Advantages of GPON

 

Factors such as the rise in bandwidth-intensive applications, smart cities, the proliferation of IoT, the widespread adoption of 5G, and GPON for mobile backhaul have made GPON and upcoming upgrades such as NG-PON2 the optical network of choice.

Gigabit passive optical networks are becoming more popular due to their many advantages, including:

• Energy efficient: As a passive system, GPON consumes very little power to operate. It is also 95% more energy efficient than copper networks.

• Cost-effective: As a direct result of the previous point, GPON requires very little energy to function, which reduces operational costs. It also does not require much IT support. This is another area where costs can be significantly reduced. Because GPON is a fiber optic system that can connect directly to multiple customers using splitter technology, it requires less equipment, making it a very efficient and cost-effective solution.

• High speed: Since speed is a key requirement for modern consumers and businesses, GPON ensures smooth traffic handling of up to 10/10 Gbit/s per subscriber and 40 Gbit/s throughput of the optical network.

• Secure: GPON uses the Advanced Encryption Standard to keep hackers at bay. It is also a closed circuit and the fiber optic signals are isolated, making it a very secure fiber optic network.

• Stable: One of the advantages of GPON is that it remains reliable and stable even in congested areas and with high traffic volumes. Bandwidth allocation to end users is always kept to a minimum, ensuring stable connections through the use of optical splitters. The inherent nature of optical fiber also means that it is free of electromagnetic and radio interference.

 

Disadvantages of GPON

GPON technology is useful, but it does have its drawbacks.

• Compared to P2P systems, GPON technology is based on dividing and sharing bandwidth among multiple users. This may not be ideal in a world of increasing bandwidth intensity, where multi-gigabit networks are gradually becoming the norm.

• Another drawback of GPON technology is that fiber optic cables are prone to bending, kinking, and breaking. Fiber optic cables are very sensitive to such physical deformations. Installation without proper alignment and protection can result in poor performance and subsequent failure.

Nevertheless, GPON continues to be the preferred choice of service providers and end users worldwide. It is the most complex, yet also the most reliable, cost-effective and easiest to install fiber optic cabling technology in the world and will continue to transform the era of ultra-high speed connectivity.