Nokia has unveiled a 50G PON solution designed to ensure quantum-safe measures in passive optical networks.

Claimed by Nokia to be a world first, the release is the first commercial solution of Nokia’s 50G PON tech, following trials with operators such as Google Fiber, Openreach, and Frontier.

While advanced PON exploration is not quantum adjacent by nature, a Nokia spokesperson told SDxCentral the release comes in response to PON networks being increasingly used to deliver internet connectivity to enterprises, demanding secure protection of transmitted data against harvest-now, decrypt-later attacks.

These instances see bad actors hoarding encrypted data in preparation for when large-scale quantum computers become available, a threat that’s also been recognized by recent Cisco research into networked quantum data centers.

“While today’s PON networks are considered secure, with encryption and other cybersecurity measures in place, there is growing concern that encryption could be broken in the post-quantum era,” said Nokia.

“To stay ahead, operators must begin implementing quantum-safe measures in PON networks now, including stronger encryption and secure key exchange mechanisms. We are implementing these features on 25G and 50G PON because both are used for mission-critical enterprise connectivity.”

Nokia added its approach is end-to-end, with post-quantum cryptography features implemented in all parts of the network, including PON, transport, IP switching, and more.

A primer to PON and Lightspan

The upgrade is available through an existing 25G PON line card on Nokia’s Lightspan MF fiber access platform, designed to support operators currently deploying 10G and 25G PON to reach asymmetrical 50G PON capacity of 50G downstream and 25G upstream. The card also supports gigabit passive optical network (GPON) and 10-Gigabit symmetric passive optical network, known as XGS.

Nokia promised future optical modules going beyond the 50G threshold, such as combinations of multi-PON and triple-PON variations, and support for 50G symmetrical, which allows for 50G in both downstream and upstream.

Nokia said the Lightspan line card employs compact optics across each type of PON, a fiber-optic technology that utilizes a point-to-multipoint infrastructure to transmit data from a centralized source, usually an optical-line terminal (OLT), to multiple endpoints across optical splitters.

With its compact approach across all PON types, Lightspan users have the potential to maximize port density while maintaining full backward compatibility with existing optics.

The 50G PON capability comes as part of Nokia's quantum security explorations that have seen it and Colt collaborate with Honeywell in exploring quantum-safe networking using satellite communications.

It also comes with PON exploration from other vendors, such as Brightspeed, who recently tested passive optical network (PON) technologies to boost speeds on its fiber network with software provider Calix .

The pair trialed a 50-gigabit PON system in June that features a dual rate capability allowing for both asymmetric 50G/25G and symmetric 50G/50G capabilities to coexist on Brightspeed's existing XGS-PON and GPON optical distribution network (ODN).