Lightwave's Stephen Hardy reports that:
AT&T says it has completed field trials of XGS-PON technology based on a variety of open source specifications, including several it helped create. The trials, conducted in Atlanta and Dallas, featured XGS-PON network virtualization based on Open Source Access Manager Hardware Abstraction (OSAM-HA), which apparently is the new name for VOLTHA.
The field tests included multi-gigabit internet traffic transmission, including delivery of AT&T DIRECTV NOW video. The service provider used a virtualized broadband network gateway function to manage subscribers. The exercise also confirmed that XGS-PON and GPON traffic can be delivered together over the same fiber.
The trial is part of AT&T's efforts to use software defined networking (SDN) and virtualization in its access networks. "Our network is constantly evolving. We'll continue to execute our software-based network strategy to technologies like 5G, virtualized RAN, and G.fast over time,"said Eddy Barker, assistant vice president, Access Architecture and Design, AT&T.
AT&T did not reveal the identities of technology vendors who supported the trial. However, three vendors have announced technology that could be applicable in this context.
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