Enabling Fibre to the Home and Business

electrorent.com

1 electrorent.com Introduction

This paper looks at full fibre networks – Fibre-to-the-Home, & Wireless, Talk Talk and Carphone Warehouse, which has (FTTH) and Fibre-to-the Premises, (FTTP), reviewing how been reduced through market consolidation to a small number, broadband services in the UK have evolved to the current including Vodafone. point where FTTH/P networks are beginning to be rolled out. The benefits of full-fibre networks are discussed and theUK In 2011 Hyperoptic launched the first true fibre-to-the-home deployment status is covered. (FTTH) service in London, providing speeds of 1 Gbps, in comparison to Virgin Media’s flagship 100 Mbps service. The imminent surge in FTTH/P installations will fuel a demand This event marked the start of FTTH services in the UK with for engineering manpower as well as the necessary tools BT announcing plans in 2012 for full-fibre services. As with and equipment. The most commonly used test equipment broadband back in 2000 however, the roll-out has been slow, for FTTH/P is reviewed and the benefits of an independent with many false dawns following ambitious government supply chain partner, such as Electro Rent and Electro Rent, are commitments, (subsequently withdrawn), and complaints of presented. BT stifling the market. In 2016 Ofcom finally ordered BTto devolve Openreach into a completely separate company and Broadband, or “always on” services were first introduced to the at the same time announced a series of measures, (see below), UK in 2000 and were provided by the cable companies of the day designed to accelerate the roll-out of full fibre networks. (NTL, Telewest ) over their co-axial infrastructure and BT, using ADSL technology over existing copper lines. Download speed Whilst most high-speed broadband access today is still based at that time was 512 kbps and broadband roll-out was slow at on FTTC networks, full-fibre is the next evolution in broadband first with only 9% of UK homes having a broadband connection services promising 1Gbps (and higher) upload and download by the end of 2001, compared with 30% in Germany and 40% speeds. Roll-out of these services in the UK currently lags in Sweden. It wasn’t until 2008 that UK broadband penetration behind that of most of our European neighbours but, driven by rose significantly with 1.5 million new customers added that the potential threat to the UK economy caused by the lack of year and 50% of the population having access by 2009. a high-speed broadband infrastructure, the government has announced a package of measures designed to encourage the Arguably the catalyst for this surge in penetration was the supply side of the market. introduction in 2008 of fibre-based broadband by Virgin Media, who had by then consolidated all of the previously independent A number of operators, led by BT Openreach, Virgin Media and cable franchise assets into a UK wide network. Using their Vodafone/City Fibre, have now announced ambitious roll-out Fibre-to-the Curb (FTTC) based service Virgin Media were plans for full-fibre networks which will increase the number of able to offer download speeds of 50 Mbps, around twice that homes passed from the current level of 1.2 million up to 25 of BT’s highest speed at that time. Ofcom, the UK regulator, million or more by 2025. also tried to stimulate broadband growth by first ordering BT to separate their network’s operation into a separate operating division, BT Openreach, and then by requiring BT Openreach to offer unbundled Local Loop access, (LLU). LLU generated a number of new market entrants, including AOL, Tiscali, Cable

2 electrorent.com Operators have announced ambitious roll-out plans for full- fibre networks to increase the number of homes passed from 1.2 million to 25 million or more by 2025.

3 electrorent.com FTTH

As demand for high speed internet access continues to grow exponentially, traditional access technologies such as ADSL CO/PO Access Loop are no longer fit for purpose and are being superseded by faster access technologies. Over the last 10 years or so the main UK network operators such as BT Openreach, Virgin Media and Fibre To The Curb (FTTC) Vodafone have been rolling out super-fast networks, based on “fibre to the curb” technology, (FTTC), which enable download speeds up to 100 Mbps. FTTC networks use a mix of fibre and copper cables, with the operator deploying fibre to the (usually Fibre To The Distribution point (FTTDp) green) street cabinet from where the connection to the home is made over existing copper infrastructure, which may be decades old. (Although Virgin Media use their existing coaxial cable infrastructure instead of copper). The copper section can limit the connection speed due to its age, its length or the Current FTTC-based high speed broadband networks can offer number of customers who may be sharing it. download speeds of up to 100 Mbps to the end user, whereas with today’s FTTH networks, download and upload speeds of Fibre to the Home, or Fibre to the Premises (FTTH/P) networks 1 Gbps are achievable. Table 1 puts this into perspective by eliminate the copper section and deliver fibre directly to comparing upload and download speeds for popular home the building, enabling faster download and upload speeds. applications. The different FTTC/FTTH/FTTP network configurations are illustrated in Figure 1, right. Table 1 below: Comparison of Upload and Download Speeds. (Source: Fibre to the Home Council Europe)

Time taken for: 1 GB photo album 4.7 GB standard video 25 GB HD video

1 Gbps download 9 sec 39 sec 3 min 28 sec 1 Gbps upload

100 Mbps download 1 min 23 sec 6 min 31 sec 34 min 40 sec 100 Mbps upload

50 Mbps download 2 min 46 sec 13 min 2 sec 1 hr 9 min 10 Mbps upload 13 min 52 sec 1 hr 5 min 5 hr 47 min

8 Mbps download 19 min 0 sec 1 hr 29 min 7 hr 55 min 1 Mbps upload 2hr 32 min 11 hr 54 min -

4 electrorent.com FTTH

There are two main architectures for FTTH networks, as shown Standards for PON networks are set by the International in Figure 2, Point-to-Point and Point-to-MultiPoint, with the Telecommunication Union, (ITU), and are constantly evolving; latter accounting for the largest number of deployments to today’s networks adhere to Gigabit PON, (GPON), but further date. Point-to-MultiPoint or Passive Optical Networks (PON) evolutions of PON will enable operators to increase capacity, save dramatically on fibre costs by aggregating multiple end users and bandwidth. Figure 3 shows the current variants customer lines using a branching tree of fibres and passive of PON standards. splitter/combiner units. The passive optical splitters enable a single fibre to serve between 32 and 128 premises. The Recent progress in ITU-T PON standards fibre section from the splitter is normally terminated onthe G.hsp.x outside wall of a home, and a short fibre lead run inside to the Higher speed PON fibre modem, which then offers an Ethernet connection toa Req, PMD, TC broadband router. On PON networks, downstream or transmit NG-PON2 TWDM 4 /., 10G/10G light is transmitted at 1490 nm and upstream or receive at 1310 PtT WDM 8 /., 10G/10G G.989.x nm. For “triple play” systems where video is broadcast over the network, wavelength-division multiplexing (WDM) is used to

Down-/Up-stream Data RateDown-/Up-stream (bps) XGS-PON add a further wavelength at 1550 nm to carry the video signals. XG-PON 10G/10G 10G/2.5G G.9807.1 G-PON G.987.x B-PON 2.5G/1.25G 622M/155M G.984.x G.983.x

Point of Presence Acces loop Customer Premise 2000 2005 2010 2015 2020

PON (P2MP) IP Optical Figure 3: PON standards PON OLT Splitter (Source: The International Telecommunications Union) Fibre Fibre

Ethernet (P2MP) IP

Ethernet OLT (switch) Fibre

Figure 2: Different FTTH Architectures (Source: Fibre to the Home Council Europe)

5 electrorent.com UK Roll-Out

As demand for high speed data services continues to grow Additionally, the Government’s Future Telecoms Infrastructure exponentially, governments in the developed world recognise Review has issued a series of proposals including guaranteed the importance to their economies of high speed broadband fibre in new developments and providing operators with infrastructure. A recent report published by the FTTH Council a ‘right to entry’ to flats, business parks, office blocks anda Europe shows that, with full-fibre broadband available to unified approach to street works to reduce the cost and time of around 4% of buildings, the UK is ranked 15th in the sample of digging up roads. The review also proposes opening pipes and European countries and, in terms of subscriber take-up, is well sewers owned by power and water companies and allowing behind countries like Sweden and Latvia, who have more than unrestricted access to Openreach’s duct and pole network to 40% penetration. other telecoms companies. Rural areas where the government would need to stimulate investment have also been highlighted. To address this, the UK government has committed to make full fibre broadband available to at least 10 million homes Within this environment a number of UK operators have and businesses by 2022 and, over the last 18 months has announced plans to invest in full-fibre networks. The announced a package of measures to address this, including: deployment business case for these operators has been • £67 million investment in the Nationwide Gigabit Broadband positively impacted by the above government measures as well Voucher Scheme (GBVS) to help homes and small businesses as the regulatory framework created by Ofcom. Additionally, with the cost of connection new developments such as narrow trenching, overhead fibre, flat micro-ducting systems and pre-terminated cables have • Establishment of a £400 million Digital Infrastructure helped to further reduce costs. Investment Fund

• Launch of the £200 million Local Full Fibre Networks (LFFN) Table 2 summarises the plans announced by the main programme – providing targeted funding to stimulate operators which indicates that, if all of the respective roll-outs demand and prove commercial models. are achieved, the number of households and business premises • Introduction of 5-Year business rates relief for new fibre. passed will rise from an estimated 1.2 million (April 2018) to • Creation of the Barrier Busting Taskforce who are working over 25 million by 2025. closely with local authorities and suppliers on removing obstacles that are preventing the widespread commercial Table 2: Summary of UK full-fibre roll-out plans deployment of full fibre connectivity.

Operator 2018 (Q1) 2020 2022 2025

BT Openreach 650,000 3 million 10 million Virgin Media 50,000 2 million 5 million Vodafone/City Fibre 50,000 1 million 5 million Gigaclear 60,000 150,000 Hyperoptic 350,000 2 million 5 million Other 40,000 Total 1.2 million 25 million +

6 electrorent.com UK Roll-Out

The 3 main players in the UK full-fibre market are currently BT Openreach, Virgin Media and the recently announced joint- venture between Vodafone and City Fibre. All three of these operators have announced roll-out plans which concentrate on major UK cities. BT Openreach have confirmed that Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Leeds, Liverpool, London and Manchester will be the first cities to have full-fibre. Vodafone/CityFibre have confirmed that their roll-out will begin in Milton Keynes with a further 11 cities to be targeted, still to be confirmed but likely to include Edinburgh and Aberdeen. Virgin Media have stated that, as well as targeting the UK’s main cities, they will also deploy fibre to over 30 rural areas as part of its £3bn Project Lightning network. In the UK the tier 1 operators – BT Openreach, Virgin Media, Other significant players in the UK full-fibre market include Vodafone/CityFibre, etc have working relationships with Gigaclear and Hyperoptic. From its initial base in London, a number of subcontractors, particularly for installation Hyperoptic claims to have 350,000 premises passed, which work. These subcontractors include organisations such as presumable includes a number of large buildings and office McNicholas, Kelly Communications, John Henry Group, M.J. blocks in London, and has announced plans to roll out to 28 Quinn and Telent, who in turn will require to supplement their towns and cities across the UK. Finally, Gigaclear have a workforces with independent contractors to cope with the peak strategy of targeting rural areas and have announced short- workload during these planned roll-outs. term plans to pass 150,000 premises by 2020. By any measure, the next 5 to 7 years will see a peak in demand With an additional 24 million premises planned to have full- for suitably skilled employees as well as for relevant skills fibre access, the next 7 years will see a significant amount of training and also the tools which will be required to support deployment activity, calling for a temporary surge in installation these installations. and engineering headcount. BT Openreach have already announced that they will be recruiting 3500 engineers to support their plans whilst the other operators will certainly have similar requirements.

7 electrorent.com Best Practices and Essential Tools

During network construction and deployment there are two Qualification of loss, optical return loss (ORL), and main groups of testing activities which must be carried out: distance of the link

Testing of connectors and connections Qualification of the link following installation involves measuring the end-to-end loss, made up of the losses from the Connectors are key components in the network and also sources connectors on each end, the fibre sections and losses within of loss, particularly if they become contaminated, causing their the splitter (connectors/splices and the splitter itself). Testing loss to exceed budget. Contaminants can arise from a number must be done in both directions, as the fibres are used bi- of sources, including dust, oil from hands and mineral oils. directionally, and using the appropriate wavelengths – 1310 nm A dust particle on the fibre core surface will block the light, for upstream digital data and 1490 nm for downstream digital leading to unacceptable insertion loss and back reflection data. (For “triple-play” networks where video is broadcast over (return loss). Dust particles can also cause permanent damage the network, downstream testing at 1550 nm may also be to the glass interface, digging into the glass and leaving pits required.) that create further back reflection if mated. Two main items of test equipment are used to qualify loss, ORL It is therefore crucially important to inspect connectors during and distance, the Optical Time Domain Reflectometer, (ODTR) installation to ensure their cleanliness. Because of their small and the Loss Test Set/ORL Meter. Whilst the ODTR can result size and safety considerations, (e.g. eye protection), proper in faster testing requiring fewer test points and less man- inspection requires a microscope specifically designed for power, the outputs are more difficult to interpret, particularly on the fibre-optic end face. A video microscope can magnify complex networks and so skilled test technicians are required. the connector end face image for viewing on either a laptop Loss Test Sets/ORL Meters are simpler to use but two test or portable display depending on the product used. Figure 3 technicians are required for testing using this equipment and shows the P5000i Fibre Microscope from Viavi which enables more test points must be accessed. rapid inspect and certification of fibre end face quality at the push of a button. The simple “pass/fail” output from the P5000i The choice of test equipment therefore comes down to finding does not require highly skilled technicians and the results a balance between ease of use and cost. The equipment must can also be delivered direct to Viavi test platforms, laptops or also be approved for use aligned to the test strategy set by the mobile devices. operator.

Figure 4: Viavi P5000i Fibre Microscope (Source: Viavi Solutions)

8 electrorent.com Best Practices and Essential Tools

Testing Using an ODTR premises but this requires a higher level of expertise and detailed knowledge of the network configuration to interpret OTDRs work by injecting optical pulses into the fibre under test the trace results. and measuring the light that is reflected back from various points along the fibre. The reflected light is used to characterise the fibre under test with the strength of the return pulses being integrated against time and plotted as a function of fibre length.

By using an OTDR at various points in the network, as shown in Figure 5, the feeder and distribution sections of the network can be tested independently. The OTDR is able to identify and locate each network component and can measure splice loss, connector loss and reflectance along with total end-to-end loss and ORL. The tests must be performed using two wavelengths, enabling detection of bends on the link which give higher losses at 1550 nm than at 1310 nm.

Figure 6: Sample OTDR Output (Source: Viavi Solutions)

In addition to using the OTDR as a qualification tool, it can also be used as a troubleshooting tool to pinpoint issues along the link.

ODTR features such as accuracy, resolution, measurement range and measurement speed vary according to their cost and there is a wide range of OTDR models on the market, each addressing different test and measurement needs. The Figure 5: Testing Options Using OTDR suitability of an OTDR for a specific test scenario depends on (Source: Viavi Solutions) a number of factors, including type of network, type of fibre – single-mode or multi-mode, maximum test distance and By changing the OTDR pulse duration, testing from the customer test types. Other factors to consider include size and weight, end (ONT) can be used to qualify the network, both up to the display size, battery life, storage, connectivity, post-processing splitter and through the splitter to the OLT. A sample output software and available upgrade modules. from the latter of these tests is shown in Figure 6. OTDR tests can also be run from the exchange, out towards the customer

9 electrorent.com Best Practices and Essential Tools

forward process and there are several options available, so it’s important to choose the right one for the task. This is particularly important when working on installations in the field.

Physical connectors can be applied in the field, but these lead to reduced signal quality and can be unreliable as water or dirt often eventually make their way into the connection. Factory terminated or pre-connectorized cables are a more reliable alternative, however they must be carefully planned and set up in the factory beforehand, so are not a flexible option in the field. This means more cable is often used in practice than if the cables could be cut to length and joined on site.

Fusion splicing provides an effective, flexible option for field- based installations. The process joins fibres by bringing the two ends together and heating them, usually with an electric arc, to make a strong, physical joint. As the fibres are physically joined Figure 7: The MaxTester 730C PON/Metro OTDR tester from Exfo to form a single fibre, the amount of scattering and reflection at (Source: EXFO) the joint is very low.

There is a range of fusion splicers available to make the splicing process easier, faster and more effective. While these vary in complexity, the splicing process is similar across these devices. First, the fibre is cut, or cleaved, with a specialist tool. Both ends to be joined must be cleaved to ensure they can be joined cleanly. Next, the cores are placed into the fusion splicer using guides to ensure they are in the correct position and then the tool will then automatically align them and apply heat to join the fibres. Some systems can handle cables with multiple cores, joining all the cores in a single step, which can greatly improve efficiency when working on multi-core cables. Finally, the join is protected with an outer sheath to prevent physical Figure 8: FFTx/PON Testing damage to core from direct contact or stretching of the cable. (Source: EXFO) As the fibres are physically joined, the resulting fibre is almost as strong as the initial fibre, but the sheath provides some extra Joining Fibres with a Fusion Splicer protection. When the join has been completed, many modern Even well-planned fibre installations usually require some fusion splicers will analyse the joint to ensure it has been well cables to be joined. Joining fibre optic cables is not a straight made. If, for any reason, the quality of the joint is below the required standard, it can be cut and re-made.

10 electrorent.com Best Practices and Essential Tools

Visual Fault Locator (VFL)

A VFL is a simple tool, usually handheld, which can be used by fibre-testing crews to easily troubleshoot issues. The VFL locates breakpoints, bends or cracks in the fibre by filling the fibre core with light from its laser. VFLs are available in different shapes and sizes, with many, such as VisiFault from Fluke. VFL functionality can also be integrated into many types of OTDR.

The roll-out of FTTH networks planned over the coming 5 years is fuelling a demand for fibre-optic testing equipment with a number of operators in the process of expanding their installation capabilities. In this environment, it will be important Figure 9: Fusion splicer with spliced fibre in place to secure timely and flexible supply of test equipment to ensure the optimal balance between availability and capital expenditure. Testing Using a Loss Test Set/ORL Meter With over 50 years’ experience in test equipment management, Optical Loss Test Sets, (OLTS), can be used, in pairs, to measure Electro Rent and Electro Rent have built in-depth experience insertion loss, (IL), and optical return loss (ORL). Once the pair helping users deploy equipment when and where needed in the of units have been referenced and calibrated they can be used most cost-effective way. With options covering rental, rent-to- to take end-to-end measurements on any section of installed buy, leasing, finance or purchase, Electro Rent can help their fibre, as shown in Figure 7. These tests enable verification customers minimise the cost of acquiring the right equipment of the IL and ORL variables and can identify any transposed at the right time. Electro Rent also offer asset management fibres. Testing using OLTS is simpler than with OTDRs but two services, enabling their customers to manage their test test engineers are required, at different physical locations and, equipment throughout the lifecycle, tracking location, ensuring if any problems are identified, an OTDR of VFL is required for compliance with relevant standards and also identifying when more detailed analysis. equipment should be disposed of.

With almost $500 million invested in test equipment, Electro Rent’s team of over 350 specialists keeps track of developments in key segments to ensure that the company’s investments are targeted at the equipment which will meet market needs.

This in-house expertise is supported by the strong relationships that Electro Rent has built with the major Test Equipment manufacturers, ensuring that the company has the right products available in the right quantities.

Figure 10: Testing with ORL Meter (Source: Fibre to the Home Council Europe)

11 electrorent.com Conclusion

Seven years after its initial introduction and after many false This expected surge in installation activity and associated dawns, full fibre, and (FTTH/P) broadband networks are on headcount will lead to a knock -on rise in demand for the the verge of taking off in the UK. Recognising the link between equipment and tools required to support fibre installation. Key strong economic growth and high speed broadband, the UK items of equipment will include OTDR units, Fibre Microscopes, government has announced a series of measures aimed at Optical Loss Test Sets and Visual Fault Locators (VFL). stimulating growth of full-fibre networks. Given this anticipated rise in demand and the need for At the same time a number of new techniques for deploying flexible and cost effective sourcing it will be important for any fibre have reduced the required capital investment, further organisations involved in network roll-outs to have a secure enhancing the business cases of the key market players. supply chain for this type of equipment.

Current plans by the main UK network operators would suggest With over 50 years’ experience in test equipment, along with a surge in the number of homes passed, from an estimated a wide portfolio of available tools, strong relationships with 1.1 million, as of April 2018, to over 25 million by 2025. BT test equipment manufacturers and flexible financing services, Openreach, Virgin Media and Vodafone/City Fibre are leading Electro Rent and Electro Rent well placed to be the ideal partner the charge with Hyperoptic and Gigaclear also announcing for fibre optic test equipment. ambitious plans. BT Openreach has announced that it will be taking on an additional 3500 engineers to support its network roll-out and it is to be expected that the other operators will follow suit, either through direct hires, contractors or through the existing network of subcontractor companies.

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13 electrorent.com