INTERNET OF THINGS
ANSWERING YOUR FIBRE QUESTIONS
Although the uptake of fibre in residential communities has rapidly progressed , there are still a few burning questions in the industry around aspects of the offerings and deployment . Estate Living sheds some light on the matter with Frans Verwoerd - General Manager at FibreSuburbs Network .
Q : What makes up a fibre network ?
A : A fibre network is made up of several components but there are basically four categories :
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The Access Network ( or Last Mile ) is the fibre that gets laid in a suburb or gated community . On greenfield developments , it is ideal that this infrastructure be installed by the developer while this can consist of cable trays or conduit in units .
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The Home Drop is the section of fibre connecting a living unit ( house / apartment / townhouse ) to the access network .
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The Backhaul , which is the fibre , sometimes kilometres of it , which connects the access network to a peering datacentre where various ISPs and other service providers connect to the network .
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Active Electronic Equipment or Headends are located at network rooms or central points of presence ( POP ) where the data signal is injected into the fibre , and a fibre termination unit ( ONT / ONU / Router ) installed in the subscriber ’ s house .
Q : The architecture of a fibre network is key . What are some of the key components that make up a successful network ?
A : As with any engineering project , two components must be considered to make up a successful network . Firstly , the network must be cost effective . Building a fibre network is a large investment and as such short-term cost savings vs long-term cost need to be evaluated . As an example , it may be much cheaper to use old overhead streetlight poles to run fibre cable , but this method needs regular maintenance in comparison to the more expensive and preferred method of trenching .
Maintainability and reliability are also important . Fibre equipment containing lasers is very sensitive to receiving a high-quality signal , and therefore requires installation by qualified technicians . It also needs to be properly tested to international standards and properly documented for future maintenance purposes .
Q . What products are available on the market to help reduce costs and damages when installing the fibre cable ?
Q : What services can run on a fibre network ?
A : A fibre network must be open access , meaning that multiple service providers , and not just internet service providers , can provide services . For example , a single house can get internet from their favourite ISP , telephone services from a telco , video streaming via a video streaming service such as Google TV or Netflix , and can have a security system which is monitored by an offsite service provider . This means there are four services on one fibre network .
Q : We are finding more and more that once the homeowner is connected to their wireless router , it actually does not
support the speed of fibre or the range required to reach parts of the home . Why is this ?
A . Unlike 3G or LTE , Wi-Fi coverage uses a frequency that does not penetrate brick walls and concrete floors well . Various Wi-Fi repeaters and power line extenders are available , but have limited success . New wireless mesh technology is becoming less expensive , but for now the best is to use one or two of the router Lan ports and hard cable into additional Wi-Fi points installed in areas with poor coverage .
Q . What is the future of fibre ?
A : Large investments are being made in metro areas and suburbs with previous old copper infrastructure . In future , developers will need to work with fibre companies to make sure they provide infrastructure in which companies can install fibre to make it cheaper to build and reduce overall capex . This again will reduce monthly availability cost . The next wave will be in secondary
cities and towns which have , until now , been widely overlooked . widely overlooked .
Q . What is the ATEC FibreSuburb Network offering ?
A . FibreSuburb Network has historically been working with developers and HOAs to get FTTH in outlying and more remote areas . While roll-outs in these areas will continue , the offering is also focusing on high-density lower-LSM group developments where it believes there is the same need as in more affluent estate communities .
www . atec . co . za
A : One of the biggest challenges for an FTTH network owner is to reduce the home drop cost . One exciting product in the market is a pre-connected cable that requires no fibre technician and can be installed as part of a DIY kit .
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