it actually the same protocols?
1:49
Well, it's a completely different standard.
1:50
And of course, the devil's in the detail, but I think one of the important points to remember is that it's been defined in such a way to provide some surety on, on where fixed networks are going up to now.
2:06
I mean, if you go back into the past, fixed networks would constantly be improving.
2:11
We had a wide range of capabilities between cable and fiber and copper and so on, but it was never really wrapped up into a banner of where we're at this generation.
2:23
And these standards are really about putting a stake in the ground, saying that these- technologies are at this generation and now they're moving forward to this generation, which will mean, faster speed, better quality for everyone. Right.
2:38
And, and that's obviously the goal.
2:41
But it sounds to me like this might compete with fixed wireless access, which is obviously a big success story at the moment.
2:47
Are they competitors or do they complement each other?
2:50
They absolutely complement.
2:51
They don't compete.
2:52
I mean, if you think about any city in the UK or, or France or Spain or the US, you've got fiber running down the streets in most cities and people are getting fibered up and getting hopefully a Gigabit or multiple gigabits of broadband speed.
3:10
But then you go a tiny little bit outside the city and slightly harder to reach locations and it becomes very expensive to roll fiber out there.
3:18
So you need something like fixed wireless access, you know, which is using your mobile network in order to give you something similar to broadband at a much cheaper price from the operator's point of view in terms of reaching the slightly harder to access houses and businesses.
3:39
And then if you're really out in the sticks, maybe you need satellites.
3:43
Yeah.
3:43
And so you don't think about them as competitors.
3:46
You say fiber goes to most people in relatively easy to get places fixed.
3:51
Wireless access is a quick way of getting broadband to people in slightly more difficult to get places.
3:57
And satellite is a fabulous way of getting broadband to people in the very hard to reach places.
5:30
I can't let you sit on the FNTV couch without asking you a last quick question about AI.
5:36
Is AI having a big effect on the fixed network market?
5:42
AI kind of worms its way into everything that we do.
5:45
First of all, AI from the business or consumer point of view is putting a demand, increased demand on bandwidth that people will need to be, you know, to have that access to.
5:56
So, it's got a big impact on demand, but it's also got an impact on the supply side in terms of, we use AI, for example, within the World Broadband Association, we're just about to release a paper talking about how to use AI to more efficiently deploy broadband, , to make the choices between fiber or fixed wireless access or satellites, on an economic basis to use.
6:21
So using AI in pre deployment and deployment.
6:23
And of course, you use AI to manage the networks because things are becoming incredibly complex.
6:28
And so I think overall, it's AI is to be found everywhere.
6:33
It's paw prints are everywhere within the broadband industry.
6:37
Yeah, very interesting.
6:39
My personal suspicion is that we may actually trigger another optical networking boom once all of the AI traffic really starts to ramp up.
6:48
We may be back to the year 2000.
6:50
Martin, a real pleasure.
6:52
Thank you so much for joining us in the FNTV Studio here at MWC 25 FNTV, what are you looking at?
7:01
Thank you.