FTTX

           What is FTTx?

•FTTH: fiber to the home

•FTTP: fiber to the premises

•FTTC: fiber to the curb

•FTTN: Fiber to the node

•FTTx: for those who can’t decide what to call it or are referring to all varieties!

•Mostly a telco issue

–Telcos have many aging cable plants

–CATV companies have HFC networks in place

–Competitive carriers now install own fiber

–Telcos fighting for exclusive rights                                                            

            Who Competes With Telcos In Implementing FTTx?

•Municipalities

•Utilities

•CLECs

•Private companies

•Battleground for telcos and CATV companies

           Where is the fiber?

•Where is the bulk of telephone cabling?

–10% is long distance

–10% is local loop (metropolitan)

–80% is subscriber loop

•Long distance and local loop are virtually all fiber

•Is FTTx just completing the system?

       Why FTTx? Why Now?

•Telcos are suffering with aging copper cable plants

•Telcos are losing broadband customers to CATV and landline customers to cell phones and VoIP

•New services are becoming available to enhance revenue - and customers demand them

•Regulations changed sharing issues

•New technology (PON) and cheaper components makes FTTx cheaper

•Many telcos are realizing that the alternatives to FTTx are inadequate for future bandwidth needs:

        –DSL won’t have the bandwidth

        –Wireless won’t have the bandwidth

        –BPL won’t have the bandwidth

•Eventually they will have to go FTTx, so why put off the inevitable?

     •Homeowners: for high speed Internet access and video downloads

     •Home Builders: FTTx adds value (and profit) to their homes

     •Hardware Providers

     •Service Providers: IPTV, HDTV, video on demand

      FTTx is gaining momentum

•US: 6 million homes passed (Jan, ‘06)

•1,000,000 connected

•Still a drop in the bucket!

•Data from Render, Vanderslice and Associates, 2006

    What’s In It For Contractors?

•Contractors are doing FTTx installs for Verizon and others

•While few electrical contractors do residential electrical, homes with structured cabling offer double the work and potential profit!

•FTTx will affect the commercial fiber market - fiber is cheaper!


     FTTx Cost Breakdown

   FTTx Architectures

•Home run - fiber  from CO to every home

•Active star - local switch then fiber to every home

•Passive optical network (PON) - use splitter near customer share fiber to CO

•WDM PON - PON but with each customer having a specified wavelength

•All based on standard SM fiber



FTTx Architecture Home Run

FTTx Architecture Active Star Network

FTTx Architecture Passive Optical Network (PON)

FTTx Alternative Fiber To The Curb

FTTP BPON Architecture (Verizon)