IEEE approves 10G-EPON standard

The IEEE Standards Board has announced the approval of an amendment to the popular IEEE 802.3 Ethernet standard. The Ethernet standard already covers 1 Gb/s Ethernet Passive Optical Network (1G-EPON). More than 30 million users worldwide are currently served by 1G-EPON. The new amendment expands the existing Ethernet standard by adding the new specification for 10 Gb/s on point-to-multipoint passive optical networks.

The amendment is known by the name IEEE Std. 802.3av, “Standard for Information Technology – Telecommunications and Information Exchange Between Systems – Local and Metropolitan Area Networks – Specific Requirements Part 3: Carrier Sense Multiple Access with Collision Detection (CSMA/CD) Access Method and Physical Layer Specifications Amendment: Physical Layer Specifications and Management Parameters for 10Gb/s Passive Optical Networks.”

According to David Law, Chair, IEEE 802.3 Ethernet Working Group, “The 10G-EPON standard enables the network operators to significantly increase the performance of their point-to-multipoint architectures, supporting emerging bandwidth-intensive services, while simultaneously lowering the costs related to equipment, operation, upgrade and maintenance.”