AT&T goes live with XGS-PON in 40 markets

More than two years after first announcing successful field trials of XGS-PON technology in two cities (Atlanta and Dallas), AT&T has gone live with high-speed broadband services delivered by the new generation access technology in dozens of US markets, including Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas/Fort Worth and Detroit.

AT&T says XGS-PON, an increasingly popular 10 GPON technology that can co-exist with existing GPON deployments, is now supporting services of up to 1 Gbit/s in 40 cities (see list below) and could ultimately be used to offer services of up to 10 Gbit/s.

The commercial deployment, currently limited in size in each market, comes more than two years after the operator announced it had completed successful trials of the technology in a network architecture that included a virtualized BNG (broadband network gateway) and managed by Open Source Access Manager Hardware Abstraction (OSAM-HA) software (previously referred to as VOLTHA – Virtual OLT Hardware Abstraction).

For more background on that virtualization process, see AT&T: SW-Defined Access Gets Real in 2018.

So are these commercial deployments based on the same model, with virtualized elements? AT&T is being coy. "AT&T continues to work with open communities such as ONF, ONAP and OCP to drive innovation, TTM [time to market] and cost improvements as we build next generation networks," it stated in an emailed response to questions.

And which technology partners are involved in the commercial deployments? "AT&T is utilizing multiple XGS-PON platforms that we have tested and certified over the past several years," noted the AT&T spokesman.

AT&T's approach to next-gen broadband, it should be noted, differs from Verizon's strategy: While AT&T is among a host of Tier 1 operators globally that are deploying XGS-PON technology for its PON evolution, Verizon is flying the flag for the currently much less popular option of NG-PON2. (See BBWN Bites: Verizon & Calix Hit 34 Gbps Over NG-PON2, Orange Adopts Controversial Approach to 10G PON and To NG-PON2 or XGS-PON, That Is the Question.)

The 40 markets where AT&T has deployed XGS-PON are:

• ATLANTA, GA
  
• AUGUSTA, GA
  
• AUSTIN, TX
  
• BIRMINGHAM (ANNISTON-TUSCALOOSA), AL
  
• CHARLOTTE, NC
  
• CHICAGO, IL
  
• CLEVELAND, OH
  
• COLUMBIA, SC
  
• COLUMBUS, GA
  
• DALLAS-FT. WORTH, TX
  
• DETROIT, MI
  
• EVANSVILLE, IN
  
• GREENSBORO-HIGH POINT-WINSTOM SALEM
  
• GREENVLLE-SPRTNBRG-ASHVILLE-ANDERSO
  
• HUNTSVILLE-DECATUR-FLORENCE, AL
  
• INDIANAPOLIS, IN
  
• JACKSONVILLE-BRUNSWICK, FL-GA
  
• KNOXVILLE, TN
  
• LAFAYETTE, LA
  
• LAKE CHARLES, LA
  
• LEXINGTON, KY
  
• LOS ANGELES, CA
  
• LOUISVILLE, KY
  
• LUBBOCK, TX
  
• MEMPHIS, TN
  
• MIAMI-FT. LAUDERDALE, FL
  
• MILWAUKEE, WI
  
• MOBILE-PENSACOLA, AL-FL
  
• NASHVILLE, TN
  
• NEW ORLEANS, LA
  
• OKLAHOMA CITY, OK
  
• ORLANDO-DAYTONA BEACH-MELBOURNE, FL
  
• RALEIGH-DURHAM, NC
  
• SACRAMENTO-STOCKTON-MODESTO, CA
  
• SAN ANTONIO, TX
  
• SAN DIEGO, CA
  
• SAN FRANCISCO-OAKLAND-SAN JOSE, CA
  
• SHREVEPORT, LA
  
• SOUTH BEND-ELKHART, IN
  
• WEST PALM BEACH-FT. PIERCE, FL
  
• WILMINGTON, NC

— Ray Le Maistre, Editor-in-Chief, Light Reading, special to Broadband World News