Josep Prat - Böcker

This text is based on the variable factors of the development and advancement of the technology of FTTH, the proposed key broadband telecom access technique to the end users. The optical technological issues range from network architectures to component development and integration, including analysis of the transported signals and survey of the FTTH projects and the standards. The overall aim is a broad analysis of all technical elements and concepts involved in its deployment.

Fibre-to-the-Home networks constitute a fundamental telecom segment with the required potential to match the huge capacity of transport networks with the new user communication demands. Huge investments in access network infrastructure are expected for the next decade, with many initiatives already launched around the globe recently, driven by the new broadband service demands and the necessity by operators to deploy a future-proof infrastructure in the field. Dense FTTH Passive Optical Networks (PONs) is a cost-efficient way to build fibre access, and international standards (G/E-PON) have been already launched, leading to new set of telecom products for mass deployment. However, these systems only make use of less than 1% of the optical bandwidth; thus, relevant research is taking place to maximize the capacity of these systems, with the latest opto-electronic technologies, demonstrating that the huge bandwidth available through the fibre access can be exploited in a cost-efficient and reliable manner. Next-Generation FTTH Passive Optical Networks gathers and analyzes the most relevant techniques developed recently on technologies for the next generation FTTH networks, trying to answer the question: what’s after G/E-PONs?

Fiber-to-the-Home Technologies is fundamentally based on all the variable factors of development and advancement of the promising technology of FTTH, which is or going to be the key broadband telecom access technique to the end users. The optical technological issues cover from network architectures to component development and integration, including analysis of the transported signals and survey of the FTTH projects and the standards, with the aim to obtain a broad analysis of all technical elements and concepts involved in near future deployment. FTTH is the key true broadband telecom access technique to the end-users. It is lately gaining a practical high interest as enabling technological limitations are being solved, in a cost-effective way. While access network deployment based on fiber is becoming comparable in cost to competing technologies (and even cheaper in some scenarios), the great difference on performances and future-proof technology, makes today the fiber an attractive choice. The increasing interest for new broadband IP services like bi-directional video communications between individuals will be only efficiently supported in its full quality by the optical media. The text represents a prospect of future in access networks. Considering their direct impact in both the end-users and operators or service-providers, we consider it can bring a new era, generating new perspectives and jobs. Fiber-to-the-Home Technologies tries to make people know about the existence and incredible perspectives of Fiber-to-the-Home. As a conclusion, the presented techno-economical advances in all-optical access networks in this text, both in research and commercial levels, reveal that Fiber-To-The-Home can feasibly progress from the research stage to the massive commercial field in a hopefully short-term period. Even today, the analysis leads the fiber to be considered as the right medium choice in new accessnetwork deployment for new operators.