How fast is too fast? While most people are happy with 1 Gig internet speeds, Google and Nokia are now testing 50 Gig internet on Google Fiber networks in Kansas City.

Researchers from Nokia and GFiber Labs (the experimental arm of Google Fiber) successfully achieved 41.89 Gbps download speeds on a live Google Fiber network. This marks the first time that Nokia’s 50G PON (passive optical network) technology has been used on a Google-owned network, and its one of the only examples of live 50 Gig networking in the United States.

While this may seem like a silly proof of concept, it’s actually a demonstration of a real product. Nokia is showing ISPs that its 50 Gig PON technology can coexist with existing fiber infrastructure. A company like Google Fiber doesn’t need to rip all of its cables from the ground to achieve these speeds. This multi-gig PON technology has been in the works for a while, as Nokia first showcased a 100 Gig PON prototype in 2022.

However, it will be some time before Google Fiber begins offering 50 Gig speeds to customers. The company is starting with a relatively modest 20 Gig plan, which is currently available in select regions through an Early Access Program. Google Fiber plans to deploy Nokia 20G PON across all of its existing markets by the end of 2024, though the 20 Gig plan may not be widely available until sometime thereafter (probably several years).

The 50G PON technology also has room for improvement. One of the highlights of Google Fiber’s 20 Gig service is that it’s symmetrical,meaning that upload and download speeds are both 20 Gbps. This 50G PON test concluded with a 41.89 Gbps downlink and a 19.6 Gbps uplink—the download speed discrepancy is no surprise (real-world networking is never 100% perfect), but the upload speed isn’t anywhere close to 50 Gbps.

I should point out that 50 Gig internet is already available in the northwestern U.S. through Ziply Fiber. Also, multi-gig fiber development is not exclusive to the United States. Nokia recently tested 100 Gig PON in Australia, and similar tests are being conducted elsewhere.

Source: Google