GPON Architecture and What It Means

 

 

When we started developing plans for our fiber network, there were a lot of options when choosing how to design it. In the end we chose to go with a GPON style network in order to provide the best service and reliability for the largest number of customers. What exactly is a GPON network though?

GPON stands for Gigabit Passive Optical Network. The key benefit of this style of network is the way it provides customers with service.  By utilizing passive splitters in the fiber distribution network, GPON networks become a point-to-multipoint access mechanism. Sounds high-tech, but what does that mean for you, the customer?

Essentially, it means there are fewer possibilities for equipment failure or loss of service. By utilizing two main access points at our main office in Columbia and another in Fulton, and distributing those signals to our fiber huts and on to passive equipment cabinets, we can provide service for a higher volume of customers while using less powered equipment on a redundant network that can stay up and running in the event of an equipment failure.

What's most attractive to Socket about the GPON architecture is that as bandwidth needs change, the relatively low number of powered locations means that fewer elements of Socket's network will need to change. It is the most future-proof network architecture that is currently available. 

It can all be confusing, but the important thing to note is that we put a lot of time into designing the most efficient fiber network we could to allow us to provide you with fast, reliable broadband.

For more information about our fiber network, please call 1-800-762-5383 or visit www.socket.net/fiber.