April 2015, Vol. 70, No.4
Newsline
White Paper Highlights Superiority Of Fiber To The Home
In February, the Fiber to the Home (FTTH) Council Americas filed a paper with the Federal Communications Commission that demonstrates how fiber is the fastest, most reliable, resilient and cost-effective way to deliver broadband.
Takeaways from the study:
• FTTH boasts speeds 10 times faster than the best widely advertised cable connection and hundreds of times faster than DSL connections;
• FTTH is almost infinitely upgradeable to suit any need for increased speed;
• FTTH transmits in optical form – there is no potential for interference; and
• FTTH is impervious to the effects of flooding, and its field equipment is usually an all-passive network, so power is not needed in the field.
“This report is a good explanation for why network providers, governments and consumers around the world invest in fiber to the home,” says Heather Burnett Gold, president and CEO of FTTH Council. “It is practical, low maintenance and cost-effective.”
Bandwidth limitations among other factors are contributing to the decline of digital subscriber lines (DSL) and cable hybrid fiber coaxial (HFC). Compared with fiber, copper and cable networks are more susceptible to equipment failure and degraded customer experience. As the costs to repair networks and increase speeds go up, these technologies – particularly copper – are becoming obsolete.
“The demand for FTTH will continue to increase as more providers and end users recognize the difference fiber makes,” Gold continues. “It delivers voice, television and data signals at higher speeds and capacities than cable and copper. Simply put, the bandwidth requirements for the technologies we have today and will use in the future require fiber networks.”
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