OptiComm is in the final stages of developing Australia’s first Ten Gigabit per Second Passive Optical Network (XGS-PON) – the next-generation Passive Optical Network (PON) – allowing residential customers to access a nominal line speed of up to 1Gbps, and commercial customers to reach speeds up to 10Gbps. Following extensive testing, modelling, research and development, OptiComm will be ready to deploy the XGS-PON in 2020, commencing with a residential and commercial precinct in Melbourne. OptiComm has been working closely with its supplier, USA-based ADTRAN, at the latter’s research and development facility in Melbourne, leading to the testing of these 10Gbps services. ADTRAN, a consistent leader in the telecommunications industry with its Gigabit Passive Optical Networks (GPON) solutions, is now leading the industry transition to this next chapter in FTTP, where focus is shifting to the new, superior, XGS-PON. The ADTRAN XGS-PON solution connects users to OptiComm’s network using the traditional PON optical network design, but it eliminates the speed restrictions imposed by first generation GPON technologies, allowing user speeds to leap to levels previously unheard of in Australia. ADTRAN’s XGS-PON is allowing OptiComm to future-proof its sites, which has become increasingly important as more and more people depend on their broadband for robust connectivity while working from home, gaming, and streaming, with in-home entertainment and education for the entire family now making a high-speed connection essential. The demand for high-speed, reliable internet has evolved quickly in 2020, as Victoria’s second wave of COVID-19 cases drove downstream network utilisation to settle at 10% above its pre-pandemic levels, with usage statistics from August revealing a 20Gbps increase when compared with the weeks prior. This technology also allows OptiComm to pioneer smart city technologies like self-maintained parks, community security systems, intranets, and more, while future-proofing residential and business precincts. OptiComm will begin its user trials by installing XGS-PON line-cards in existing ADTRAN PON systems in the coming months.