Nokia has been pushing hard on the fiber front, touting progress on XGS-PON, 25G and just this week unveiling a new platform that will eventually support 100G capabilities. But President of Network Infrastructure Federico Guillén told Fierce that fixed wireless access is a key tool in the toolbox for areas where fiber may not reach.
“Let’s face it. Fiber is going to reach 50%, 60%, 70% of the population with time. But there is always going to be a remaining 10, 20, 30% of the population where it’s going to be impossible to lay fiber because economically it doesn’t make sense or you have to go through the historic center of a very old city or whatever,” he explained. “In those cases, fixed wireless access is a complement, a nice complement to fiber. But it is a complement.”
In the long run, Guillén said fixed wireless access “cannot compete” with the multi-gigabit speeds fiber enables. But he reiterated wireless technology still has a key role to play in bridging the connectivity gap in areas where fiber may never make it to town.
Speaking of rising speeds, Guillén said around 80 customers are deploying Nokia’s 25G-ready multi-PON solution and one – Chattanooga-based utility and broadband provider EPB – has already launched a commercial 25 gig service. He noted the vendor this week launched its first 100G-ready OLT, but said it’ll likely be a while before a related service makes it to market.
That’s in part because applications requiring that type of broadband speed don’t yet exist, he said. Guillén added it’s also because of cost. While the leap from XGS-PON to 25G is just a software upgrade for those using Nokia’s multi-PON platform, Guillén said the move to 50G or 100G will be more intensive.
“You are going to need new hardware, even if the platform, the chassis is going to be the same, you’re going to need a new line card and the lasers that are needed for 50 and 100[G] are more expensive than the ones that we use for 10 gig and 25 gig,” he said. “So, we need time to grow the traffic and to lower the cost."