Huawei OTN Fronthaul Solution Passes China Telecom’s 5G Test in an Industry First

Huawei’s Optical Transport Network (OTN) fronthaul solution has passed the initial phase of China Telecom’s 5G fronthaul transport lab test in what is the world’s first transmission test for 25G eCPRI interfaces. The test presents an industry breakthrough as Huawei’s OTN fronthaul solution delivered transmission latency of less than 1 μs and jitter of less than 1 ns. The Common Public Radio Interface (CPRI) Alliance released its 5G fronthaul eCPRI interface standard in August 2017.

In a 5G bearer network, the fronthaul network must be able to handle the strictest and most demanding bandwidths and latency requirements. China Telecom’s tests covered two parts: service bearer capability, and transmission latency and jitter. In the service bearer capability test, Huawei’s OTN fronthaul solution provided 4 x 25G eCPRI transmission, reaching a single-node bandwidth of 100 Gbps. In the transmission latency and jitter test, the OTN fronthaul solution used a chip with Huawei’s latest self-developed optimization algorithm to provide latency of less than 1 μs and a jitter of less than 1 ns, the highest performance in the industry. Huawei helped China Telecom successfully complete the world’s first 25G eCPRI fronthaul test, representing a breakthrough in the cooperation for both parties in the 5G bearer field.

Junjie Li, Director of the Optical Communication Research Center at the China Telecom Beijing Research Institute, said, “Huawei’s OTN fronthaul solution obtained excellent test results, creating confidence for China Telecom in its potential for future commercial deployment. I hope Huawei can continue this joint innovation and long-term cooperation with China Telecom, to enable China Telecom a pioneer in global 5G network services.”

Alex Duan, General Manager of Huawei WDM said, “The 5G fronthaul test that China Telecom performed conclusively proved that the performance indicators of Huawei’s 5G OTN fronthaul solution fully meet the requirements for a 5G fronthaul application. This solution can accelerate the 5G commercialization process for operators. In future, Huawei will continue to firmly support its cooperation on projects with customers and to contribute to the development of the global optical network industry.”

Huawei will strengthen its joint innovation with global operators to promote the 5G bearer optical network features of large bandwidth, low latency, and high reliability, helping operators build high-quality 5G bearer fronthaul networks.