This paper discusses the concept of PON standards convergence. The history of PON standardization is reviewed in brief as a way to explain how the industry arrived at its current divergent form. The reasons why convergence is favorable are enumerated, with a focus on what has changed since the last round of standardization. Finally, some paths forward are proposed.

This paper reviews the standardization work that has been done in question 2 of ITU-T study group 15, which is the lead group on optical access transport technology. The major topics covered are the progress in the G-PON series and the new point-to-point fiber access recommendation. Finally, a brief view of the future plan of XG-PON is presented.