The need for faster speeds and more bandwidth is forcing service providers to find new ways to step up their FTTH deployments. This demand usually comes on top of the demand for broadband connections often associated with entertainment services, or the pervasiveness of digital lifestyles in general. A growing user base is demanding reliable, fast Internet connectivity to support an ever-broader range of applications, on an increasing number of devices. As building and extending a fiber network can be expensive and confusing, service providers find it vitally urgent to find a way to speed up their fiber rollouts, in a practical way that gives them the flexibility to scale bandwidth incrementally for years to come. And as FTTH, DOCSIS 3.1, and G.fast gain momentum, new fiber is constantly added both at the outside plant and in the central office/headend (CO/HE). Furthermore, emerging trends and technologies are expected to have an important impact on the evolution of the CO/HE down the line.
To this, a recent survey of service providers showed that speed of deployment remains the top priority when it comes to fiber access networks. This sentiment was also on display when the respondents to that survey were asked to name the business priority related to FTTx in their market that should get the most executive attention. More than one-third of all respondents to that survey selected the total cost of ownership and the speed of deployment of fiber access networks. This was followed in distant second and third places by the need to meet customer bandwidth demand (21%) and the need to optimize video delivery (15%). Fortunately fulfilling this can be done through a number of streamlined and cost-effective solutions for speeding up deployments through a few simple steps:
There are multiple options and choices service providers have to cope with the expected increases in demand for fiber access. When comparing the available technology solutions, the most popular one, chosen by nearly a third of all survey respondents, was simply to increase fiber placement. In addition, addressing the bursts in growing demand with wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) systems, both active (21%) and passive (15%), were also viewed as desirable solutions to address these new demands.
Smarter approaches to cabling
Delays in FTTH installations usually happen in the last mile. This is the case partially because traditional methods of placing and splicing fiber cables take time - especially since splicing requires highly skilled labor, which can be hard to find.
To speed up installation time and reduce the overall amount and length of fiber placed, innovative service providers are transitioning to fiber indexing in their FTTH distribution networks. With this approach, connectorized cables and terminals are placed with the same components, daisy-chained together in a plug-and-play fashion. By configuring things in this plug-and-play fashion, the fiber cabling and integrated service terminals can be deployed quickly, more easily, and most importantly with a lower cost for labor.
With fiber indexing, installers don’t have to worry about costly custom cable assemblies, which can cause delays as they wait for specialized crews to set up, prepare cables, and build splices. Indexing also supports FTTH applications and can also support point-to-point fiber applications, such as a 5G radio site or metro Ethernet connections for businesses.
Unified infrastructure platforms
Since all locations and environments are unique and present their own set of challenges, field technicians often ask us for terminal enclosures that can adapt to any application. In response to our customer needs for example, we designed the NOVUX™ line of flexible closures and terminals that work with a variety of FTTX deployments including low-density rural, single residential, multi-fiber urban, and urban applications—all within one common platform. This allows for uniform installation practices and simplified training, which helps ease costs and accelerate the deployment of FTTH solutions.
Passive optical components
Service providers attempting to keep TCO as low as possible often look for new ways to maximize their existing assets. And notably, some service providers are leveraging passive wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) technology to get maximum bandwidth out of their current fiber infrastructures. Put in simpler words, WDM allows multiple wavelengths to travel over a single fiber, dramatically increasing the capacity of the fiber plant.
Beyond technology
It’s important to remember that solutions can’t offer value unless they’re deployed correctly and that every deployment will need to be properly manned. Proper manning and maintenance are increasingly vital to make the effectively execute on the deployment.
Through these steps, services providers can navigate through complex processes of planning, designing, cost-estimating, and implementing network evolutions. Stepping back and mapping out the approach that best suits their needs through these steps enables and equips them with everything they’ll need to deploy the right solutions that offer a quick ROI with ongoing benefits.
