Fiber
To The Home
FTTH-
FTTC- Fiber To The Home- Fiber To The Curb
How
It Works
In an FTTH system, equipment
at the head end or CO is interfaced into the public switched telephone network
(PSTN) using DS-1s and is connected to ATM or Ethernet interfaces. Video services
enter the system from the cable television (CATV) head end or from satellite feed.
FTTH
Switch Products
All
of these signals are then combined onto a single fiber using WDM techniques and
transmitted to the end user via a passive optical splitter. The splitter is typically
placed approximately 30,000 feet from the central office (CO). The split ratio
may range from 2 to 32 users and is done without using any active components in
the network. The signal is then delivered another 3,000 feet to the home over
a single fiber. An ideal FTTH system would have the ability to provide all of
the services users are currently paying for, such as circuit-switched telephony,
high-speed data, and broadcast video services.
At the home,
the optical signal is converted into an electrical signal using an optical electrical
converter (OEC). The OEC then splits the signal into the services required by
the end user. Ideally, the OEC will have standard user interfaces so that special
set-top boxes are not needed to provide service. These interfaces would include
RJ11 jacks for telephony, RJ45 jacks to high-speed data, and 75 ohm coax ports
for CATV and DBS service.
Fiber-based
networks in general evolved in response to consumer demand for a vast assortment
of multimedia services and applications. In order to meet this demand, service
providers need a robust, broadband networking solution such as fiber technology,
which offers unlimited bandwidth and the flexibility to meet customer demand for
two-way, interactive, video-based services.
Today
it seems that everyone wants high-speed data, dependable voice service, and high-quality
video. Whether these services are delivered by digital subscriber line (DSL),
cable modems, or wireless architectures is insignificant as long as the service
is fast and dependable.
Providing these services,
however, presents a number of challenges, including how to get lines out to each
customer and how to future-proof the architecture put into the ground today. This
tutorial will address one possible solution, which is a fiber-optics architecture
called FTTH. There are other terms being used by the telecommunications community
such as FTTC or "fiber to the curb" -but the term FTTH has overtaken
most others as the "final solution" to delivering high speed communicatgions
seamlessly over one medium- fiber optics.
Fiber
to the home (FTTH) is the ideal fiber-optics architecture. In this architecture,
fiber deployment is carried all the way to the customer's home (premises). Fiber
Optic service to the home is the fastest, most reliable and secure method and
far surpasses anything that Broadband or "wireless" could ever even
dream of. Many people never know that today's vast cellular and wireless network
runs and "communicates"via a fiber optic backbone. This is the only
way such vast amounts of data can be transported from caller to caller -quickly
and securely.
FCC Gives Go-Ahead to Incumbents
on Deep Fiber Buildouts
The FCC took action to relieve incumbent local telephone
companies of most obligations to lease advanced fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) network
facilities to competitors at a regulated, cost-based price. Specifically, incumbents
are relieved from unbundling requirements for fiber-to-the-curb (FTTC) loops,
where fiber is extended within 500 feet of a customer’s premises. The new
rules free companies to choose between FTTH or FTTC networks based on marketplace
characteristics, rather than disparate regulatory treatment.
NEW NEWS! The
FCC also clarified that incumbent LECs are not obligated to build time division
multiplexing (TDM) capability into new packet-based networks or into existing
packet-based networks that never had TDM capability.
FCC
Chairman Michael Powell said "By limiting the unbundling obligations of incumbents
when they roll out deep fiber networks to residential consumers, we restore the
marketplace incentives of carriers to invest in new networks. "
In
a dissenting statement, FCC Commissioner Michael Copps wrote "Though today’s
Order speaks in glowing terms about broadband relief, the reality is far less
radiant. I don’t believe competitive telecommunications have been faring
very well under our watch and this particular proceeding strikes me as yet another
in a series of prescriptions this Commission is willing to write to end competitive
access to last mile facilities. It seems every month brings a new onslaught..
The loop represents the prized last mile of communications. Putting it beyond
the reach of competitors can only entrench incumbents who already hold sway. Monopoly
control of the last mile created all kinds of problems for basic telephone service
in the last century, and now we seem bent on replicating that sad story for advanced
services in the digital age."
https://www.fcc.gov
14-Oct-04
In
its Triennial Review Order released last year, the FCC ruled that the broadband
capabilities of fiber loops that extend to a customer’s premises, also known
as FTTH loops, would not be subject to unbundling under section 251 of the Act.
In August 2004, the FCC issued an order clarifying fiber-to-the-home (FTTH)
rules and relieving the incumbent LECs from certain unbundling obligations that
apply to multiple dwelling units (MDUs), or apartment buildings. The FCC said
its ruling increases the incentives for incumbent LECs to deploy next generation
facilities. The order concludes that determining what constitutes a predominantly
residential MDU will be based on the dwelling’s predominant use. For example,
a multi-level apartment building that houses retail stores such as a drycleaner
or a mini-mart would be predominantly residential, while an office building that
contains a floor of residential suites would not. The Order further clarifies
that a loop will be considered a FTTH loop if it is deployed to the minimum point
of entry of a predominantly residential MDU, regardless of the ownership of the
inside wiring.
Verizon
and One Economy to Offer Low-Cost Access
Verizon Avenue, a subsidiary
of Verizon, and a non-profit called One Economy Corporation, are working together
to affordable high-speed Internet access into the homes of many low-income Americans.
One Economy's core target market is the approximately 12 million people living
in 5 million units of government-subsidized rental housing, approximately 44 percent
of the total number of people living in affordable housing in the United States.
One Economy and Verizon anticipate impacting a significant share of the 200,000
new low-income apartments built each year. Looking to the future, the partners
also are studying the feasibility of expanding this concept to rural and tribal
environments as well as to rehabilitated properties.
One
Economy and Verizon initially will focus their efforts on new
affordable housing projects of at least 100 units. Both are already
negotiating with some of the country's largest such developers
in New York and along the East Coast.
Definition and Overview
1
Introduction
2 Evolution of FTTH
3 Meeting Today's Needs and Anticipating
the Future
4 How FTTH Works
5 The Advantages of FTTH
6
Level of Penetration and Acceptance in the Market
7
The Future of FTTH
8 FTTH Suppliers
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