ETSI GR F5G 001 V1.1.1 (2020-12)

Fifth Generation Fixed Network (F5G); F5G Generation Definition Release #1

DGR/F5G-001_Generations

General Information

• Status: Not Published
• Technical Committee: F5G - Fifth Generation Fixed Network
• Current Stage: 12 - Completion
• Due Date: 25-Dec-2020
• Completion Date: 03-Dec-2020

Standards Content (Sample)

GROUP REPORT
Fifth Generation Fixed Network (F5G);
F5G Generation Definition Release #1
Disclaimer
The present document has been produced and approved by the Fifth Generation Fixed Network ETSI Industry Specification
Group (ISG) and represents the views of those members who participated in this ISG.
It does not necessarily represent the views of the entire ETSI membership.

Release #1 2 ETSI GR F5G 001 V1.1.1 (2020-12)

Reference
DGR/F5G-001_Generations
Keywords
definitions, fixed networks, F5G

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Contents
Intellectual Property Rights . 4
Foreword . 4
Modal verbs terminology . 4
Introduction . 4
1 Scope . 5
2 References . 5
2.1 Normative references . 5
2.2 Informative references . 5
3 Definition of terms, symbols and abbreviations . 6
3.1 Terms . 6
3.2 Symbols . 7
3.3 Abbreviations . 7
4 Overview . 9
5 Generations definition . 10
5.1 Historical fixed networks evolution . 10
5.1.1 Introduction. 10
5.1.2 The first generation . 10
5.1.3 The second generation . 10
5.1.4 The third generation . 10
5.1.5 The fourth generation. 11
5.1.6 The fifth generation . 11
5.2 Networks generations landscape . 12
5.2.1 Introduction. 12
5.2.2 Fixed networks . 12
5.2.3 Cable networks . 15
5.2.4 Mobile networks . 16
5.3 Fixed networks characterization/requirements . 17
5.3.1 General . 17
5.3.2 Principles of intergenerational division . 17
5.3.2.0 Introduction . 17
5.3.2.1 Services . 17
5.3.2.2 Technology characteristics . 18
5.3.3 Definition of F5G . 18
5.3.3.1 F5G services and business drivers . 18
5.3.3.2 F5G technology characteristics and representative technologies . 21
History . 26

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Intellectual Property Rights
Essential patents
IPRs essential or potentially essential to normative deliverables may have been declared to ETSI. The information
pertaining to these essential IPRs, if any, is publicly available for ETSI members and non-members, and can be found
in ETSI SR 000 314: "Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs); Essential, or potentially Essential, IPRs notified to ETSI in
respect of ETSI standards", which is available from the ETSI Secretariat. Latest updates are available on the ETSI Web
server (https://ipr.etsi.org/).
Pursuant to the ETSI IPR Policy, no investigation, including IPR searches, has been carried out by ETSI. No guarantee
can be given as to the existence of other IPRs not referenced in ETSI SR 000 314 (or the updates on the ETSI Web
server) which are, or may be, or may become, essential to the present document.
Trademarks
The present document may include trademarks and/or tradenames which are asserted and/or registered by their owners.
ETSI claims no ownership of these except for any which are indicated as being the property of ETSI, and conveys no
right to use or reproduce any trademark and/or tradename. Mention of those trademarks in the present document does
not constitute an endorsement by ETSI of products, services or organizations associated with those trademarks.
Foreword
This Group Report (GR) has been produced by ETSI Industry Specification Group (ISG) Fifth Generation Fixed
Network (F5G).
Modal verbs terminology
In the present document "should", "should not", "may", "need not", "will", "will not", "can" and "cannot" are to be
interpreted as described in clause 3.2 of the ETSI Drafting Rules (Verbal forms for the expression of provisions).
"must" and "must not" are NOT allowed in ETSI deliverables except when used in direct citation.
Introduction
The present document investigates the historical evolution path of fixed networks, including aggregation, access and
customer on-premises networks. Their main characteristics are identified, including technology basis and performance
levels. These can be used to demarcate different generations of fixed networks. Typical examples for each generation
(relevant standards and deployments, relevant use cases) are provided.

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1 Scope
In the past, the lack of a clear fixed network generation definition has prevented a wider technology standards adoption
and prevented the creation and use of global mass markets. The success of the mobile and cable networks deployments,
supported by clear specifications related to particular technological generations, has shown how important this
generation definition is.
th
The focus of the 5 generation fixed networks (F5G) specifications is on telecommunication networks which consist
fully of optical fibre elements up to the connection serving locations (user, home, office, base station, etc.). That being ®
said, the connection to some terminals can still be assisted with wireless technologies (for instance, Wi-Fi ).
The main assumption behind the present document foresees that, in the near future, all the fixed networks will adopt
end-to-end fibre architectures: Fibre to Everywhere.
The present document addresses the history of fixed networks and summarizes their development paths and driving
forces. The factors that influence the definition of fixed, cable and mobile network generations will be analysed. Based
upon this, the business and technology characteristics of F5G will be considered.
2 References
2.1 Normative references
Normative references are not applicable in the present document.
2.2 Informative references
References are either specific (identified by date of publication and/or edition number or version number) or
non-specific. For specific references, only the cited version applies. For non-specific references, the latest version of the
referenced document (including any amendments) applies.
NOTE: While any hyperlinks included in this clause were valid at the time of publication, ETSI cannot guarantee
their long term validity.
The following referenced documents are not necessary for the application of the present document but they assist the
user with regard to a particular subject area.
[i.1] IEEE 802.11™ series: "Wireless Local Area Networks (WLAN)".
[i.2] Recommendation ITU-T I.100-I.699 series: "ISDN".
[i.3] Recommendation ITU-T G.992.x series: "Asymmetric digital subscriber (ADSL) transceivers".
[i.4] Recommendation ITU-T G.993.x series: "Very high speed digital subscriber line transceivers 2
(VDSL2)".
[i.5] Recommendation ITU-T G.984.x series: "Gigabit-capable passive optical networks (GPON)".
[i.6] Recommendation ITU-T G.9701: "Fast access to subscriber terminals (G.fast) - Physical layer
specification".
[i.7] Recommendation ITU-T G.987.x series: "10-Gigabit-capable passive optical networks
(XG-PON)".
[i.8] Recommendation ITU-T G.9807.x series: "10-Gigabit-capable symmetric passive optical network
(XGS-PON)".
[i.9] Recommendation ITU-T J.112 series: "Transmission systems for interactive cable television
services".
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[i.10] Recommendation ITU-T J.122 series: "Second-generation transmission systems for interactive
cable television services - IP cable modems".
[i.11] Recommendation ITU-T J.222 series: "Third-generation transmission systems for interactive cable
television services - IP cable modems".
[i.12] Recommendation ITU-T J.225 series: "Fourth-generation transmission systems for interactive
cable television services - IP cable modems".
[i.13] Recommendation ITU-T J.224 series: "Fifth-generation transmission systems for interactive cable
television services - IP cable modems".
[i.14] 3GPP TS 45 series: "GSM radio specifications series".
[i.15] 3GPP TS 25 series: "UMTS radio specifications series".
[i.16] 3GPP TS 36 series: "LTE radio specifications series" (if only LTE radio access technology is
covered).
[i.17] 3GPP TS 37 series: "LTE radio specifications series" (if UMTS or GERAN radio access
technologies are also covered).
[i.18] 3GPP TS 38 series: "5G new radio specifications series".
[i.19] Recommendation ITU-T G.702: "Digital hierarchy bit rates".
[i.20] Recommendation ITU-T G.707: "Network node interface for the synchronous digital hierarchy
(SDH)".
[i.21] Recommendation ITU-T Y.1731: "OAM functions and mechanisms for Ethernet based networks".
[i.22] Recommendation ITU-T G.996.x series: "Unified high-speed wireline-based home networking
transceivers)".
[i.23] IEEE 802.1ag™: "Connectivity Fault Management".
[i.24] IEEE 1901™ series: "Power Line Communications for Smart Grid Applications".
3 Definition of terms, symbols and abbreviations
3.1 Terms
For the purposes of the present document, the following terms apply:
Aggregation Network (AggN): telecommunication network segment that connects the Optical Access Network (OAN)
and the Core Network or Data Centres, which comprises the IP Network (IPN) and/or the Optical Transport Network
(OTN)
auto-healing: ability of systems or environments to detect and resolve problems automatically
NOTE: Sometimes also known as self-healing.
C-band: optical "Conventional wavelength-band" (1 530-1 565 nm)
closed-loop: refers to network automation and management capabilities that use (big) data and analytics to monitor and
access network events (such as faults and congestion) and act appropriately to correct any issues
NOTE: Usually known as closed-loop automation.
Continuous Integration/Continuous Delivery (CI/CD): set of operating principles and a collection of practices that
enable application development teams to deliver code changes more frequently and reliably
NOTE: Also known as CI/CD pipeline, it is an agile methodology best practice for DevOps teams to implement.
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Customer Premises Network (CPN): telecommunication network segment that comprises the customer on-premises
locations and its equipment and infrastructureswhere the network terminal equipment and the end-user customer
premises equipment are connected via the CPN
digital twin: digital replica of a living or a non-living physical entity, i.e. a virtual model
NOTE: Digital twins integrate artificial intelligence, machine learning and software analytics with spatial network
graphs. This integration creates a living digital simulation model that updates as their physical
counterparts change. Digital twins are being used to optimize the operation and maintenance of physical
assets and systems.
End-to-End (E2E) slicing: refers to running multiple virtualized and independent logical networks on the same
physical network infrastructure where each network slice is an isolated end-to-end network tailored to fulfil the diverse
requirements of a particular application
IP Network (IPN): telecommunication network segment that uses the Internet Protocol (IP) for network layer
communication between network nodes/equipment
L-band: optical "Long wavelength-band" (1 565-1 625 nm)
Optical Access Network (OAN): optical telecommunication network segment that gives the end-user access to the
telecommunications service and connects the Customer Premises Network (CPN) to the Aggregation and Transport
Network (ATN)
Optical Transport Network (OTN): optical telecommunication network segment comprised by a set of optical
network nodes/equipment connected through optical fibres that provide the functionality of transport, multiplexing,
switching, management, supervision and survivability of the optical channels carrying the end-user's client signals
NOTE: Also known as Optical Transportation Network.
3.2 Symbols
Void.
3.3 Abbreviations
For the purposes of the present document, the following abbreviations apply:
ADM Add-Drop Multiplexer
ADSL Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line
AggN Aggregation Network
AI Artificial Intelligence
AMPS Advanced Mobile Phone System
API Application Programming Interface
ATM Asynchronous Transfer Mode
C450 C-Netz 450 MHz analog cellular network
CAT Category
CATV Community Antenna Television
CCAP Converged Cable Access Platform
CCTV Closed-Circuit Television
CDMA Code Division Multiple Access
CMTS Cable Modem Termination System
CO CentralOffice
CPN Customer Premises Network
CRAN Cloud-RAN (sometimes referred also as Centralized-RAN)
CS Circuit Switching
CSFB CS Fall Back
DC Data Centre
D-CCAP Distributed-CCAP
DOCSIS Data Over Cable Service Interface Specification
DRAN Distributed-RAN
DSL Digital SubscriberLine
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DSLAM Digital Subscriber Line Access Multiplexer
DWDM Dense WDM
E2E End-to-End
EDGE Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution
eFBB enhanced Fixed Broadband
F4G Fixed Fourth Generation
F5G Fixed Fifth Generation
FDD Frequency-Division Duplexing
FDM Frequency Division Multiplexing
FFC Full-Fibre Connection
FOADM Fixed Optical ADM
FTTB Fibre To The Building
FTTC Fibre To The Curb
FTTD Fibre To The Desk
FTTdp Fibre To The distribution point
FTTH Fibre To The Home
FTTLA Fibre To The Last Amplifier/Active
FTTM Fibre To The Machine
FTTO Fibre To The Office
FTTR Fibre To The Room
FTTx Fibre To The x
G.fast Gigabit fast access to subscriber terminals
GERAN GSM Edge RAN
GPON Gigabit Passive Optical Network
GPRS General Packet Radio Service
GRE Guaranteed Reliable Experience
GSM Global System for Mobile communications
HD High-Definition (video) - resolution of 1 366 x 768 pixels
HFC Hybrid Fibre-Coaxial
HPNA Home Phoneline Network Alliance
HSI High-Speed Internet
HSPA High-Speed Packet Access
HW Hardware
IMT International Mobile Telecommunications
IP Internet Protocol
IPTV Internet Protocol Television
IS Interim Standard
ISDN Integrated Services Digital Network
IT Information Technology
LAN Local Area Network
LTE Long Term Evolution
MIMO Multiple-Input Multiple-Output
MMS Multimedia Messaging Service
MoCA Multimedia over Coax Alliance
MPLS Multiprotocol Label Switching
MS-OTN Multi-Service OTN
MSTP MultiService Transport Platform
MU-MIMO Multi-User MIMO
NFV Network Functions Virtualisation
NGA Next-Generation Access network
NG-PON Next-Generation PON
NMT Nordic Mobile Telephone
NR New Radio
O&M Operation & Management
OAN Optical Access Network
ODN Optical Distribution Network
OFDM Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing
OFDMA Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access
OLT Optical Line Termination
OTN Optical Transport Network
OXC Optical Cross-Connect
PaaS Platform as a Service
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PDH Plesiochronous Digital Hierarchy
PON Passive Optical Network
PS Packet Switching
PSTN Public Switched Telephone Network
QoE Quality of Experience
QoS Quality of Service
R Release
RAN Radio Access Network
RF Radio Frequency
ROADM Reconfigurable Optical ADM
ROI Return On Investment
SDH Synchronous Digital Hierarchy
SDN Software-Defined Networking
SD-WAN Software-Defined networking WAN
SLA Service Level Agreement
SME Small and Medium-sized Enterprise
SMS Short Messaging Service
SOHO Small Office Home Office
SONET Synchronous Optical Networking
SW Software
TACS Total Access Communication System
TDD Time-Division Duplexing
TSN Time-Sensitive Networking
TV Television
UHD Ultra-High Definition (video) - resolution of 3 840 x 160 pixels
UMTS Universal Mobile Telecommunications System
VDSL Very high-speed Digital Subscriber Line
VPN Virtual Private Network
VR Virtual Reality
WAN Wide Area Network
WCDMA Wideband CDMA
WDM Wavelength Division Multiplexing ®
Wireless Fidelity
Wi-Fi
XG-PON 10-Gigabit-capable PON (also known as asymmetric 10G-PON)
XGS-PON 10-Gigabit-capable Symmetric PON (also known as symmetric 10G-PON)
4 Overview
At the time of publication, half of the world's 2 billion households have been connected to at least one fixed broadband
network, and a lot of companies, enterprises, vertical industries and institutions rely on broadband networks to conduct
operations and services. Broadband development has become a strong indicator of national economic progress. Being
the cornerstone of global economic and technological development, fixed networks have become an indispensable part
of political and economic life worldwide. The introduction of optical fibre communication technology has transformed
the communications network. Since then, the global network has been exponentially expanding. It can be observed that
the network has experienced five generations of technologies and capabilities: voice, broadband, ultra-broadband,
100 Mbit/s optical fibre broadband, and 1 000 Mbit/s optical fibre broadband, and is increasingly vigorous and
th
changing. The present document will explore the historical evolution path of fixed network and define details of the 5
generation.
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5 Generations definition
5.1 Historical fixed networks evolution
5.1.1 Introduction
th
Since the 19 century, the fixed network has developed for more than 100 years, from dedicated networks to each kind
of service (voice, data, text) to the era of digital that enabled convergence of many services in the same network. Fibre
technologies played an essential role in this evolution expanding network capacity and capabilities. This evolution can
be mapped in five generations and more are yet to come in a flourishing ecosystem.
5.1.2 The first generation
The first generation of fixed networks were telephone networks. This period was from the birth of the telephone
th
network until the end of the 20 century, and lasted for more than a century. The services were mainly audio services,
while the application experience was no more than a dial-up call. Global communications experts worked together to
establish a complete telephone network infrastructure, with a network architecture and control signaling suitable for a
global network. The era of globalized telecommunication started. During this period, data services had their initial first
steps using dial-up access and ISDN [i.2]; however, the technology was still voice band carrier, and progress was very
slow in general.
5.1.3 The second generation
The fixed network entered the broadband era from the second generation. From the 1990's to the 2000's, the fixed
network entered the second generation, which was the prelude of the broadband era and the high-speed development
period of the fixed network. The Internet rapidly and globally developed in this era, with the wide adoption of personal
computers and web browsers. Web browsing, email, and search engine became important applications of the fixed
network. ADSL [i.3] technology also revitalized the 100-year-old copper line network and provided access rates of
2-20 Mbit/s via a system that was data-oriented. The global mainstream ADSL broadband network construction lasted
for ten years from 1998 to 2008.
5.1.4 The third generation
Internet applications and broadband networks led to the third generation of fixed networks. Since 2005, leading
operators had started to provide triple-play services that integrated telephone, Internet access, and video applications
based on broadband networks. Carrier-class video services had become an important driving force for the development
of broadband networks. Due to bandwidth restrictions, the ADSL network in the early stage supported only video
services with standard resolution.
In 2008, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) officially redefined the "broadband" as 25 Mbit/s or higher.
In 2010, Europe announced the EU2020 and Digital Europe Plan, which defined the goal of 30 Mbit/s full coverage for
the broadband network in Europe. The world had officially entered the third generation of fixed networks, that was
called NGA (Next Generation Access network) era.
In this era, both fixed network services and network architecture were undergoing significant changes. IPTV became a
powerful tool for carriers to improve market share and service differentiation. In terms of network architecture, the
traditional ADSL technology carried over the original telephone network could not support the "new broadband"
service of over 25 Mbit/s. Therefore, operators had to adopt the "fibre-deep" network architecture and introduce the new
VDSL [i.4] technology on the twisted pair cable to achieve higher speed. The optical fibre communication technology,
born in the 1970s, was applied to the access network for the first time to implement the FTTx network architecture, e.g.
FTTC (Fibre To The Curb) and FTTB (Fibre To The Building). The original Central Office for copper line access was
gradually reconstructed as the Central Office for optical fibre access. Based on the FTTC and FTTB architecture,
operators also introduced enhanced copper-based technologies like VDSL2 and VDSL vectoring to reuse the twisted
pair wire on the last mile and provide access bandwidths up to 100 Mbit/s. This provided the balance between higher
bandwidth demand and the cost of implementing full fibre-based network architecture.
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5.1.5 The fourth generation
4K HD and fibre broadband signaled the arrival of the fourth generation of fixed networks. Around 2010, copper cables
were being replaced by optical fibres through the continuous efforts of global broadband operators. The optical
broadband access technology represented by GPON [i.5] had made great progress (over 100 million lines deployed).
The FTTH (Fibre To The Home) network construction and business operation of leading operators in Europe, US and
Eastern Asia, are good examples for this development.
The continuous development of broadband services had once again become an important driving force for the
development of broadband networks. For example, in 2012, the BBC officially broadcasted the London Olympic
Games in 4K HD signal format. In 2014, the world's first 4K HD channel was officially launched in South Korea,
representing the beginning of the 4K HD era. 4K HD brought unprecedented viewing experience to global broadband
users and also posed new challenges to broadband networks. Carrier-grade broadband networks were required to
provide stable access capabilities of 100 Mbit/s or higher.
The optical access network, with its advantages of high bandwidth, stability, simplified architecture, and long-term
development, had become the most competitive target network in the eyes of global operators. The fourth generation
fixed networks construction had also been fully carried out. A series of national broadband plans in Asia Pacific,
Middle East, Europe and North America have been released with the goal of building national fibre broadband
networks, and promoting the development of global fibre networks. By 2014, the number of global FTTH users has
reached 200 million.
Meanwhile, as a supplement to FTTH, twisted pair wire technology made another step forward. Super-vectoring and
G.fast [i.6] can provide access bandwidth up to 500 Mbit/s over the twisted pair wire, with the usual trade-off of speed
and distance.
5.1.6 The fifth generation
With the continuous expansion of optical broadband deployment, the entire industry has ushered in the fifth-generation
fixed network, which is marked by ultra-high bandwidth (~1 Gb/s), extensive optical connections (all-fibre), and in-
depth service experience.
FTTH networks are booming worldwide. According to OVUM, by the first half of 2020, 650 million FTTH users,
accounting for over half of all fixed broadband users, have been registered worldwide. In the next few years, with the
continuous development of global information technology, optical broadband networks will continue to develop rapidly.
It is estimated that 750 million households will have implemented optical access by 2023. The development of optical
broadband networks is increasing not only the number of users but also their access speed. In these FTTH networks,
more than 200 operators in nearly 60 countries have launched commercial gigabit home broadband services. The world
th
has entered the 5 generation fibre broadband era.
F5G was introduced into the home market first. HD video services have become an irresistible trend. As an indicator of
video service quality, live sports have been leading the development of video services. With the changes brought by the
video referees of the 2018 World Cup in Russia, the first 8K HD live broadcast has also set a new standard for live
sports. The high resolution, high color gamut, high frame rate, and large dynamic range of 8K videos will refresh the
video experience and increase service expectations once again. The price of an 8K TV set is close to 15 000 $ currently,
but will decline very rapidly. This will bring a new round of consumption upgrade for mass market customers. The
gigabit, low-latency, and high reliable broadband network is the basis for fully deploying 8K HD video services.
At the same time, Virtual Reality (VR) services figure very prominently in carriers' business plans. Different from
screen-based video services, VR services bring a brand-new video experience with full-view and immersive features,
and a breakthrough of content interactivity. Leading carriers expect VR services to be regarded as the next-generation
IPTV services. South Korean carriers have released carrier-class VR services based on gigabit networks in 2018.
China's three major operators are also actively planning to launch VR services and develop millions of VR users by
2020. The gigabit network-based HD video communication will also interface with voice control and smart home
systems.
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The gigabit access capability of the fifth-generation fixed broadband network not only serves home users, but will be
extended to the entire telecom market, bringing transformation to every facet of society. Fibre broadband will be
extended from large enterprises to small and medium enterprises and companies to provide them with fast private line
interconnection and cloud access. Fibre broadband will be extended from dedicated education networks to offices,
classrooms, laboratories, teachers' offices, student dormitories, and even desks. This will cover all levels of education,
from colleges and universities to secondary schools, primary schools, and professional education institutions. Teachers
and students will be able to use various teaching methods, such as cloud-based education, online learning, offline
learning, cloud-based textbooks, cloud-based notes, and multimedia teaching to implement book-free education. Fibre
broadband will be available in many hotels, providing business travelers with anytime, anywhere office experience
when traveling. Fibre broadband will be deployed cross industries, like in factories, mines, docks, and oilfields to
implement industrial automation. Automation machinery and robots with precise control will replace manual labor,
achieving efficient and automated unmanned factories.
In summary, compared with the fourth-generation's 100 Mbit/s fibre broadband, the fifth-generation fibre broadband
will provide 10 times more bandwidth and 100 times more connection from people to things. It will create an
ultra-broadband application experience featuring high reliability and near zero wait time, fully realizing the digital
transformation of the entire industry.
5.2 Networks generations landscape
5.2.1 Introduction
This clause will analyse and characterize the different technology generations in the major network types: fixed telecom
(copper and fibre), mobile and cable.
In figure 1, the proposed approach is illustrated. The objective is to represent the technology evolution cycles for at least
the last 30/40 years. A special emphasis will be placed on standards.
1G 2G 3G 4G 5G
MOBILE
FIXED F1G F2G F3G F4G F5G
1.0 1.1 2.0 3.0 3.1 4.0
CABLE
Figure 1: Networks generations
As it can be seen, the current large scale adoption and last stage of technology evolution is the fifth one, in all the major
three types of networks (the sixth one is just starting to be prepared). But, this said, the technology implementation
landscape over the world in general and, even Europe in particular, is not quite homogeneous.
The access technologies play an important role in the definition of generations since its characteristics are a key enabler
to the services that can be delivered to the end customer. Networks tend to use similar infrastructures and technologies
in the bearer networks and even progressively share common service platforms, but in the end, it is the access network
capabilities that end users can recognize make the difference in the availability and quality of services to users.
In the next clauses, the characterization of the different technology types will be detailed and structured.
5.2.2 Fixed networks
Fixed telecom networks comprise solutions either for copper cables and fibre cables technologies, where the end users
remain at the same location to use the delivered services.
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In the beginning, fixed networks were designed for delivering voice services to consumers via copper networks.
th
Copper networks evolved throughout the 20 century to deliver also video and broadband content as well, supported
mainly on DSL (Digital Subscriber Line) technologies and later on G.fast.
st
In the beginning of the 21 century, fibre networks started to be deployed on the access network, especially with PON
(Passive Optical Networks) point-to-multipoint technologies, initially with GPON and later with 10G-PON technologies
([i.7], [i.8]).
Meanwhile, Next Generation PON technologies (NG-PON) began to be researched and developed.
All these technologies can be mapped to a certain generation.
The five generations of fixed broadband have not developed at a constant pace. The infrastructure and its deployment
have become an important constraint to broadband development. The first generation with voice services lasted for
more than a century, for example, while ADSL lasted only a decade.
Based on the international copper line telephone network infrastructure established in the first-generation, the second-
generation fixed network could realize the transition from narrowband to broadband by replacing only network
th
equipment at the network and customer premises, which was every economical and quick. In the early 20 century,
global major operators have implemented fixed broadband networks in just four or five years.
rd
The original copper line telephone network could not support the 3 generation of systems. Both the third generation,
"fibre-deep", and the fourth generation, "all-optical broadband," required major adjustment of the infrastructure. A large
number of access optical fibres needed to be laid out in the existing infrastructure, replacing the copper cables. These
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two generations of fixed networks had been developing for 8 to 10 years. Over time, 3 generation networks fiberized
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the feeder portions of the network, while 4 generation networks fiberized the distribution and drop portions. Global
carriers faced many economic challenges and the Return On Investment (ROI) was insufficient and the payback period
was too long. Therefore, the development of fixed networks around the world has happened at a deliberate pace. The
good news is that once the network is fiberrized, one can look forward to another century of use of this infrastructure.
th
The 5th generation fixed network is based on the 4 generation's 100 Mbit/s optical fibre broadband. At this time,
optical fibres have been largely extended to homes, broadband applications are continuously enriched, and content
quality is continuously increasing. The information technology development requirements of various industries have
been increasing sharply. The infrastructure is either in place or needs minor extension. Especially for home broadband,
only network device upgrade is needed to improve service experience significantly. Operators are facing the
"singularity" of fixed network investment and the golden age of fixed network development will come again.
• Aggregation network technology evolution.
The evolution of the fixed access network technologies was running in parallel with the evolution of the aggregation
network, that being a fixed network asset, also supported the evolution of mobile and cable networks.
This aggregation network evolved from FDM (Frequency Division Multiplexing) in the very beginning to PDH,
introduced by Recommendation ITU-T G.702 [i.19] in the 1970s and designed to support digital voice channels running
at 64 kbps. Different country/regions adopted PDH with different hierarchy schemes like T-1 and E-1. The maximum
transmission speed supported by PDH was 564 Mbps and was used for many years.
With the common deployment of optical technologies, SDH is standardized as Recommendation ITU-T G.707 [i.20] in
the 1990s to meet the interoperability and bandwidth requirements from telecom operators. Still, SDH was not the only
optical technology. SONET was adopted by North America. The typical line speeds of SDH/SONET were
155 Mbps/622 Mbps/2,5 Gbps/10 Gbps at that time.
The first WDM system was launched in 1992. There were up to 32 λ (lambdas) supported in a single fibre. FOADM was
later developed to add/drop optical signals.
OTN was designed as an international standard in early 2000s. But it was not widely deployed at that time. On the
contrary, SDH was reborn with MSTP which supports the transportation of Ethernet, ATM and other data traffic types.
The optical transmission speed was up to 40 Gbps. WDM could support up to 80 λ (lambdas) and ROADM was
introduced.
From the 2010s, the 100 Gbps line speed was commercially deployed. MS-OTN started to emerge. Meanwhile, telecom
operators started to abandon SDH/SONET networks.
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Release #1 14 ETSI GR F5G 001 V1.1.1 (2020-12)
To support high volumes of data traffic, 200 Gbps and 400 Gbps DWDM started to be deployed from operators'
backbone network down to the metro network. Optical switching architecture started to evolve from ROADM to OXC.
Earlier on, there were no specific aggregation networking technologies being deployed, but the technologies used were
the transport network technologies. See clause 5.2.1 for more details. Later, several operators have moved towards a
specific aggregation network segment using different kinds of packet network technologies including IP, Carrier
Ethernet and MPLS. The reason for going packet was the possibility to have easier multiplexing gains in the
aggregation segment and operators were able to choose their aggregation capacity and therefore their service quality for
subscribers more freely. Also the end-user services were packet based anyway, therefore such a packet based
aggregation network was adopted to save some of the conversions required otherwise.
Over the years, several generations of different interface capacities have been deployed running over different types of
optical communication channels. Different carrier specific functionalities for the aggregation networks have been
developed, for example, the provider backbone bridges (IEEE 802.1ad™ and IEEE 802.1ah™ [i.1]), link aggregation
(IEEE 802.1ax™ [i.1]) and operations features (see IEEE 802.1ag™ [i.23]/Recommendation ITU-T Y.1731 [i.21]).
Also note that Ethernet has been offered as a business service to enterprise customers having Ethernet over MPLS for
different Ethernet as a service models (E-Line, E-LAN and E-Tree by the Metro Ethernet Forum).
Anyway, the evolution of the aggregation network segment for a F5G architecture still needs some further study.
• Customer premises network technology evolution.
The concept of Customer Premise Network (CPN) originated from the demand of access network and CPN which
shares an indoor copper wiring since the appearance of broadband access technologies. Before mobile computing
(2003) and smartphone (2007) being widely used, wireline technologies were used in CPN, such as HomePNA (HPNA)
over phone line, MoCA over coaxial cable, IEEE P1901™ [i.24] over power line and G.hn [i.22] (Recommendation
ITU-T G.996.x series) (for both phone line, coaxial cable and power line), which provided speeds from several Mbit/s
to multiple Gbit/s (now).
Since 2007, the demand for wireless connection rapidly expanded from computers to smart terminals such as
® ®
smartphones and tablets, and WiFi technology quickly became the mainstream technology for CPN. Till now WiFi
has gone through six generations from WiFi1 to WiFi6, and new unlicensed spectrum was marked, including
2,41~2,48 GHz, 5,125-5,925 GHz. The corresponding capability of these technologies ranges from several megabits of
WiFi1 to a maximum of 10 Gbit/s of WiFi 6, and support more and more applications.
The path to F5G will require not only changes in the access technologies but also in the aggregation network and
customer premises network. The fact that this evolution will be based on a full optical communication, end-to-end,
opens new opportunities for increasing the synergies between access and aggregation networks.
ETSI
Release #1 15 ETSI GR F5G 001 V1.
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