5G construction will bring huge demand for optical fibers and cables, so under the new 5G network architecture, which new types of optical fibers and cables with more advanced technologies will be needed?



     It is understood that the 5G network mainly implements three typical application scenarios of enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), large-scale machine communication (mMTC), and high-reliability and low-latency communication (uRLLC). Therefore, many requirements are placed on the bearer network.

     For this reason, Wei Leping, executive deputy director of the Communication Science and Technology Committee of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, pointed out that the first is the speed and bandwidth; the second is the delay performance, which must meet the ms-level end-to-end service deployment, achieve architecture optimization and flattening, and reduce Optical cable revolving routing, and the introduction of MEC (mobile edge computing) and 1μs-level ultra-low latency equipment; the third is network architecture adjustment, including CU/DU separation, core network cloudification, etc.; finally, the cost challenge, transmission cost reduction The requirement is half of Moore's Law, and the fronthaul network has the largest capacity and the greatest pressure.

     Obviously, these requirements pose new challenges to the 5G network architecture, and a large number of new optical fibers are needed to meet the actual needs of the future.

     According to the "5G Bearer Network Architecture and Technical Solution White Paper" issued by the IMT-2020 (5G) Promotion Group, the 5G bearer network architecture mainly includes two levels: metropolitan area and intra-provincial trunk lines. The intra-urban area network includes access, Convergence and core three-tier architecture.

     Different network stages of 5G bearer network put forward different requirements on the performance of optical fiber network transmission. Therefore, new types of optical fiber and optical cables such as high bending resistance optical fiber, multimode optical fiber, miniaturization and high-density optical cable will be used.

     However, it should be pointed out that different operators will flexibly adjust the construction methods of 5G bearer networks according to the characteristics of existing network resources, and there will be certain differences in the types of optical fibers and cables used and required.





What kind of fiber is required for the convergence core layer of the metropolitan area network?



     In the 5G bearer network architecture, the main role of the convergence layer is to connect the access layer and the core layer, which is part of the 5G backhaul.

     It is reported that the transmission distance of the convergence layer does not exceed 80km, but it needs to converge all the data traffic of the 5G metropolitan area network access layer, and the line interface bandwidth will reach 200Gbps gray light or N×100Gbps full WDM color light. At this level, the main choice of domestic operators is still G.652.D fiber, which is also the main product of most domestic optical communication manufacturers.

     Compared with the convergence layer, the core layer is the last level of the metropolitan area network, and it will directly connect to the provincial trunk network and backbone network. It is obviously the level that handles the largest traffic among all levels of the metropolitan area network. According to the "5G Bearer Network Architecture and Technical Solution White Paper", the core layer of 5G metropolitan area network generally adopts ring network or dual uplink link, and the peak line interface bandwidth will be increased to 400Gbps gray light or N×400Gbps WDM color However, the transmission distance of this layer of the network does not exceed 80km, and the low-cost, large-bandwidth G.652.D fiber can meet the actual network requirements.