F5G Advanced Specification
ETSI ISG F5G unveiled the "F5G Advanced Generation Definition," which not only further enhances the three existing foundational features of F5G: Enhanced Fixed Broadband (eFBB), Full Fiber Connectivity (FFC), and Guaranteed Reliable Experience (GRE), but also introduces three new key features: Real-time Resilient Link (RRL), Optical Sensing and Visualization (OSV), and Green Agile Optical Network (GAO).
In terms of quantitative advancements, F5G-A offers substantial improvements over F5G, including:
Tenfold increase in bandwidth (from Gigabit/s to 10 Gigabit/s)
A fiber connection density ten times greater
Tenfold increase in energy efficiency
Improved reliability from five nines (99.999%) to six nines (99.9999%)
Improved quality of experience, autonomous L4 network
17 new use cases driving the need for F5G Advanced
Version 3 introduces 17 new ETSI GR F5G 020 use cases. These cover a wide range of areas, including services and applications for residential customers (bare 3D displays, cloud desktops, etc.), enterprises (automation of premium private line services, etc.), vertical industries (smart grids, railway perimeter inspection, etc.), network performance optimizations (intelligent OTN fault management, QoD App-Flow service provisioning), and end-to-end evolved fixed infrastructure (PON network computing collaboration). This extensive set of use cases has been further analyzed to identify requirements and gaps.
Evolution of the F5G architecture to F5G-A
To support these new requirements, an evolved network architecture has been specified. The improvements and evolution can be classified as follows:
Technologies are being upgraded from Wi-Fi® 6 to Wi-Fi® 7; from XG(S)-PON to 50G-PON, adding fgOTN to OTN, and advancing from 100G/200G to 400G/800G.
Computing to improve networks and services: Computing resources and functions are added to all F5G-A planes and a multi-plane computing plane is formed that allows deep cooperation between computing functions and network functions.
The E2E network architecture is introduced: coordinated slice management, northbound interface to support Network as a Service (NaaS), E2E service management, private lines for premium and mission-critical access to the cloud.
Commercial rollout and POC demonstration
Globally, operators have begun commercially deploying F5G Advanced technology. It is worth noting that there are some commercial deployments of F5G-A marketed as an F5G-A service, such as [1].
Globally, operators began commercially deploying F5G Advanced technology. It is worth noting that some commercial F5G-A deployments are marketed as F5G-A services, such as [1].
During the Release 3 period, three valuable Proofs of Concept (PoCs) were implemented, establishing the links between standards and actual deployments. Specifically, the PoCs address standalone optical telecommunications networks and industrial optical networks for manufacturing.
Future evolution to Release 4 and beyond:
Release 3 of the ETSI F5G specifications represents a significant leap forward, elevating fixed-fiber networks to levels that will enable a wide variety of novel network services while ensuring robust security and exceptional quality of service. The ETSI F5G ISG group began further enhancing F5G-Advanced technology in Release 4 and beyond.
According to Olivier Ferveur, President of ETSI ISG F5G: “With each technological advance, the evolution of networks becomes increasingly complex. For these advances to be viable, a major standardization effort is essential. The introduction of F5G Advanced Release 3 offers the opportunity to create a comprehensive and simplified network.”
