Category: Fiber

Telecom FTTH Network Architecture for Rural Environments

By on • ( Leave a comment )

Bringing broadband service to rural and underserved, exurban areas can pose unique challenges to providers. Deployments must cover great distances to reach just a few homes. Rural areas have higher costs per home passed, and require high subscriber take rates to make fiber deployments economically possible. Alternative FTTx deployment solutions such as a tap FTTH network architecture may offer a solution. In a tap network, a fiber cable is deployed throughout a service area, and fiber optic taps divert optical signals to subscribers.

Some Say, “With 5G, No Need for Fiber Networks.” They Are Wrong

By on • ( Leave a comment )

This week, I read an article stating that 5G “gives developers the ability to scale up projects more easily because there’s no need to build extensive fiber-optic networks to keep data flowing.” This couldn’t be further from the truth. In fact, fiber is the essential backbone for all 5G networks to operate, for fronthaul, midhaul, backhaul, and the densification needed to network between small cells.

Playing to Fiber’s Strength

By on • ( Leave a comment )

Last month, I wrote about types of fiber optic sensors that are used in specialized applications. Most of these affect the transmission of light in the fiber to allow the physical parameter to be sensed either along the entire length of the fiber or at discrete points where sensors are connected to the fiber. Many of these sensors can be attached in series along a single fiber to connect up sensors over a large area and monitored using an instrument such as an optical time domain reflectometer.

The challenges of migrating optical networks to 400G

By on • ( Leave a comment )

While 400G is the answer to increasing data demands, there will be an initial struggle on the network backbone in supporting these initiatives and fulfilling the promise of higher-capacity transport. 400G is not a natural extension to existing network infrastructure, and requires taking into account new restrictions and a redesign of the optical network infrastructure. 400G capacity over a single wavelength with its high baud rate is simply too spectrally wide to pass through the 50-GHz filters and fixed grid ROADMs (reconfigurable optical add-drop multiplexers). A new “runway” is required to reap the benefits of this new technology.

White Paper: “Future Proof” Your Fiber Optic Installations with Better Cleaning

By on • ( Leave a comment )

Better cleaning is the answer for modern fiber optic networks but the cleaning product selection process based on cost, not effectiveness. This White Paper suggests a better decision is to define the “best practice” that will “future-proof” each installation so the connectors are perfectly clean first time, every time. Better cleaning will save time and money.