A PON specified by the IEEE in 802.3ah (2004) as employing 802.3 (aka Ethernet) at the Data Link Layer. EPON runs at a signaling rate of 1.244 Gbps in symmetric mode and the maximum logical reach is approximately 20 kilometers (12 miles). EPON supports as many as 16 splits, that is, splitters can divide the signal to serve as many as 16 premises from a single optical fiber. PON variants also include ATM-based PON (APON), broadband PON (BPON), and gigabit PON (GPON). See also 802.3, APON, BPON, Data Link Layer, Ethernet, GPON, IEEE, logical reach, optical fiber, PON, signaling rate, and splitter.