As part of this collaboration, Microsemi is bringing to market the DIGI-G5, the newest member of its award-winning DIGI OTN processors, supporting new 5G optimized architecture that enables the stringent synchronization, latency and network slicing requirements being placed on optical networks to support 5G deployments.

5G's variety of use cases will impose new requirements like network slicing, stringent latency and timing synchronization on the underlying optical transport networks. With 25G, 50G and 100Gbps port rates planned for 5G remote radio heads, the traffic flow from the radio to the mobile edge will dramatically increase.

With the promise of up to 50x lower end-to-end latency, the optical transport network will play a critical role in enabling ultrareliable low latency communication (uRLLC) applications such as autonomous vehicles. New architectures leveraging hard traffic isolation will further enhance the business opportunities network slicing is set to bring for mobile operators.

"China Telecom plans to be the pioneer in both 5G commercial service and 400G OTN network commercial deployments. A mobile-optimized converged metro, multiservice and cloud-based OTN transport network is critical to both initiatives," said Zhang Chengliang, vice president, China Telecom Beijing Research Institute. "The availability of Microsemi's DIGI-G5 will help the industry deliver a new generation of OTN equipment to enable the 5G era."

In response to the 5G challenges, Microsemi's new 5G optimized architecture of the DIGI-G5 reduces the total latency for single hop close to 1 microsecond. In addition, the DIGI-G5 integrates close to two terabits of on-chip ODUk switching for hard traffic isolation and grooming in support of network slicing. With original equipment manufacturers looking to upgrade their platforms to meet Precision Time Protocol's (PTP's) Class C requirements, the DIGI-G5 delivers best-in-class nanosecond level time stamping accuracy and provides mechanisms to carry critical timing information over the OTN network.

"As a market leader in OTN processors powering packet optical transport networks world-wide, we are focusing our investments to enable service providers to leverage economy of scale and realize operational efficiencies by extending OTN from their metro networks to the access as the packet optical topology for 5G transport," said Babak Samimi, vice president and business unit manager for Microsemi's Communications business unit.

"As a founding member of NGOF along with China Telecom, Microsemi is innovating and optimizing OTN for mobile applications and DIGI-G5 is bringing together the critical pieces like synchronization, latency, and network slicing needed for 5G."