• Nokia is the first vendor with a 16-port line card solution that supports GPON, 10G, 25G and 50G PON on every port, enabling operators to evolve their networks with greater flexibility and lower risk.
• Built on Nokia’s Quillion chipset and multi-PON optical modules, the high-density line card unlocks mass-market deployment of fiber access speeds up to 50Gbps.
• Nokia’s industry-first multi-PON solution enables instant, high-performance, quantum-safe connectivity to meet the demands of the AI era, with general availability planned for 2027.

Nokia announced a new 50G/25G/10G/GPON line card that gives operators the flexibility to evolve their fiber network at their own pace and be ready for the demands of the AI era.

As AI transforms how consumers, businesses and industries use networks, richer content, greater cloud interaction and growing upstream traffic are increasing requirements for capacity, low latency, security and reliability. The solution enables operators to adapt their existing fiber networks as these demands grow. Earlier line cards could limit operators to a narrower set of PON technologies, requiring them to commit capacity in advance or add hardware as market needs changed. Nokia’s new multi-PON line card supports multiple generations on every port, allowing operators to introduce higher speeds when and where demand develops.

Built on Nokia’s in-house Quillion chip and optical PON modules, the new solution supports GPON, 10G, 25G and 50G PON on every port, together with a variety of multi-PON optical modules. This now allows operators to deploy the technology—or combination of technologies—in a flexible way that’s best suited to each market, service or business case. Operators can add or change PON generations on the same port and fiber as demand evolves.

“The future of broadband is becoming harder to predict. AI is reshaping traffic patterns and creating new expectations for bandwidth, latency, security and reliability. At the same time, operators must make investments in next generation PON that will serve them for years to come. With our new line card, operators do not have to bet everything on a single path. They can deploy the PON technology their market needs now; add additional technologies on the same port and same fiber as the need arises; and easily mix and match PON generations to capture multiple revenue streams,” said Maryam Chaudry, SVP & GM, Fixed Networks, Nokia.

“As operators prepare their networks for AI-driven applications and higher-speed broadband services, flexibility is becoming just as important as performance. Nokia’s ability to support multiple PON generations on every port gives operators a practical, lower-risk path to evolve their fiber networks as demand develops,” said Jeff Heynen, vice president, Broadband Access and Home Networking at Dell’Oro Group

Powered by Nokia’s Quillion chipset and multi-PON optical modules, the line card provides a flexible evolution path from GPON/10G to 25G and 50G PON. For example, operators can deploy 10G + 25G PON today and add 50G PON when demand accelerates. Alternatively, those planning for 10G + 50G PON can easily add 25G PON if market needs develop differently.

The solution also enhances network performance, security and resilience:

• Up to 4x lower upstream latency for more responsive, data-intensive applications.
• Quantum-safe encryption and authentication to safeguard network and user data against emerging threats.
• End-to-end resilience without a single point of failure for dependable delivery of mission-critical connectivity services.