Huawei launches CloudFAN2.0
At MWC 2019, Huawei officially launched the CloudFAN2.0 solution for the 10G PON era. This solution is an upgrade of CloudFAN1.0 based on innovative 10G PON smooth evolution, enhanced network automation, artificial intelligence (AI), and big data.It helps operators implement smooth network evolution, zero-touch service provisioning, and intelligent O&M; build an experience-centric network; enable premium broadband; and profit from home broadband services in the 10G PON era.
At the 2016 World Broadband Forum, Huawei released CloudFAN1.0, which first specified a cloud-based evolution architecture for access networks. The solution focuses on improving network management and control efficiency, including automatic configuration and network slicing. Eighteen operators worldwide have deployed or are going to deploy CloudFAN1.0.
Huawei GIV 2025 estimates that there will be about 100 hundred billion connections by 2025 worldwide, and the Internet will cover 77% of the global population. Rapid large-scale application of new service models such as UHD video, Cloud VR, and cloud computing pose new requirements on bandwidth, latency, network O&M, and service experience, driving network evolution to 10G PON and user experience-centric transformation.
To address these new network requirements in the 10G PON era, Huawei launched CloudFAN2.0 through continuous joint innovation and experience verification with world-class operators. This solution meets operators’ network construction requirements using three key capabilities: ultra-broadband access, network automation, and intelligent O&M.
In terms of ultra-broadband access, this solution supports unified aggregation and access of various media, including copper lines, coaxial cables, and optical fibers at the remote end, in a variety of scenarios based on the full-fiber architecture. To solve the engineering deployment problem of upgrading GPON to 10G PON, Huawei launched the industry’s first 6-mode-in-1 Flex-PON2.0 solution.
One service board supports six PON technologies with the industry’s highest density and lowest power consumption. This helps operators achieve smooth upgrade, protect their investments, reduce TCO by 23% on average, and construct full-fiber access networks with the optimal per-bit TCO.
In terms of network automation, Huawei uses the Network Cloud Engine (NCE) to simplify configuration and management of massive access devices and the provisioning of massive services. The NCE enables configuration of remote devices to be stored on the cloud platform, implementing onsite plug-and-play and zero-touch service provisioning, and improving deployment efficiency.
This removes onsite deployment requirements of ONT service provisioning, greatly improving provisioning efficiency of home broadband services. Network abstraction shields differences of lower-layer line access media, helping operators accelerate new device OSS integration from years to months and shorten service rollout time by 30%. In addition, Huawei introduces the programmable mechanism to support customised processing flows for operators, quickly constructing diverse services and improving competitiveness.
In terms of O&M, Huawei innovatively uses AI and big data technologies to transform O&M from its traditional complaint-driven process into an intelligent system. This includes second-level monitoring and playback of network performance, real-time experience visualisation, accurate fault locating, and identification of users with poor experience. These new features help operators improve the O&M efficiency greatly, reducing onsite troubleshooting visits, decreasing the user churn rate significantly, building high-quality networks, and improving user experience.
Jeffery Zhou, president of Huawei Access Network, said, “The rapid development of 4K/8K and VR/AR video services and continuous decrease of per-bit network costs accelerate evolution of the fiber broadband access industry to 10G PON. Huawei CloudFAN2.0 upgrades the asymmetric GPON technology to the symmetric 10G PON technology to enhance user experience, meeting symmetrical high bandwidth and low latency requirements in home scenarios.
This solution uses automation and cloudification technologies to greatly improve automatic service provisioning of massive access devices, and uses AI and big data to improve user experience and significantly reduce network O&M costs, helping operators build world-leading access networks and realising a positive business cycle for home broadband services.”
As a world-class ultra-broadband solutions provider, Huawei continues to lead technological innovation, collaborate with industry organisations to promote development of the full-fiber access industry, help operators construct ultra-broadband access networks centred on user experience, and build differentiated competitiveness. Huawei has already helped more than 30 leading operators worldwide deploy large-scale 10G PON networks, and has delivered 1.3 million 10G PON ports, ranking No. 1 globally.
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