ANTONY SAVVAS FTTH ROLLOUT
infrastructure already exists,” Rees says, leading to quicker-to-deploy, cheaper and more environmentally-friendly networks. SPLICING Improved splicing technologies can also help deliver cost effective roll-outs. Neil Bessant, divisional manager, fusion splicer division, at Fujikura Europe, says, “Recent advancements in fusion splicer technology have significantly influenced the pace of FTTx rollouts. One of our latest innovations is the 45S, a high-performance fusion splicer that offers substantial benefits to fibre network engineers and installers.” With a 30% reduction in operational cycle time compared to its predecessor, the 41S+, the 45S is designed to elevate efficiency in fibre optic installations. A key feature is the new loading mechanism that facilitates the fast and easy loading of two fibres simultaneously, eliminating the need for manual closure of clamps. An improved heater also reduces average heating time for a 60mm sleeve, ensuring higher efficiency in splicing operations, and a “long-lasting battery” supports uninterrupted operation, offering up to 230 splice and heat cycles. “Such innovations are already having a real impact on speeding up fibre network roll- outs taking place,” says Bessant.
“DFN’s partnership with Adtran and Mosaic One delivers real-time data and insights for our network and customer service teams, allowing us to care for our customers and fibre network proactively and efficiently,” says Todd Way, CEO of Douglas Fast Net (DFN). GOOGLE As we have previously heard, getting more out of your existing networks is key to fully monetising fibre, and Google is aiming to do it in a big way. Google Fiber is deploying Nokia’s 25G PON technology to enhance its existing fibre network and deliver a new 20 Gig broadband service. Using the Nokia solution, Google expects to provide broadband speeds that are up to ten times faster than what most fibre networks can currently deliver. Google will reuse its existing optical fibre cables and active equipment deployed in its network to quickly deliver a 20 Gig symmetrical broadband service to customers throughout this year. Liz Hsu, senior director, product and billing at Google Fiber, says, “The age of multi-gig broadband services is here and we’re committed to ensuring all of our customers can benefit from the incredible potential it brings. We believe investments in advanced network technologies will help catalyse change, drive innovation and revolutionise the user experience.” “Google Fiber can reuse its existing fibre network to quickly and cost effectively deliver the next generation of gigabit services to their customers,” says Geert Heyninck, general manager of broadband networks at Nokia. Summing up what everyone in the industry should be aiming for, Julie Kunstler, chief analyst for broadband access intelligence service at Omdia, says, “25G PON can be a natural fit for those operators that want to pursue higher revenue customers and applications. Because you can use the same underlying infrastructure as FTTH, this means more revenues without expensive new network builds or additional operational costs.”
over a shared fibre infrastructure. This makes it “extremely efficient and cost effective” for FTTx rollouts. For instance, Ciena’s µOLT 10G PON transceiver, when plugged into a router, turns that router port into an optical line terminal (OLT), allowing XGS-PON services to be delivered anywhere in the network one port at a time. This minimises the need for complex and costly infrastructure, and provides the adaptability crucial to speeding up FTTx rollouts, and supports streamlined integration into existing networks and seamless expansion to accommodate future growth. “PON solutions that can integrate seamlessly with a broad portfolio of networking technologies help simplify network management and offer a holistic approach to FTTx deployments,” says Hatheier. Matt Rees, CTO of critical network infrastructure provider Neos, adds, “An interesting trend that could help network rollouts in the fixed-network space could be a further embrace of the ‘open network’ approach, which involves the separation of hardware and software, and can allow hardware from different vendors to work together. It enables service providers to diversify their supply chains and adopt the most innovative or cost-effective technologies, irrespective of the supplier. This will start to lower the cost of the network technology, helping to accelerate deployments.” The very nature of networks becoming more open also provides a platform for network infrastructure sharing, making it easier to extend services over the same physical infrastructure. With a large number of siloed networks being developed today, and at huge cost, sharing infrastructure will start to improve the economics of extending FTTx, with significantly less disruption too, says Rees. “It is ultimately to the benefit of the market and end users if, rather than multiple altnets deploying fibre networks that overlap each other, they instead focus their investment in net-new areas, and are incentivised to collaborate in areas that
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE Automation, and indeed artificial
intelligence, can play a key role in cost- efficient roll-outs. Adtran’s Mosaic One cloud-based software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform is designed to address the demands of modern broadband networks. It optimises network operations by using AI-driven algorithms to anticipate and resolve issues before they impact performance. Its three dedicated portals - Care, Operate and Promote - enable service providers to manage complex deployments, reduce costs and deliver superior services to their subscribers, says the vendor, and can support FTTH, DOCSIS, DSL and fixed wireless networks across multiple vendor equipment.
Todd Way CEO, Douglas Fast Net.
Rob Shore SVP Marketing, Infinera
J rgen Hatheier Chief Technology Officer, Ciena.
Matt Rees CTO, Neos Networks.
Neil Bessant Divisional Manager, Fusion Splicer Division, Fujikura Europe.
Liz Hsu Senior Director, Product & Billing, Google Fiber.
Julie Kunstler Chief analyst
broadband access intelligence service, Omdia.
www.opticalconnectionsnews.com
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ISSUE 36 | Q1 2024
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