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New requirements in four scenarios will drive F5G Advanced: optical to home, optical to enterprise, optical to computing, and green all-optical base.
Tang Xiongyan, Vice President and Chief Scientist of China Unicom Network Technology Research Institute
In February 2020, ETSI released the Fifth Generation Fixed Network (F5G) standards and proposed the industry vision of Fiber to Everywhere and Everything. ETSI defined the technical architecture of this next-gen fixed network based on core technologies such as 10G PON + fiber to the room (FTTR) for broadband access, Wi-Fi 6, and single-wavelength 200G for optical transmission + optical cross-connect (OXC).
F5G standards and the new vision quickly attracted wide attention across the industry.
After more than two years, F5G has achieved rapid development in both standards organizations and industry applications. ETSI's Industry Specification Group (ISG) F5G has nearly 100 members who have submitted more than 1,000 contributions, significantly advancing standardization for F5G industry applications.
Established at the end of 2021, the World Broadband Alliance (WBBA) has strengthened the industry's drive to translate F5G standards into industry applications. In response, China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology released the Action Plan for Coordinated Development of Double Gigabit Networks in March 2021 to promote the construction of F5G and gigabit optical networks, putting China's F5G industry on the fast track towards success.
After the F5G standards were officially released, research on F5G's future development paths began. From 2025 to 2030, more new requirements and applications are expected to emerge, driving F5G evolution. For example, in homes, VR/AR and smart home applications will increase in popularity, resulting in drastic increases in the number of devices. With factories and machines connected through optical fibers, optical networks will extend from the ICT industry to vertical industries. All-optical transmission networks will serve as infrastructure for Computing First Networks (CFN) and support ultra-low latency and extensive access. A general consensus on energy conservation is also driving optical fiber networks towards greener network architectures.
Based on these requirements, ETSI released the F5G Advanced and Beyond White Paper in September 2022, which described the driving forces, scenarios, and key technologies of F5G Advanced and defined a host of future F5G objectives and capabilities. At the end of 2022, ETSI had already completed F5G Advanced project initiation and started standard formulation.