Huawei's AI ON Initiative: Paving the Path for Future Optical Networks

During the Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona 2025, Bob Chen, the president of Huawei's Optical Business Product Line, outlined exciting developments in optical networks targeted for the era of artificial intelligence (AI). This initiative, branded as AI ON, aims to redefine how optical networks operate and provide high-quality connectivity, termed as 5A connectivity, essential for unleashing the potential of AI across various sectors.

The AI Era: Key Characteristics

The current age of AI is characterized by three significant features: pervasive application of AI, widespread computing power, and an AI-native approach. These transforming trends necessitate that networks are capable of identifying service types, offering differentiated connectivity, and ensuring optimal service experiences. Moreover, networks must facilitate deterministic connectivity to support flexible and efficient computing power scheduling while integrating AI capabilities to enhance both service quality and network efficiency.

A Clear Vision for Future Networks

Bob Chen emphasized that since the introduction of the target network for the AI era in 2024, Huawei has been actively collaborating with global clients to drive ongoing innovation. The evolution of next-generation optical networks—AI ON—is distinguished by several pivotal characteristics:

1. Service Awareness: Previously, optical networks lacked the capability to detect different types of services. Future networks need to accurately identify service types based on traffic patterns and flow directions, ensuring optimal requirements for bandwidth, latency, and reliability are met. This will allow networks to better understand service demands and adapt accordingly.

2. On-Demand Connectivity: Unlike the past when networks offered undifferentiated connectivity, future optical networks must provide real-time, differentiated connectivity tuned to specific service demands. For instance, a gaming user could be offered a 1 Gbps bandwidth package for three hours.

3. Quality Assurance: In earlier models, various factors such as network congestion, failures, and service surges could degrade connectivity quality. Next-generation optical networks must provide assurances of high-quality connectivity regardless of network changes or service fluctuations, achieving deterministic latency and zero packet loss across all services.

4. Autonomous Operations and Maintenance: Traditionally, network operations and maintenance were reactive, responding only to failures after they occurred. Future networks should proactively identify and mitigate potential risks before they impact users, enabling self-repair and optimization.

5. Native AI Integration: Native AI capabilities will need to be integrated across all network terminals, devices, and management systems, accelerating the intelligence of the network. This includes leveraging AI computational power in ONT/FTTR to recognize application types and enhance device performance using lightweight models at the terminals.

Embracing New Opportunities

In his closing remarks, Bob Chen stated that AI represents a transformative shift in human society, offering unprecedented opportunities for the telecommunications industry. Similar to how 5A equates to the highest service quality in the hospitality and tourism sectors, premium connectivity will be vital to harness these opportunities. Huawei is committed to collaboration within the industry to advance towards AI ON with optical networks, ensuring the provision of 5A quality connectivity and driving new growth in the AI era.

As the industry moves forward, Huawei's vision represents a significant step in ensuring that optical networks not only meet the demands of today but are also prepared for the intricate needs of tomorrow's AI applications. Through this initiative, the company aims to support the ongoing evolution of connectivity and the burgeoning potential that comes along with it.