Verizon Field Test Shows Near-Gigabit Internet Transmissions

Verizon's FiOS fiber network has always been impressive and it has always been promising compared to standard coax networks.  The mere thought of having a fiber-optic link direct to your home has been quite appealing to many. But a few months ago, Verizon reportedly decided to pause, or halt altogether, their roll out of more FiOS locales. We're unsure if their plans are shifting, but it's clear that they still care about FiOS, and they're still taking to time to brag about the network they have created.

With all this talk about pushing broadband services to rural locations and the like, Verizon is talking about pushing even higher speed access to FiOS customers. The company recently completed a field trial where it delivered approximately 1 gigabit-per-second bandwidth to a customer on the currently deployed gigabit passive optical network in a live production FiOS network setting. Most modern computers have Gigabit Ethernet ports, and this test essentially proves that a FiOS connection could all but overwhelm that port. If Verizon made the Internet any faster, you would need a port capable of handling speeds on Internet2, which isn't exactly widely available to consumers.


Verizon's testing this in order to see what all they can fit through their pipes. They're a telecommunications giant, hosting Internet, TV and phone (not to mention wireless via Verizon Wireless). With services like 3DTV, desktop virtualization and remote storage, as well as wireless backhaul becoming more necessary, this test proves that FiOS is capable. Verizon's GPON platform supports a total throughput of 2.4 Gbps downstream and 1.2 Gbps upstream to customers connected to the PON.  This test successfully demonstrated the ability to serve customers on the FiOS network with Gigabit Ethernet (GigE) service. The throughput speeds were measured at 925 Mbps (megabits per second) to a local server and more than 800 Mbps to the regional test speed servers.  The customer's existing FiOS service was left in place, and showed no degradation in the voice, data or video services during this trial.


We don't know when Verizon plans on offering any of this to customers, but man, that'll be the day.

Verizon Demonstrates Near Gigabit-per-Second Throughput on Its Existing FiOS GPON Platform
 
Test Shows Current FiOS Network Offers Bandwidth Headroom to Meet Emerging Business and Consumer Needs

WALTHAM, Mass., Aug. 16 /PRNewswire/ -- Verizon has completed a field trial in which it delivered approximately 1 gigabit-per-second bandwidth to a customer on the currently deployed gigabit passive optical network in a live production FiOS network setting. This kind of capacity and versatility will enable Verizon to accommodate a wide array of new and emerging consumer and business services such as 3DTV, desktop virtualization and remote storage, as well as wireless backhaul for the next generation of wireless technologies.

Verizon's GPON platform supports a total throughput of 2.4 Gbps downstream and 1.2 Gbps upstream to customers connected to the PON.  This test successfully demonstrated the ability to serve customers on the FiOS network with Gigabit Ethernet (GigE) service.

The latest field trial was conducted in June in Taunton, using an existing GPON system developed by Motorola, a current supplier to Verizon of both BPON (broadband passive optical network) and GPON equipment.  The trial, conducted at an existing FiOS business customer location, was intended to demonstrate in a live network setting that currently deployed FiOS equipment can support higher bandwidth services and can deliver 1 Gbps without major change to the network.

"This kind of bandwidth capacity will provide Verizon the ability to continue to meet FiOS customers' needs by offering more bandwidth to support services such as 3DTV, ultra HDTV, multiplayer gaming and HD video conferencing," said Brian Whitton, executive director of Verizon's technology group.

The test involved bringing a new fiber connection from an existing operating GPON system at the company's Taunton call-switching office to a second optical network terminal (ONT) located at the business customer's facility.  The second ONT was provisioned for the new 1 Gbps service tier, and the speed was tested to a local speed test server over an optimized route, as well as across the public Internet to a regional speed test server located more than 400 miles away.  

The throughput speeds were measured at 925 Mbps (megabits per second) to a local server and more than 800 Mbps to the regional test speed servers.  The customer's existing FiOS service was left in place, and showed no degradation in the voice, data or video services during this trial.

"This trial demonstrated that the current architecture has sufficient headroom to allow for a progressive increase in capacity as needed by our residential and business customers on our current GPON platform, and validates our decision to support both residential and business services on the same platform," said Vincent O'Byrne, director of Verizon's technology organization, who managed the trial.a