Huawei’s F5G-A All-Optical Network Driving Regional Growth in the Digital Economy

The SAMENA ACCELERATOR summit on 10 Giga Digital Infrastructure, hosted at the One&Only Royal Mirage in Dubai, brought together over 150 industry professionals from the Middle East and Central Asia to discuss the acceleration of F5G-A technology for a digitally empowered future. The event focused on forging a consensus around the development of advanced digital infrastructure and fostering collaboration among key stakeholders to shape the future of telecom and digital services in the region.

At the summit, Huawei introduced a proposal aimed at accelerating the construction of the F5G-A “All-Optical 10Gbps + Premium Transmission” target network. This network is seen as a critical component in supporting the intelligent transformation of industries and driving the growth of the digital economy in the region. Huawei’s Vice President of Optical Business Product Line, Kim Jin, discussed the rapid growth of the optical industry worldwide, noting that more than 215 million gigabit users have emerged globally. In addition, over 50 carriers have rolled out 10 Gbps optical broadband packages, and the deployment of 400G optical backbone networks has been widespread in over 100 countries or regions. These developments have demonstrated the integral role that fibre networks play in facilitating the growth of both digital economies and telecom businesses.

While progress has been significant, Jin emphasized that there remains considerable room for further improvement in fibre network coverage and the expansion of gigabit broadband services throughout the Middle East and Central Asia. Saudi Arabia, for instance, has made substantial strides by rolling out an FTTH (fibre-to-the-home) policy that has rapidly increased FTTH coverage to 60% by 2022. In addition, Bahrain has outlined an ambitious plan, called the “Post-Gigabit-Society,” which seeks to provide gigabit access to every home and 10G coverage to every enterprise by 2026.

Looking to the future, Jin highlighted the next decade as one of intelligence, in which the F5G-A “All-Optical 10Gbps + Premium Transmission” network will play a vital role in accelerating the region’s digital infrastructure. The rise of AI, which is already contributing to explosive traffic growth and placing greater demands on network latency, is expected to push the evolution of digital infrastructure. AI’s widespread adoption will require highly advanced data centre interconnect (DCI) bandwidth, with forecasts predicting that DCI bandwidth in the Middle East will surpass 255 Tbps within the next three years. This increase in service demands will necessitate significant upgrades to carriers’ backbone, metro, and access networks.

The F5G-A target network proposed by Huawei is designed to address these emerging needs by incorporating several key innovations. The network features an intelligent access layer that supports 1 Gbps and 10 Gbps speeds, enabling smooth upgrades from lower bandwidths and delivering ultra-fast connectivity for homes and businesses. This includes technologies like ‘10G PON to Home,’ which ensures a seamless transition from 100 Mbps to 1 Gbps connections, as well as 50G PON Ready technology that guarantees 10 Gbps speeds across all usage scenarios. In addition, the FTTR (Fibre To The Room) technology is incorporated to provide ultra-gigabit Wi-Fi connectivity, ensuring high-performance internet access throughout homes and workplaces.

The network also introduces a one-hop all-optical metro network, a full-mesh architecture at the metro core layer that facilitates high-speed interconnection between data centres, reducing latency to below 1 ms. The network uses OTN (Optical Transport Network) and OXC (Optical Cross-Connect) technology at the network edge to build an end-to-end all-optical switching network. This configuration ensures deterministic and low-latency transmission, which is essential for delivering high-quality, intelligent services across various sectors.

Additionally, Huawei’s proposal includes a 400G/800G 3D-mesh backbone network, which utilizes advanced optical technology to create a high-speed, non-blocking interconnection between hotspot data centres. The move from traditional 100G/200G to 400G/800G rates significantly increases bandwidth while also reducing the cost per bit by more than 30%. To ensure high reliability, the backbone network incorporates Hybrid ASON (Automatic Switched Optical Network) protection, which can withstand multiple fibre cuts and guarantees minimal downtime, with switching times under 50 ms, delivering 99.9999% network reliability.

Finally, Huawei’s proposal includes an intelligent management and control platform powered by AI. This platform is designed to automate service provisioning, proactively manage user experience, and streamline operations and maintenance (O&M). By incorporating AI into these processes, Huawei aims to improve user experience, increase revenue potential, and reduce operational expenditures (OPEX), thereby enhancing the efficiency of network operations.

Huawei’s vision for the future of digital infrastructure in the Middle East and Central Asia is centered on building advanced, all-optical networks that will enable the region to meet the demands of the intelligent era. Huawei is committed to collaborating with industry partners to continuously innovate and develop the F5G-A “All-Optical 10Gbps + Premium Transmission” network, helping to accelerate the deployment of 10Giga digital infrastructure and unlock new opportunities in the region’s digital economy.