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Sources have revealed that national network operator Openreach (BT) are preparing to launch a new 100G variant of their wholesale Ethernet Backhaul Direct (EBD) product before the end of this month (tentative). The service is designed for broadband ISPs and other network operators who need to move massive amounts of data efficiently across the UK (between Openreach’s nodes).
The “nodes” we’re talking about above are usually aligned to parent handover exchanges (OHPs) for Fibre-to-the-Cabinet (FTTC / SOGEA) and Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) lines etc. But at present the existing EBD product can only connect a provider’s equipment between Openreach handover points across its national infrastructure network at up to 10G speeds per connection, while the new variety should be able to do 100G.
The move forms part of Openreach’s wider shift into 100G and faster territory (examples here, here and here). This is necessary to help supply businesses and network operators with enough capacity to feed modern multi-gigabit connections and support rising customer data demands.