KPN introduces PON technology for speeds up to 10 Gbps over fiber (FTTH)

28 February 2019

In the context of the accelerated roll-out of fiber to another 1 million households in the next three years, KPN opts for PON technology, which enables speeds on the fiber network up to 10 Gbps.

Babak Fouladi, Chief Technology and Digital Officer at KPN: "Thanks to the choice of PON technology, we are ready for the future and we can efficiently provide more and more customers with access to a lightning-fast gigabit connection. With the superior technology and infrastructure, speeds of up to 10 Gbps are possible symmetrically in the future. This underlines our ambition to build the digital highway of the Netherlands."

This week, KPN has signed an agreement with network and technology supplier Nokia for the use of PON technology and KPN already started preparatory work to introduce G-PON into its network. KPN opts for a phased approach, in which in the second half of 2019 the PON-technology will become available in the first fiber areas, enabling speeds of 1 Gbps. At the same time, the network is being prepared to easily make the next step to XGS-PON (the successor of G-PON), with which speeds of up to 10 Gbps symmetrically become available.

In recent years, KPN has rolled out Fiber to the Cabinet (FttC) throughout the Netherlands, as a result internet speeds and user experience of the fixed network have improved significantly. The FttC-program brought fiber closer to the customers. Thanks to the choice for PON-technology, KPN has the opportunity to install FTTH in these areas over time, if customer demand changes.