Adtran announced yesterday that several 10 Gbps broadband customer trials are underway using its technology. “A range of service providers from new market entrants to municipal/utility providers to international Tier 1 carriers are all currently evaluating fiber-to-the-premises (FTTP) services based on XGS-PON architecture,” the company reports.

“With a near infinite demand in bandwidth from both business and residential customers, service providers must implement solutions that enable them to scale their current PON networks to meet expanding customer needs,” an ADTRAN press release states. “XGS-PON, a new technology ADTRAN is developing that supports 10 Gbps symmetric fixed wavelength PON over new or existing fiber infrastructure, meets service providers’ needs by doubling the useable life span of a fiber network regardless of the multi-Gigabit service rate delivered.”

Going on record about the trials was a Jackson Energy Authority representative in Tennessee. “XGS-PON is allowing us to exceed our customers’ bandwidth needs today while still proactively planning for future network build-outs and capabilities,” Ben Lovins, senior vice president, telecommunications division at Jackson Energy Authority, says. “The ability to deploy on our current fiber network while still using the same passive and active plants is allowing us to greatly improve the return on our existing fiber network investment.

Lovins reports that the utility has already begun to see the customer economic and business benefits of the next-gen broadband services within hospitals and school systems.

XGS-PON is an emerging ITU 10G PON standard that reportedly bridges the gap between today’s FTTH technologies and NG-PON2.