The three largest U.S. local telephone companies, Verizon, SBC Communications and BellSouth, on Thursday announced they have agreed on a common set of technical standards to improve development of fiber-optic networks and speed the introduction of new services.
The standards involve technology known as “fiber to the premises,” or the extension of high-speed, high-capacity fiber optic network directly to business and homes. BellSouth, SBC, and Verizon will independently finalize their FTTP deployment plans for 2004 and beyond, based on the evaluation of these proposals, ongoing internal studies, and on the resolution of related regulatory issues
Local telephone companies have been encouraged to build fiber networks by recent FCC rules that allow them to exclude competitors.
It’s still not clear exactly which Fiber to the Premises standard they will use. One guess might be a Passive Optical Networking with Ethernet in the First Mile providing the backhaul.
PONs lets RBOCs build a network not unlike cable’s hybrid fiber/coax and deliver fiber closer to the customer (but not inside the house). Using the PONs system, a box outside the premises converts the fiber signal to coax for distribution inside the house.
A CO can run a single fiber stand to a cluster of end users. A passive optical splitter directs traffic to the customer’s premises without active optical components, lowering cost. The residential terminal, however, must have a box that converts the optical signals to twisted pair or coax for the last 100 feet.
PON gear at the head end uses lasers strong enough to handle the attenuation that takes place at each splice point. When traffic moves upstream, towards the CO, branch traffic can collide with other users so ATM has been used. Ethernet in the First Mile, with new QOS standards, could lower costs dramatically for the backhaul.
Meanwhile regional fiber coops are forming and operating in both large cities and small across the United States. The U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Utilities Service provides 4 percent interest rate loans at anywhere from 15 to 30 years for broadband services in smaller communities. The loan money can be used for fiber-to-home programs, “last mile” wireless or both. They are not without incident. Results of an independent investigation into expenses of the fiber program of the Grant County PUD will be available at the end of June. DSL Reports follows municipal fiber networks while Light Reading follows fiber networking news.
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