Research Note

Abstract

Once again, well prepared to handle all the COVID-19 protocols we went through at MWC21 Barcelona in June this year, Vlad and I made the trip to Bordeaux, France to participate in the 47th edition of the European Conference on Optical Communications (ECOC). As you may wonder what 5G has to do with F5G, let’s get it straight: all promised 5G use cases that need a combination of high bandwidth and ultra-reliable low latency communications (URLLC) won’t be implemented without a robust fixed fiber optic network. That’s where the Fifth Generation Fixed Network (F5G) comes into play to begin the migration from fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) to fiber everywhere, including 5G RAN. The European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) leads this global collaborative effort along with Huawei as a major partner and contributor. But before getting into F5G at ECOC 2021, we could not resist the temptation to visit the brand new Cité du Vin, a wine museum as well as a place of exhibitions, shows, movie projections and academic seminars about Bordeaux wines. Opened in June 2016, the place hosts a panoramic gastronomic restaurant and a spectacular cellar, which features all Bordeaux wines organized by Châteaux (Figure 1). LightCounting subscribers can access the full text of this research note by logging into their accounts.