Alcatel-Lucent demos 10G GPON-based LTE backhaul

SEPTEMBER 8, 2009 -- During this year's Broadband World Forum Europe, Alcatel-Lucent is offering a demonstration of high-capacity 10G GPON backhaul for LTE wireless networks.

"Introducing our 10G GPON technology, we want to show that Alcatel-Lucent continues to be a pioneer in broadband, uniquely positioned to be the partner of choice along our customers' transformation process," says Philippe Keryer, president of Alcatel-Lucent's carrier activities. "At the same time, we want to put a particular focus on 10G GPON's co-existence with its 2.5G predecessor. After all, approximately 60%-70% of a PON investment relates to the service provider's outside plant -- so it is extremely important that the evolution to 10G GPON does not jeopardize today's investments. Deploying GPON today clearly continues to be a safe bet, a smooth migration path having been secured."

"Proving that 10G GPON is a viable upgrade path from today's 2.5G deployments -- and demonstrating its ability to function in mixed GPON environments -- eliminates two key long-term concerns for operators," comments Jeff Heynen, directing analyst, broadband and video, at Infonetics Research. "They don't want to strand their initial GPON investment nor do they want to cut over existing subscribers when they don't have to."