GPON stands for Gigabit Passive Optical Network, which is a type of point-to-multipoint network technology that delivers broadband access to the end-user via fiber optic cable. GPON is commonly used to implement the outermost link to the customer of fiber-to-the-premises services. It is a standard for Passive Optical Networks published by the ITU-T, used to provide last-mile fiber connections to the premises. GPON uses Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) for voice, Ethernet for data, and proprietary encapsulation for voice. It offers faster Gbps than EPON (Ethernet passive optical network) on downstream and upstream bandwidths.
A GPON system consists of an optical line terminal (OLT) that connects several optical network terminals (ONTs/ONUs) together using a passive optical distribution network (ODN) . GPON supports triple-play services (VoIP, Data, and IPTV), providing competitive all-services solutions, higher data rates and bandwidth transmission, long-reach coverage, and increased security and data encryption. GPON also supports all kinds of Ethernet protocols.
GPON specifies protocols for error correction (Reed–Solomon) and encryption (AES), and defines a protocol for line control (OMCI) which includes authentication (LOID, serial number, and/or password) . The exact kind of fiber cable and connectors to use is undefined, and many features were left undefined, thus in practice, there is little compatibility between the various implementations. The first version of GPON was ratified in 2003, and since then, it has been expanded upon and revised several times.
