ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Telecommunication Company Ltd (PTCL), in collaboration with Huawei, conducted the country’s first trial of Symmetric 50G-PON technology that will help implement next-generation fibre-optic broadband services in Pakistan.

Symmetric 50G-PON can provide 50 Gbps connectivity in downstream and upstream transmission simultaneously. It has an edge over the Asymmetric 50 G-PON, which supports 50 Gbps in downstream transmission only.

PTCL also inaugurated Asymmetric 50G-PON for the very first time in Pakistan at the beginning of the year.

ITU-T recognises 50 GPON as the next frontier in Passive Optical Network-based broadband technology, which is poised to revolutionise Pakistan’s digital landscape.

This advancement will support reshaping future demands across industries, enterprises, businesses, campuses, and residential settings with low-latency next-generation services.

Key applications and services enabled by this technology include innovations like Holographic Technologies, XR-based Metaverses integration in domestic and professional domains, Smart Manufacturing leveraging 3D Machine Vision, Remote Surgery and Medical Clinics, and High-Performance Gaming, etc.

A notable feature of 50G-PON technology is its seamless coexistence with GPON and XG(S)-PON over the same physical and passive optical network infrastructure.

This capability shall empower PTCL to offer significantly enhanced broadband speeds to its customers through on-demand service upgrade requests.

Group Chief Technology and Information Officer (GCTIO) at PTCL & Ufone 4G, Jafar Khalid expressed his enthusiasm for this milestone, stating, “PTCL has achieved yet another remarkable milestone with the successful trial of 50G-PON Symmetric technology in Pakistan.

Published in Dawn, June 21st, 2024