FTTH Fiber to the Home (Fibre (Fiber) To The Home, FTTH)

Fiber To The Home (FTTH)

Fiber To The Home (FTTH) is afiber optic communicationtransmission method. Specifically, FTTH refers to the installation of Optical Network Units (ONU) at the premises of residential or business users, making it the closest type of optical access network application to users, apart from FTTD (Fiber To The Desk). The significant technical features of FTTH include not only providing greater bandwidth but also enhancing the network's transparency to data formats, rates, wavelengths, and protocols, relaxing requirements on environmental conditions and power supply, and simplifying maintenance and installation. PON technology has become a common focus for global broadband operators and is considered one of the best technical solutions for achieving FTTH.

FTTH (Fiber To The Home) is currently the best model for meeting all-service, high-bandwidth access demands.

The development of FTTH mainly has two paths - active optical networks and passive optical networks.

Active optical networks have the characteristic of long transmission distances, but they are highly specialized in equipment, making them unsuitable for densely populated areas, and the port prices are relatively high. Additionally, the active nature also limits equipment installation and makes it susceptible to electromagnetic interference from the surrounding environment, increasing network failure points and leading to higher maintenance costs.

Passive optical networks, being purely medium networks, have a natural ability to resist electromagnetic interference, reducing failure points in the access network, resulting in higher system reliability and lower maintenance costs. At the same time, the transparency of the passive optical network model for FTTH is good, supporting various application standards, making it more suitable for large-scale user development. Passive optical networks are gradually becoming the mainstream development direction for FTTH.

The physical layer of FTTH uses fiber optics, and the use of optical networks provides a good foundational guarantee for high-bandwidth service delivery. However, the physical layer alone is not enough; achieving information transmission is more importantly about layer 2 control. Therefore, the development of FTTH has undergone a revolution at the network layer 2 - transitioning from ATM to Ethernet, corresponding to the APON and E/GPON series.

FTTH is a comprehensive access solution for all services. Although the main driving force behind FTTH is futurebroadbandvideo services, FTTH must also support various existing narrowband and broadband services, as well as new services that may emerge in the future. The FTTH system must provide comprehensive access, allowing users to enjoy multiple services simultaneously. The main services that FTTH should support include:

Video:HDTV, usingMPEG-2standard compression, with original image pixels ranging from 1080×1920 to 4320×7680, employing a Dolby Digital 5.1 channel decoder system for multi-channel high-fidelity sound; standard DTV, using MPEG-2 standard compression, with original image pixels around 640×720, ordinary mono or stereo; various static image services and low-resolution surveillance image services using MPEG-1, MPEG-4, and other compression technologies.

Data: Variousbit ratesdata services, with rates ranging from a few Kbps to several tens of Mbps.

Voice: Including traditional POTS telephone and digital telephone services, multi-channel high-fidelity sound.

Multimedia: Various mixed data, voice, and image services of different qualities.

Similar to the 'cross-connection method' of communication full plastic telephone cables, the FTTH Optical Distribution Network (ODN) is divided into backbone optical cable subsystems, distribution optical cable subsystems, and home optical cable terminal subsystems.

(1) Backbone Optical Cable Subsystem

This refers to the optical cable distribution system connecting the optical distribution frame (ODF) of the optical access device OL'I’ to the user optical cable junction box. In the optical distribution equipment at both ends, the optical cables are terminated using fusion splicing, and they are interconnected using optical cable pigtails.

(2) Distribution Optical Cable Subsystem

This refers to the optical fiber cable between the optical junction box and the 'fiber comprehensive distribution box' inside the user building. This is an optical distribution spool where the input and output optical cables are directly connected 'back-to-back', and splitter equipment is usually installed within it.

(3) Splitter (ODB)

A splitter is a device that 'multiplexes' the channels of a single-core optical cable into multiple channels, with common splitting ratios of 1:16, 1:32, and 1:64. In the EPON mode of the FTTH system, due to the transmission rate of 1.2Gb/s, to ensure that user bandwidth reaches above 30Mb/s, the most commonly used splitting ratio (also known as 'splitting ratio') is 1:32.

Splitters (OBD) can be of different types based on their installation location, mainly including 'box-type output splitters', 'tray-type splitters', and 'plug-in terminal splitters'; the model of the optical cable pigtail connectors is SC type 'square head' optical connectors.

The advantages of FTTH mainly include five points: First, it isa passive network, fromthe central officeto the user, it can basically be passive in between; Second, itsbandwidthis relatively wide

FTTH

, and the long distance is just right for the large-scale application mode of operators; Third, because it carries services onfiber optics, there are no significant issues; Fourth, due to its relatively wide bandwidth, it supports flexible protocols; Fifth, with the development of technology, including point-to-point, 1.25G, and FTTH methods, relatively complete functions have been established.

In the optical access family, there are also FTTB (Fibre To The Building)fiber opticsto buildings, FTTC (Fibre To The Curb) fiber to the curb, FTTSA (Fibre To The Service Area) fiber to the service area, etc.

tofiber opticsDirectly connected to the user's home, itsbandwidth、wavelengthand types of transmission technology are not limited, suitable for introducing various new services, it is the most ideal business transparent network, and the ultimate way of access network development.

Although the development speed of mobile communication is astonishing, due to itsbandwidthlimitations, the terminal size cannot be too large, and factors such as limited display screens, people still pursue fixed terminals with relatively superior performance, which means they hope to achievefiber opticsto the home.fiber opticsThe charm of to the home lies in its greatbandwidthit is the best solution to solve the 'last mile' bottleneck phenomenon from the internetbackbone networkto the user's desktop. [6]

Structured cabling system

ODN optical cable distribution subsystem

With the development of computer technology and communication technology, in order to meet the demands of the industry and the market, the structured cabling system is continuously being updated and iterated. From Category 3 to Category 5, from Category 5 to Category 5e, and now to the mature and widely used Category 6 system, the Category 6a system with 10G copper cables has also become popular in data centers. In response to the demand for network and video acceleration, Category 7 and Category 7a systems have emerged, and the standards for Category 8 systems are being formulated. Multi-mode fiber has also been optimized from the gigabit OM1 to the 10G OM3 and the OM4 fiber that supports longer 10G transmission distances. Looking to the future, the structured cabling market mainly presents several hotspots: (1) Intelligent cabling systems, what is intelligent cabling? Intelligent cabling is a system that uses electronic patch panels along with network scanners and management software to monitor and manage the connectivity, disconnection, and unauthorized access of the network's physical layer in real-time. With the widespread application of concepts such as virtualization, cloud computing, and big data in the new generation of data networks, structured cabling, as the physical foundation of the network, has become increasingly important to maintain and manage effectively to minimize losses caused by network interruptions. (2) POE cabling, POE cabling refers to the technology that provides power to IP-based terminals (such as IP phones, WiFi access points, network cameras, etc.) while transmitting data signals without making any changes to the existing Ethernet cabling infrastructure. (3) Combination of wired and wireless, due to the popularity of smart terminals, the demand for wireless has become increasingly urgent, with over 90% of current projects having wireless requirements. The combination of wired and wireless refers to the deployment of wireless APs at the end of wired connections, generally using POE for power supply. (4) High-density high-bandwidth cabling, high-density high-bandwidth cabling refers to the use of high-density devices with MPO connectors pre-terminated. The size of a 12-core or 24-core MPO connector is similar to that of an LC duplex connector, saving more space. In limited space environments (especially in data center applications), this can greatly simplify the configuration process of fiber optic networks while supporting high bandwidth transmission of 10G/40G/100G. (5) Smart home cabling refers to the internal wiring and management of homes after fiber is brought to the home. Currently, most still follow this model, but with the rise of smart homes, there are higher demands for home cabling. Whether home cabling can perfectly integrate with smart home systems has extended the function of home cabling from mere wiring management to the ability to store, process, and exchange data. (6) Micro-module data centers, micro-module data centers integrate traditional data center systems such as cabinets, cooling, network cabling, power supply, lighting, and environmental monitoring into a unified whole. They use modular components and standardized interfaces to achieve rapid and flexible deployment of data centers and subsequent expansions. This not only significantly reduces construction costs but also shortens the construction and deployment cycle of data centers, enhancing the mobility and flexibility of data center deployment. Of course, with the continuous development of various technologies, structured cabling will have more technological hotspots and application scenarios.

The global broadband ranking has been released.