SoftBank and Cisco Systems are rolling out the “AII Optical Network (AON),” a nationwide metropolitan network that achieves significant power savings through optical transmission technology that eliminates the need for optical-to-electrical conversion. The initial rollout has been completed in the initial area (Osaka Prefecture). This metropolitan AON uses optical technology throughout the entire network. Furthermore, by incorporating Cisco’s latest 400GbE-compatible routers and adopting a simplified architecture optimized for metropolitan networks, it achieves high capacity while reducing power consumption by approximately 90% compared to conventional networks.
SoftBank plans to complete the nationwide deployment of AON in its metropolitan network by 2027.

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