Are You Looking For A Cost-Optimized Approach to FTTH Networks?

We know cable and broadband providers need building and right-of-way permits to proceed with any deployment, which increase labor and equipment costs when building a fiber network.

Here’s something you might not know—permits account for roughly two-thirds of the total budget and the equipment makes up the remaining third.

WhileGigabit Passive Optical Networks (GPON) and fiber equipment costs have fallen, skilled labor costs have risen. How can operators limit those high labor costs and still deploy a quality fiber network that can handle the bandwidth needs of today’s subscribers?

Operators are looking into fiber indexing technology for fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) deployments because it speeds fiber construction. This technology can also reduce engineering and inventory management requirements.

The CommScope acquisition of the BNS business from TE Connectivity expanded our fiber portfolio to deliver more innovative solutions, solve more of our customers’ challenges and serve more customers around the globe. We now offer fiber indexing technology to providers who need assistance expanding their networks.

While typical FTTH deployments require labor-intensive engineering and measurement with custom-length fiber cables, fiber indexing architecture leverages standardized building blocks – connectorized and indexed service terminals with hardened multi-fiber optical connectors – to create a plug-and-play network that is faster and easier to deploy.

The basic building block, which is repeated throughout the service area, includes a terminal with a built-in splitter, hardened 12-fiber inputs and outputs, and eight-hardened drops to homes. The indexing begins with a 12-fiber cable entering the first terminal. In the terminal, the first fiber is routed to a splitter for servicing local customers and the remaining fibers are “indexed” or moved up as they exit the terminal to connect to the next terminal. Indexing means the second fiber entering the terminal will exit as the first fiber enters the next terminal, and so on in a daisy-chained fashion.

The terminal uses RapidReel™ cable spool technology eliminating the need to store excess fiber. This allows any amount of fiber cable to be pulled from the spool back to the previous terminal without the need to cut specific lengths. By using the same components over and over throughout the network, along with less overall fiber, the network can be installed faster and with lower overall installation costs.

In this video, Jeff Blatnik, product manager, explains how services providers who want to launch Gigabit service to their subscribers should consider fiber indexing as an option.

How are you building your fiber network?