THOMAS RITZ AERIAL FIBRE
UP IN THE AIR How aerial fibre can support FTTH penetration The telecom industry continues to make significant investments in Fibre to the Home. However, all too often telecoms companies can’t develop a business case for the significant investments required to bring FTTH beyond urban areas. In many cases, expansion into sparsely populated areas is not viable. Yet fibre networks are needed more urgently than ever in underserved areas. Thomas H. Ritz , Market Manager Public Networks at R&M explores the issues. A lthough many rural areas have mobile wireless internet connections, these don’t offer the speed and reliability required for today’s work, link subscribers, digging to bury cables or create new ducts Is avoided. Special cables and mounting accessories for aerial deployment are necessary, but in the end, the cost of components and elements remains competitive. Aerial cables can be installed fairly rapidly and easily, using hardware and practices familiar to local installers. A potentially higher rollout speed helps keep down deployment costs in today’s environment
This requires specific know-how. However, all things considered, planning does tend to be easier. Fewer permits are required, total waiting time is reduced and much less (very costly) underground civil works are needed. INSTALLATION CONSIDERATIONS Adequately leveraging the potential benefits of aerial deployment requires field-proven pre-terminated solutions that don’t rely on special tools, time- consuming work preparation or special expertise. Aerial cables for the construction of FTTH networks in remote locations need to be specified precisely and attention must be paid to the installation environment and year-round climatic conditions. Aerial cables are resistant to environmental factors, such
study, and entertainment applications. End-to-end fibre-optic connections to subscribers are a key requirement for almost unlimited broadband data. However, there are several reasons why buried fibre isn’t always suited for rolling out in rural areas. Distances between connection points can be vast. Civil works might be impeded by rocky terrain, vegetation, water, and other geographical features. Ducts might be absent, or existing ducts may be extremely full or collapsed. Aerial deployment is an attractive - and in many cases the only - option for realising fast and cost-effective FTTH rollouts in remote locations. Above- ground cabling has been around as long as electricity and telephone networks. This type of deployment allows operators to drive expansion forward quickly at a low cost. Aerial cables supported on poles are a cost-effective method of deploying drop cables to subscribers in areas with low population density. Aerial deployments can use field splicing or deployed pre-terminated cable. Operators often prefer the latter for the last drop as fusion splicing can be costly and time-consuming. Pre-terminated drop cables are particularly suitable for connections from the last distribution points to connection boxes on buildings. By using existing pole infrastructure to
in which skilled labour is lacking and investment in rural areas remains slow. Of course, the presence of existing pole infrastructure is a decisive factor in making an attractive business case. It is also important to realise that planning efforts might be more demanding with respect to pole distance, cable length and span and overlength management.
Robust connectors are essential
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| ISSUE 34 | Q3 2023
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