LightCounting said that in the past decade, ODN has played a key role in the extensive application and deployment of passive optical network, and the development work at this stage focuses on reducing the initial cost rather than increasing the function. Now, the industry is promoting the introduction of more advanced technologies into ODNs to reduce operational costs and improve the performance of access networks.

For more than 50 years, the "last mile" of telecom operators' access to the network consists of twisted pair copper cables. Each family has one cable, which is tied together in tree and branch physical structures. Cable operators use coaxial sheathed metal cables in similar tree and branch structures. Early internet services were provided through these now outdated technologies.

Since the beginning of the 21st century, the deployment of passive optical network has officially started to support the bundling of "triple play" services, in which faster network speed, lower latency and greater video bandwidth are key selling points. Different from the early access network, the "last mile" of the PON network uses point to multipoint optical fibers. One or a pair of optical fibers starts from the optical line terminal (OLT) and ends at the passive splitter located somewhere in the external equipment. Then several optical fibers connect to the equipment called optical network terminal (ONT) or optical network unit (ONU) or close to the personal residence from the outlet of the splitter. The optical fiber and splitter connecting OLT and its corresponding ONU are called optical distribution networks, or ODNs.

The first generation ODN (we call it ODN1) uses highly skilled technicians and expensive fusion machines for fusion, requiring a controlled environment, usually a truck, to prevent dust and other pollutants. Although expensive and time-consuming, this approach is beneficial for obtaining high-performance low loss optical links.

From around 2018, the second generation ODN (ODN2) will be deployed, using various pre connected components provided by Corning, CommScope, Huber+Suhner, Huawei, Fiberhome, Guhe and other companies. These products are described in ETSI TR 103 775 released in August 2021. The term "QuickODN" is used to describe the ODN built with pre connected components. The main advantage of ODN2 is that it does not require on-site fiber fusion, resulting in faster installation speed and lower cost.

In addition to pre connection, another major innovation of ODN2 is the use of barcodes or QR codes for each fiber and port, which can easily be input into intelligent databases to create a digital optical distribution network. This "Digital Quick ODN" uses the unique identity of ODN passive components to create intelligent management functions, such as automatic storage of fiber position information, automatic identification of fiber connections, fiber calibration information, and visual guidance for on-site operations.

The emergence of pre connected and digital labeled optical fibers, splitters, and fiber optic processing disks has significantly reduced the deployment time and costs of operators, but has not solved the problem of operational costs. Today, the third generation ODN (ODN3) is under development, aiming to address the operational cost issues of ODN by introducing technologies such as proactive, automated monitoring, and intelligence.

Using a certain optical monitoring system (such as reflection based), the intelligent management system will automatically identify and locate faults, accurate to specific fibers and ports in a single network element. Then provide this information to the network operation center and handheld devices held by on-site technical personnel. The benefits of being able to "see through" the 1xN splitter in ODN are very significant. The location of fiber optic interruption can be precise to each fiber, and unused ports and complete ports can be individually identified before service requests. Moreover, the uptime/downtime of services can be monitored at the level of a single ONU/ONT.

With FTTx becoming a mature network architecture in the head CSP, people have finally begun to focus on reducing operational costs through more precise and automated monitoring, which has become possible in the third generation ODN. LightCounting expects other suppliers to follow Huawei and develop products similar to rainbow films to supplement their product portfolio.

Information source: https://www.c-fol.net/news/211_202210/20221026093154.html