PPC blog

Careful planning is crucial if a Fiber to the Premises (FTTP) installation is to be a success. It begins with choosing your architecture and in a previous blog we looked at the advantages and disadvantages of PON and P2P architectures. This was part of the Complete Guide to Fiber to the Premises eBook, a free download that covers the factors you need to take into account when making choices for your implementation.

After choosing an architecture, the next challenge is cost-effectively deploying last drop connections. The first factors to take into account revolve around the terrain and environment, which affect whether to go for a buried or aerial deployment. Let’s look at these in more detail:

Superfast broadband brings highly desirable benefits across the board, but complexities in the last drop can often introduce unwelcome expense and hamper progress.

In a previous post I looked at the roll out of FTTH in Africa and how high costs, in the short term at least, concentrate access within a narrow group that can afford to pay for installations. And, of course, the major prize and the bigger picture will be found in bringing access to much wider markets.

So the question remains; how can network designers reduce their FTTX roll out costs and bring those benefits home for a much wider demographic?

The benefits of FTTH to everyone

Firstly, it is worth looking at the benefits. Obviously faster broadband enables people to receive services such as IPTV, widening their entertainment choices, while also allowing them to download data and information faster than before. However it goes further, empowering them. It makes it easier to work from home and communicate nationally and internationally using voice and video at no extra cost through VoIP services such as Skype, enabling people to start and expand their own businesses. They can sign up for content rich educational courses, particularly those including video lectures and real-time tutorials, learning vital skills to improve their lives. And government services, from healthcare to registering for benefits, can be applied for and accessed online, reducing the bureaucracy and increasing efficiency for both citizens and civil servants.