Building a Flourishing All-Optical F5.5G Network Industry for New AI-Driven Growth

The F5.5G All-Optical Industry Summit, held during MWC Shanghai 2025, marked a significant milestone for the rapidly developing F5.5G sector. The event saw key players from the telecommunications industry, including representatives from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, various Chinese telecom giants like China Telecom, China Mobile, and China Unicom, as well as international carriers such as Maxis from Malaysia and CTM sharing their insights into groundbreaking practices in optical broadband and transmission technologies.

Accelerated Deployment in Recent Years

Over the past few years, fully optical F5.5G networks have been commercially deployed with remarkable speed. Currently, more than 70 carriers worldwide have introduced 10 Gbps packages, revolutionizing high-speed internet access for consumers and businesses alike. The widespread adoption of 10 Gbps all-optical broadband has paved the way for innovative AI-to-H services, enhancing user experiences across various applications.

In terms of optical transmission, over 240 networks equipped with 400G capacity are functioning globally. This growth reflects a strategic shift towards constructing metro networks that promise a latency of just 1 ms, ensuring end-users can access cloud computing resources swiftly, thereby fostering advancements in AI-to-B applications.

AI as a Driving Force

As AI emerges as a critical engine driving the global digital economy, major carriers are embracing this transformative technology. Leaders in the industry are transitioning from traditional connectivity services to a comprehensive suite of connection, computing, and application services. During his keynote address, Li Peng, Senior Vice President of Huawei and Head of ICT Sales Service, emphasized that homes and enterprises will become the most valuable scenarios in carriers' strategic AI transformations.

Huawei aims to collaborate closely with industry stakeholders to enhance the development of all-optical F5.5G networks while simultaneously promoting cloud-network-device synergies. This approach aspires to stimulate the integration of AI within residential and industrial settings, ultimately achieving win-win growth in the AI era.

Delivering Trust and Reliability

In the context of AI advancement, establishing new value propositions and a sense of reliability for end-users is essential for the growth of broadband home services. Bob Chen, Chairman of Huawei’s Optical Business Product Line, presented Huawei's latest innovations within the F5.5G networks framework through four key dimensions. He stated, “To fully enhance the reliability for broadband home users and visibly improve bandwidth upgrades, it is essential to offer differentiated assurance of experience, enable the feasibility of new home devices, and popularize new services.”

To achieve these goals, Huawei has consistently innovated, assisting carriers in creating attractively packaged offerings that deliver optimal AI application experiences for users. Upgrades to Huawei's 50G PON solution support transitions to ultra-gigabit and 10 Gigabit services, enhancing end-to-end network capabilities to provide superior quality assurance for valued customers. Additionally, Huawei's innovative AI home hub serves as a smart home integration point, offering rich, intelligent applications driven by AI interaction.

As part of this initiative, Huawei is exploring collaborations with carriers to establish fully optical metro networks exhibiting a latency of 1 ms. This exciting development aims to provide users with rapid access to cloud computing resources and an array of AI applications over low-latency, deterministic networks.

Conclusion

Overall, the F5.5G All-Optical Industry Summit has highlighted the promising potential and rapid evolution of the optical network landscape in the age of AI. With continued collaboration and innovation in technologies, the future looks bright for the F5.5G industry, ushering in a new era of connectivity and applications that leverages the immense capabilities of artificial intelligence.