Huawei Targets African Power Grids with fgOTN Technology

Huawei has partnered with African utility companies to publish a white paper on fine-grain Optical Transmission Network (fgOTN) technology, targeting communications infrastructure upgrades across the continent’s power sector. 

The document, unveiled at the Africa Energy Forum in Johannesburg, addresses the limitations of existing Synchronous Digital Hierarchy (SDH) systems and proposes a migration path to optical transport networks designed for digital grid operations.

The initiative comes as African utilities face pressure to modernise legacy communications systems that were implemented decades ago. Current SDH infrastructure cannot support the data requirements of automated power grid management, AI applications and real-time monitoring systems that utilities are deploying to improve grid reliability and efficiency.

Promoting fgOTN as a legacy infrastructure replacement

The fgOTN standard, defined by the International Telecommunication Union’s Telecommunication Standardization Sector (ITU-T), offers dedicated channel allocation within optical transport networks.

This architecture provides isolated traffic paths and stable service delivery through what the industry terms hard-pipe technology. For power grid operators managing critical infrastructure, this approach eliminates the service disruptions that can occur when multiple data streams compete for network resources.

Luo Xin, Optical Product Director at Huawei Southern Africa Region, describes the technology as combining established reliability with modern capabilities. 

“fgOTN is a new ITU-T-defined technology that inherits the safety and stability of SDH and adds the scalability and intelligence of OTN,” he says. “It’s tailor-made for the power industry.”

The International Council on Large Electric Systems (CIGRE) established the D2.65 working group in April to examine fgOTN applications in the energy sector. This development indicates growing industry recognition of the technology’s potential for power grid communications. 

Additionally, the working group’s formation provides a forum for utilities and technology providers to develop deployment guidelines and share implementation experiences.

African utilities are evaluating fgOTN as they transition to smart grid architectures that require high-bandwidth, low-latency communications. These systems support distributed energy resources, automated fault detection and market-based energy trading platforms. The technology’s granular channel allocation allows utilities to assign specific bandwidth to individual applications, ensuring that critical control systems receive priority access to network resources.

Huawei’s white paper identifies five technical requirements for next-generation power communication networks: automated network management, digitalised infrastructure, centralised operational capabilities, enterprise system integration and support for energy market transactions. 

Each requirement addresses specific challenges that utilities face when operating modern power grids with legacy communications infrastructure.

Addressing a need for power grid automation

Traditional SDH networks were designed for voice communications and basic data transmission. They lack the bandwidth and quality-of-service capabilities needed for video monitoring, sensor data collection and automated control systems that utilities deploy in modern grid operations. 

fgOTN networks provide the foundation for these applications by offering dedicated channels that can guarantee bandwidth availability and transmission latency.

The technology supports unattended network operations, reducing the need for manual intervention in routine maintenance tasks. This capability is particularly valuable for utilities operating in remote areas where technician access is limited. Automated network management systems can detect and resolve many issues without human involvement, improving overall system reliability.

Grid operators can integrate fgOTN networks with existing enterprise information systems, enabling data sharing between operational technology and information technology platforms. This integration can then support advanced analytics applications that correlate grid performance data with weather patterns, energy market prices and equipment maintenance schedules.

The hard-pipe architecture that fgOTN employs also creates isolated communication channels within the optical network. Each channel operates independently, preventing interference between different data streams. 

This design ensures that control signals for critical equipment receive consistent network performance, even during periods of high data traffic from monitoring systems or communications applications.

African utilities position for smart grid communications upgrade

Power providers across Africa are investing in digital transformation initiatives to improve service reliability and reduce operational costs. Many face the challenge of upgrading communications infrastructure while maintaining grid stability and controlling capital expenditure. 

The fgOTN white paper provides a technical roadmap for utilities planning these upgrades.

The technology enables utilities to implement advanced grid management applications that were not feasible with SDH networks. These include real-time load balancing, predictive maintenance systems and automated fault isolation. 

Such capabilities reduce power outages and improve customer service while lowering operational costs through increased efficiency.

Liberalising the energy market across several African countries is also creating additional requirements for communications infrastructure. Utilities are needing systems that can support automated trading platforms, real-time billing systems and regulatory reporting requirements – whereby fgOTN networks can offer reliability and security needed for these market-oriented applications.

The white paper represents a collaborative effort between Huawei and African energy providers to establish technical standards for optical networking in the power sector.

Luo adds: “With this white paper, we aim to empower African utilities to embrace fgOTN as a core enabler of smart grid communications.”