Bouygues Telecom has announced that it is in the process of deploying XGS-PON technology, initially in Paris, to allow its subscribers to reach theoretical speeds of up to 8 Gbits/s.
To offer its users better fluidity and higher speeds, Bouygues Telecom formalized the deployment of XGS-PON technology on Monday July 17. Parisians can benefit from it this week, with an additional option called “Debit+”, which costs 5 euros per month. Only Bbox ultym and Bbox ultym Smart TV subscribers can take advantage of it for now. Let’s see what this technology, a logical continuation of Wi-Fi 6E in the mind of the operator, can bring.
A fiber that evolves and offers better speeds over time
XGS-PON technology (for “10 Gigabits Symmetric Passive Optical Network”), to sum up things in the simplest way in the world, is the latest technological evolution of fiber optics. In order, it is more efficient than PON technology (appeared in the 90s); the GPON architecture (until then used by Bouygues Telecom and still adopted by Orange); or the 10G-EPON technology dear to Free and Xavier Niel, who was the pioneer in the field with his famous Freebox Delta.
As fiber progresses, by these standards, it offers increasingly high speeds. XGS-PON technology is both near and far from its little sister, 10G-EPON. On paper, this 10G-EPON technology makes it possible to reach a maximum available speed of 10 Gbits/s for downloading, and up to 1 Gbit/s for sending, with a maximum number of 32 subscribers who share the bandwidth.
The XGS-PON standard is supposed to offer a theoretical throughput of up to 10 Gbits/s, both for download and upload. Compared to 10G-EPON, the throughput is shared between 64 subscribers. However, what are the other operators and Bouygues Telecom offering today?
The details of Bouygues Telecom’s offer, which benefits from its scalable boxes
In France, SFR is the first operator to have launched an XGS-PON compatible box, the Box 8X, which is still limited to 8 Gbits/s in reception and 1 Gbit/s in transmission. Orange did start testing in Spain last year, but we have no news yet about a possible launch in France. Free remains focused on 10G-EPON. Bouygues Telecom is therefore the second operator to offer an offer with the XGS-PON standard, taking advantage of the fact that its Bbox ultym is technically capable of supporting the new standard.
With its Debit+ option, Bouygues Telecom aligns itself with SFR and offers speeds of up to 8 Gbit/s for downloading and 1 Gbit/s for uploading, with its Bbox ultym offers. This allows it to respond to new public uses such as gaming, streaming, downloading large files and, to a lesser extent, 8K content. Obviously, the availability of the technology will gradually be extended to the rest of the territory.
To take advantage of the Speed+ option, simply plug in the SFP module (this compact optical transceiver module) provided and use the 10 Gbit/s Ethernet port of the Bouygues Telecom box. Eligible Bbox Pro+ customers will also be able to take advantage of it at the pre-tax rate of 4.17 euros per month, with slightly higher speeds (8 Gbits/s downlink and 2 Gbits/s uplink).
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