Australia’s NBN and Nokia demonstrate multi-generation optical technologies concurrently over existing FTTP infrastructure
NBN Co, in collaboration with Nokia, has successfully conducted a laboratory demonstration of multiple generations of optical access and coherent transmission technologies operating concurrently over its existing Fiber‑to‑the‑Premises (FTTP) network. The technical trial validates the long‑term scalability of NBN Co’s national full‑fibre infrastructure and its capacity to accommodate the sustained growth of residential, enterprise, and industrial data demand anticipated over the coming decades.
The “Supercharging Fibre” trial, presented at the Broadband Forum Spring Member Meeting—held in Australia for the first time and hosted by NBN Co—demonstrated aggregate transmission rates exceeding 230 Gbit/s using multiple optical technologies over a single physical fiber link in a controlled laboratory environment. The experimental setup also established a pathway toward achieving terabit‑class capacities in future trials through the evolution of optical modulation formats and channel aggregation techniques.
A key outcome of the trial was the successful integration of coherent optical transmission with multiple generations of passive optical network (PON) technologies—GPON, XGS‑PON, and 50G‑PON—operating simultaneously over the same fiber infrastructure currently in service across Australia. Coherent optics, traditionally deployed within metropolitan, core, and data center interconnect networks, employ advanced modulation and digital signal processing to deliver extended reach, low latency, and high spectral efficiency. Their introduction into the access network domain represents a significant step toward the convergence of access and transport technologies, offering an efficient route to enhanced capacity and service flexibility without extensive physical network replacement.
The demonstration (see illustration below) underscores the technical viability of leveraging existing passive optical infrastructure to support future bandwidth requirements driven by the proliferation of cloud computing, immersive digital experiences, artificial intelligence applications, and industrial IoT systems. The results further illustrate the potential of FTTP systems to evolve into a highly scalable, future‑ready broadband platform capable of sustaining national connectivity objectives.
Image Credit: Perplexity.ai
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By 31 December 2025, more than 1 million customers had transitioned from copper‑based services to high‑speed full‑fiber connections, positioning FTTP as NBN Co’s dominant fixed‑line technology at approximately 35% of total connections. The company achieved its commitment to enable 10 million premises, representing about 90% of the NBN fixed‑line footprint, to order multi‑gigabit‑capable wholesale broadband services. Ongoing upgrade activities encompass over 228,000 premises, as part of an initiative to extend full‑fiber access to 95% of the remaining ~622,000 copper‑served locations by 2030.
These developments reflect NBN Co’s strategic focus on access network modernization and underscore the continuing evolution of optical access technologies toward achieving the performance, flexibility, and resilience required to support Australia’s transition to a digital and cloud‑centric economy.
NBN Co. was established in 2009 by the Commonwealth of Australia as a Government Business Enterprise (GBE) with a clear direction – to design, build and operate a wholesale broadband access network for Australia.
And we’ve done just that – creating a network that criss-crosses a country, and allowing internet retailers to provide reasonably priced broadband services to consumers and businesses.
The network is the digital backbone of Australia and is constantly evolving to keep communities and businesses connected and our nation productive.
References:
https://www.nbnco.com.au/corporate-information/about-nbn-co
https://www.broadband-forum.org/events/spring-2026-member-meeting/
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