Openreach and Nokia have successfully tested the UK’s first live 50Gbps broadband connection, using technology that can deliver speeds twenty times faster than the fastest broadband services available in the UK today.
During a field test conducted from a residential property in Ipswich, the new Nokia '50G PON' technology achieved very fast download speeds of 41.9Gbps and upload speeds of 20.6Gbps.
The test was run over a section of Openreach's existing full fibre network, which is already available to more than 17 million premises across the UK, demonstrating that the current fibre network is future proof.
The 'hyperfast' service was shown to excel in simultaneous tests over a trial XGS-PON network - a faster version of Openreach's current network that supports higher symmetric speeds.
The successful trial highlights the potential for a wide range of future services and transformative benefits for both homes and businesses: higher speeds and greater bandwidth will be crucial for accelerating innovation in healthcare, driving the next wave of entertainment, alongside boosting industries, smart cities and remote working.
Future deployments of 10Gbps, 25Gbps and 50Gbps capable broadband will help to open up these possibilities.
Trevor Linney, Director, Network Technology at Openreach said: “The full fibre network we’re building today is a platform for the UK’s economic, social and environmental prosperity, and this test proves we can keep upgrading the speeds and services our customers experience over that network into the future.”
Sandy Motley, President Nokia Fixed Networks added: “Our platform provides operators like Openreach with a full range of PON technologies and services that can be delivered over their existing fibre network.”
