Chapter 13. Broadband Access Solutions

Chapter 13. Broadband Access Solutions

Broadband access options are very important they very well may determine how well you're able to grow professionally and personally. The main drivers toward broadband are users' desires to find information that is valuable to them, to be connected, and to experience the multimedia spectacle of the Web.

The global broadband market is predicted to be worth US$580 billion by 2010. In general, the view is that households and small- and medium-size enterprises rather than the traditional corporate customers will account for most of that market. Increased economic growth and greater dependence on high-speed networks will lead to higher demand in Europe than in the United States by 2005 and in Asia by 2010. Estimates suggest that there will be 100 million addressable small- and medium-size enterprises globally by that time, with only 14% of those being U.S. based.

What drives a telco to consider deploying broadband access in the first place? One reason is that it may be experiencing slower rates of growth or even a decline in its core business of providing fixed-link telephone services. Also, there's a great deal of competition going on among many alternative networks, and there's an ongoing growth in the demand for nonvoice services.

After a telco decides to deploy broadband access, it has to decide which of the available broadband media options to deploy: twisted-pair (that is, xDSL), coax, fiber, wireless, or one of the emerging options (see Table 13.1). What drives the telco's strategy for deciding which of the options to deploy? One factor is the status of the telco's embedded distribution plant how old it is, how well it extends into the neighborhood, and whether it can support the high data rates specified with that broadband access option. Another factor is the services strategy of the network operator: Is it a legacy or new-era services provider? That is, is the telco interested in providing basic telephony and perhaps some specialized traditional low-speed data types of services, such as access to data or ISDN (that is, Is it a legacy provider?), or does the telco aim to deliver IP services, interactive broadband services (for example, Internet access, remote access, teleshopping), and broadcast and interactive video (that is, Is it a new-era provider?)? A third factor is the cost of installing the new distribution system, given the physical footprint realities such as the terrain and environmental conditions. Finally, the telco needs to consider the performance level of the distribution system in terms of the requirements to implement the services strategy. This also deals with the physical footprint realities (for example, broadband wireless may work very well in one area but provide poor performance in another because there are many trees whose leaves act as obstacles to the microwave). This chapter talks about the issues with regard to each of the broadband media.

Table 13.1. Broadband Media Options
Medium	Deployment Examples
Twisted-pair	HDSL, IDSL, SDSL, M/SDSL, ADSL, RADSL, VDSL
Coax	HFC
Fiber	FTTC, FTTH, PONs
Wireless	DBS/DTH, MMDS, LMDS, Free Space Optics, unlicensed bands
Emerging	Powerline, Ethernet-in-the-loop, HomePNA

As discussed in Chapter 10, "Next-Generation Networks," today, broadband network services are predominantly planned as separate overlay networks. When incremental deployment occurs via intelligent edge switches, the result is separate networks for separate services. Integrated access is the key to the cost savings of the converged network architecture.

Chapter 3, "Transmission Media: Characteristics and Applications," discusses each of the transmission media types in detail. This chapter focuses on the important aspects of and considerations in deploying the media types associated with broadband access: xDSL, hybrid fiber coax (HFC; including cable modems and cable TV networks), fiber arrangements that bring fiber to the curb and to the home, the broadband wireless arena, and emerging options, such as Powerline Telecommunications.

The Best Broadband Option for the Footprint

People often want to know what is the best broadband access option. The answer is that there is no best option. What is best for a given situation depends on the footprint reality. Currently, there are multiple options to explore. Across different terrains, across different applications, and across different politics and regulations, one of the options is bound to work and prevail and allow you to enter the broadband era.