tech2 News Staff

Nokia and Ooredoo Qatar announced that they have broken the 40Gbps download and upload speed landmark during a pilot test conducted in Doha. According to the announcement the companies used Nokia's next generation fibre technology over the existing single fibre network as the overlay to achieve the speed. The new technology used in achieving the overlay is dubbed as TWDM-PON fibre technology (Time and Wavelength Division Multiplexing Passive Optical Network), alternatively known as NG-PON2 (Next Generation PON 2).

This technology delivers four additional wavelengths than conventional fibre cables with each layer giving 10Gbps upload and download speeds at the same time. One interesting fact is that the overlay technology employed by Ooredoo Qatar can easily add more capacity to existing networks without the need to add any new fibre. Ooredoo is experimenting on increasing the speed after initially launching 1Gbps Fiber services along with trials for 10Gbps fiber-to-the-Home earlier this year as reported by The Peninsula Qatar.

The current system works on GPON which provides 2.5Gbps speeds, and the company is planning to upgrade to XGS-PON. The pilot program ensures that the company can effortlessly upgrade to TWDM-PON in future using the same ISAM FX access node as reported by Advanced Television. This test is the part of Qatar National Vision 2030 that aims at boosting knowledge to indirectly boost the economy.