Market update and outlook on optical PON access and wireless fronthall & last‑mile transport

Time: Sunday, 1 November 2026 | 9:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.

Location: Conference Room 205

Session Description:

Passive Optical Networking (PON) continues to evolve rapidly, with operators around the world transitioning from GPON to XGS-PON while evaluating 25G, 50G, and other next-generation technologies. Besides, PON expands into the Data Center: PON is breaking out of purely residential broadband. Hyperscalers, colocation facilities, and enterprise campuses are increasingly deploying Passive Optical LAN (POL) solutions for secure, low-latency out-of-band infrastructure management and network architecture. Data center spending on PON equipment is projected to grow at a 52% CAGR through 2030. 

Currently PON access and wireless fronthaul markets are entering a strong growth phase in 2026, driven by FTTH expansion, 5G transport demand, and next‑gen optical technologies, with global PON equipment valued at ~USD 38.7 B in 2026 and projected to reach USD 61.5 B by 2031. 5G Fronthaul and Backhaul transport market is valued at $7.44 billion and is on a steep multi-year trajectory to reach over $34 billion by 2030, mirroring the transition to 5G Advanced and Cloud RAN architectures.

This industrial session provides an industry reality check on current PON, wireless FH & last‑mile transport deployments, upgrade strategies, and emerging applications, as well as the key technical and operational challenges operators are facing. Industry experts will share insights on adoption trends, coexistence approaches, real-world use cases, and the roadmap toward multi-gig services and future access architectures.

Keywords: FTTH, PON, wireless fronthaul, last-mile transport

Organisers：

Dezhi Zhang, China Telecom 

Hua Zhang, Ligent 

Scott Xin Yin, IMEC