In the competitive broadband access environment, providing access to“triple play”services(voice, video, and high-speed data) is an important way for both telephone and CATV network providers to increase their revenue.Passive Optical Networks(PONs) are a cost-effective, flexible, and future-proof medium for providing triple play services.The 1 Gbit/s IEEE 802.3ah Ethernet PON(EPON) and ITU-T G.984 2.5 Gbit/ s PON(GPON) are currently being deployed for triple play service access.However, high definition switched digital video service such as IPTV will require more bandwidth.This paper provides a tutorial overview of the IEEE 802.3av 10Gbit/s Ethernet PON(10G EPON) standard, including the ways in which it differs from EPON. In the competitive broadband access environment, providing access to “triple play” services (voice, video, and high-speed data) is an important way for both telephone and CATV network providers to increase their revenue. Passive Optical Networks (PONs) are a cost-effective, flexible, and future-proof medium for providing triple play services. 1 Gbit / s IEEE 802.3ah Ethernet PON (EPON) and ITU-T G.984 2.5 Gbit / s PON deployed for triple play service access. Hosted, high definition switched video service such as IPTV will require more bandwidth. This paper provides a tutorial overview of the IEEE 802.3av 10Gbit / s Ethernet PON (10G EPON) standard, including the ways in which it differs from EPON.