In a joint venture, Nokia and Vodafone have put L4S technology to the test on passive optical networks (PON), aiming to significantly enhance the internet experience for residential users. This partnership is aimed at improving internet-dependent activities such as video conferencing and online gaming.
L4S, standing for "Low Latency, Low Loss, and Scalable," was trialed by Nokia's research division, Nokia Bell Labs and Vodafone's Fixed Access Center of Excellence. This world’s first demonstration involved testing L4S's functioning over PON in Vodafone's lab in Newbury, UK, utilising an end-to-end fixed access network developed by Nokia. The setup comprised a broadband network gateway (BNG), a PON optical line terminal (OLT), multiple PON optical network terminals (ONTs), and WiFi access points.
The tests resulting in exceptionally low and constant end-to-end latencies, meaning the time required for data packets to travel, which was consistent across all elements of the network. This groundbreaking networking technology, L4S, successfully demonstrated capabilities to achieve near-zero packet queuing delay even under a heavy network load. L4S's ability to eliminate queuing delays allows for minimal latency variations without compromising the network speeds.
Vodafone and Nokia Bell Labs measured consistent latencies of 1.05ms at local Ethernet ports on a fully congested access network (from BNG to ONT), with an impressive 12.1ms when a fully congested Wi-Fi link was included as the final connection in the lab tests.
The trials performed by Vodafone and Nokia Bell Labs utilized PON networks. However, Nokia has pointed out that L4S can be applied to any wireline or wireless access technology, making it potentially invaluable for any latency-dependent application.
