The “Fiber Fingerprint” trial transforms the passive, ‘dark’ ODN pipeline into a ‘visualised’ network, improving resource utilisation and troubleshooting efficiency
Turkcell has teamed up with ZTE to trial what they claim is Europe’s first “Fiber Fingerprint” trial, which aims to overcome one of the biggest challenges in Gigabit Passive Optical Network (GPON) technology – the inability to remotely monitor passive topology, unlike active equipment. Given the unpowered nature of the components, cracking this problem will help operators evolve their optical access networks into intelligent end-to-end infrastructures.
The trial was deployed at Turkcell Kartal Plaza, leveraging ZTE’s Fiber Fingerprint line card, external optical multiplexer with an integrated optical switch and Fiber Fingerprint splitter. Even though this was only a lab trial, Turkcell said that with some enhancements, it believes this product has “tremendous potential.”
Traditionally, optical access ODN networks have functioned as passive ‘dark’ pipelines, presenting ongoing challenges in resource updates, fault detection and proactive assessment of optical path quality. ZTE’s Fiber Fingerprint intelligent ODN solution overcomes these limitations by enabling accurate identification of optical splitter port statuses, intelligent restoration of network topology and precise detection and localisation of optical path quality issues and faults.
The solution lights up the ‘dark’ ODN network, offering an efficient, automated, and intelligent approach for visualising ODN topology, enhancing splitter port resource utilisation, while rapidly locating fault with precision.
Turkcell said during the trials, significant improvements were observed across multiple ODN application scenarios. This included weak-light faults in feeder, distribution and drop segments being precisely identified, enhancing network reliability. The network topology was automatically refreshed following new Optical Network Terminal (ONT) registrations, streamlining network management.
In addition, ONT information and connection relationships were accurately displayed, enabling more efficient network operations. Finally, the system effectively detected splitter port statuses, classifying them as occupied, idle, directly connected to ONTs, or virtually occupied.
Moving forward, Turkcell and ZTE said they will continue refining algorithms to improve system performance, expand the Fiber Fingerprint solution to wider applications, and accelerate the seamless integration of advanced digital intelligence into ODN infrastructure.
“The successful trial of the Fiber Fingerprint solution signifies a pivotal advancement in our efforts to transform the Optical Distribution Network (ODN) infrastructure into a more intelligent and reliable system,” said Turkcell chief network technologies officer Prof. Dr Vehbi Çağrı Güngör (above). “This innovation addresses longstanding challenges in network management while paving the way for a future characterised by seamless connectivity.”
“Partnering with Turkcell on Europe’s first Fiber Fingerprint trial demonstrates our shared vision of building intelligent and efficient network infrastructures,” said ZTE SVP and chairman of the board of Netaş Peng Aiguang. “This solution brings transformative value by enabling precise fault detection, resource optimisation, and proactive maintenance. Together with Turkcell, we are setting a new benchmark for ODN evolution and digital transformation.”