Fiber to the x

Fiber to the x is the key method used to drive next-generation access (NGA), which describes a significant upgrade to the broadband available by making a step change in speed and quality of the service.

Therefore, FTTP has been selected by every major communications provider in the world to carry data over long 1 Gbit/s symmetrical connections directly to consumer homes.

FTTP configurations that bring fiber directly into the building can offer the highest speeds since the remaining segments can use standard Ethernet or coaxial cable.

With the rising popularity of high-definition, on-demand video streaming applications and devices such as YouTube, Netflix, Roku, and Facebook LIVE, the demand for reliable bandwidth is crucial as more and more people begin to utilize these services.

They generally use very-high-bit-rate digital subscriber line (VDSL) at downstream rates of 80 Mbit/s, but this falls extremely quickly when the distance exceeds 100 m (300 ft).

High-speed communications protocols such as broadband cable access (typically DOCSIS) or some form of digital subscriber line (DSL) are used between the cabinet and the customers.

Unlike FTTP, FTTN often uses existing coaxial or twisted-pair infrastructure to provide last mile service and is thus less costly to deploy.

Usually, existing wire is used with communications protocols such as broadband cable access (typically DOCSIS) or some form of DSL connecting the curb/cabinet and the customers.

Most fixed wireless technologies rely on PoE, including Motorola Canopy, which has low-power radios capable of running on a 12 VDC power supply fed over several tens of meters of cable.

In practice, the relative advantage of fiber depends on the bandwidth available for backhaul, usage-based billing restrictions that prevent full use of last-mile capabilities, and customer premises equipment and maintenance restrictions, and the cost of running fiber that can vary widely with geography and building type.

However, the largest 1 Gbit/s deployment in the United States, in Chattanooga, Tennessee, despite being conducted by power utility EPB,[19] was FTTH rather than FTTC, reaching every subscriber in a 600-square-mile area.

[20] Historically, both telephone and cable companies avoided hybrid networks using several different modes of transport from their point of presence into customer premises.

The increased competitive cost pressure, availability of three different existing wire solutions, smart grid deployment requirements (as in Chattanooga), and better hybrid networking tools (with major vendors like Alcatel-Lucent and Qualcomm Atheros, and Wi-Fi solutions for edge networks, IEEE 1905 and IEEE 802.21 protocol efforts and SNMP improvements) all make FTTC deployments more likely in areas uneconomic to serve with FTTP/FTTH.

In effect FTTC serves as a halfway measure between fixed wireless and FTTH, with special advantages for smart appliances and electric vehicles that rely on PLC use already.

Some used a network topology known as Active Ethernet Point-to-Point to deliver services from its central office directly into subscribers' homes.

Fiber termination was handled by a residential gateway provided by Advanced Digital Broadcast inside a subscriber's home to be shared with other consumer electronics (CE) devices.

[22] Telecom Italia, which refused to take part in the Fiber for Italy initiative, had an even more ambitious plan to bring fiber-to-the-home and fiber-to-the-business to 138 cities by 2018.

Fiber network developers choose architectures based on a variety of factors, such as the physical geography of the local environment, number of anticipated subscribers, and labor force skill.

[29] FTTN/C is seen as an interim step towards full FTTH and in many cases triple-play services delivered using this approach to provide up to around 100 Mbit/s have been proven to grow subscriber numbers and ARPU considerably[30][31][32] FTTN/C is currently used by a number of operators, including AT&T in the United States, Germany's Deutsche Telekom, Greece's OTE, Swisscom, Telecom Italia in Italy, Proximus in Belgium, nbn™ in Australia, and Canadian operators Telus, Cogeco and Bell Canada.

Point-to-Point Protocol over Ethernet (PPPoE) is a common way of delivering triple- and quad-play (voice, video, data, and mobile) services over both fiber and hybrid fiber-coaxial (HFC) networks.

For FTTH and for some forms of FTTB, it is common for the building's existing Ethernet, phone, and cable TV systems to connect directly to the optical network terminal or unit.

Once closer to the end user, equipment such as a router or network interface controller can separate the signals and convert them into the appropriate protocol.

For FTTC and FTTN, the combined internet, video and telephone signal travels to the building over existing telephone or cable wiring until it reaches the end-user's living space, where a VDSL or DOCSIS modem converts data and video signals into Ethernet protocol, which is sent over the end-user's category 5 cable.