Recently, ETSI (European Telecommunications Standards Institute) released the F5G Advanced Generation Definition. As an important milestone in the development of fixed network technology standards, this document formally defines the F5G Advanced (F5G-A) intergenerational standard, the evolution path from F5G (fifth-generation fixed network) to F5G Advanced, defines the six characteristics of F5G Advanced, and explains its driving factors and key technologies.
In February 2020, ETSI announced the establishment of ISG F5G, an F5G industry standard working group to the world, and put forward the industry vision of moving from "fiber to home" to "Fibre to Everywhere". In September 2020, ETSI released the F5G Intergenerational Definition Standard, which identifies three main characteristics of F5G: enhanced fixed broadband (EFBB), all-optical connectivity (FFC), and guaranteed quality of experience (GRE).
In ETSI's latest F5G Advanced Intergenerational Standard, two main drivers for the evolution of F5G to F5G-A are elaborated: 1) Emerging application drivers, such as digital twins, metaverse, vertical industries, and application digitalization and cloudification2) Driven by the evolution of network infrastructure, such as the need for greater bandwidth and better experience, digitalization and automation of network operations, convergence of computing and networks, ubiquitous optical fiber network coverage, and green networks.
According to the document, the intergenerational development goal of F5G-A is to enhance the original features of F5G and add three new features: real-time resilient connectivity (RRL), optical sensing and visualization (OSV), and green and agile all-optical network (GAO).
Figure 1 - F5G-A Six Characteristics and Key Technologies The F5G Advanced Intergenerational Standard also describes the key enabling technologies for F5G-A, such as 400G 800G convergence bearer, FGOTN, OXC, 50G PON, 10G FTTR, FTTM (Fiber-to-the-Machine), intelligent optical sensing, and digital optical networks. Compared with F5G, F5G-A provides 10 times the bandwidth, 10 times the fiber connection density, 10 times the energy efficiency, reliability from 5 9s to 6 9s, meter-level accurate sensing, sub-millisecond latency, and L4 autonomous network (as defined by the TM Forum's General Autonomous Network Classification Standard).
F5G-A will enable ubiquitous fiber coverage, bringing new opportunities and boosts the digitalization and intelligence of thousands of industries, such as telecommunications, education, healthcare, finance, energy, transportation, and manufacturing.
Figure 2 - F5G Advanced Intergenerational Standard ETSI ISG The important goal of F5G is to systematically define the evolution cadence of fixed networks, and it is planned to release a release every 18 months, including application examples, technical standards, and test standards.
As of August 2023, Release 1 and Release 2 of the ETSI ISG F5G have been released, including 32 application cases and a series of related technical standards, covering various scenarios such as home broadband, business parks, industrial production, and mobile bearers. In the next step, ETSI ISG F5G will focus on the development of the F5G-A standard, which is planned to be implemented in three versions. ISG F5G will also verify and demonstrate the value, features, and deployment and implementation of F5G-A application cases and technical standards through PoC (Proof of Concept) activities.
F5G's move towards F5G-A is an important leap forward in the field of fixed networks, expanding fixed fiber networks to thousands of industries, while meeting the requirements of green efficiency, high-quality services and higher security, and creating greater social and economic value.