Broadband Insights: Why is deployment speed important in the launch of FTTH services?

The speed of deployment of FTTH services usually affects two key factors. First, the speed will affect the time it takes for new FTTH services to enter the market, and these services are undoubtedly an important source of profit for operators. Secondly, the speed will also affect the deployment cost per user. In the case of high penetration rate, batch installation can be used instead of installing one by one, thereby reducing the overall cost and making it shared by more users.

What factors may slow down the deployment of FTTH services?

Many factors may reduce the deployment speed of FTTH services, such as the strict and demanding deployment of optical fiber (ROW), the lack of coordination or cooperation between telecom operators and local municipal companies in the reuse of existing resources, and the entry of fiber in the last mile There is a lack of innovative tools and engineering practices when users and indoor wiring problems are solved.

What measures can telecom operators take to circumvent these problems and increase deployment speed?

In terms of increasing the deployment speed of FTTH services, telecom operators can seek the assistance of the government and regulatory authorities to obtain looser right of way, or use their support to achieve better cooperation and collaboration with local municipal utilities to make it easier to rent Resources such as facilities, pipelines and fiber optics. In terms of the last mile of fiber optic homes, telecom operators can cooperate with real estate developers to achieve a faster transition from buried mode to overhead mode. In terms of indoor wiring, telecom operators can use innovative tools and introduce advanced engineering practices to increase the speed and efficiency of wiring.

What potential challenges will you encounter during the implementation of the proposed cooperation mechanism?

For telecommunications operators, one of the challenges is that public utility companies are reluctant to share excess fiber and pipeline resources. Local governments and regulatory authorities should encourage them to share these surplus resources with telecom operators.

Another challenge facing telecom operators is to transform the business model and realize the sharing of fiber and pipeline resources with local facilities companies, which requires long-term communication and coordination with multiple parties.

In fact, such examples abound. Taking Ireland as an example, Vodafone leased the existing pipeline resources of a local power company ESB to increase the deployment speed of its FTTH service.

In Poland, Orange leased fiber from a local energy company, Tauron, which saved its capital expenditure investment in the optical distribution network (ODN) by 14% and brought its services to market by twelve times ahead month.

In Croatia, the public transportation company Odasiljaci i Veze (OiV) launched a government-supported project to integrate the excess fiber bandwidth network resources of seven major state-owned enterprises. These seven state-owned enterprises cover various fields, including energy, transportation, highways, and railways. OiV has optical fibers throughout Croatia, with a total length of more than 8,000 kilometers. All telecom operators only need to rent OiV fiber to increase the deployment speed of FTTH services.

In China, the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development launched the "Code for the Design of Fiber-to-the-Home Communication Facilities in Residential Areas and Residential Buildings" to address and solve the difficulties of wiring projects in residential areas. The code stipulates that the fiber optic facilities of each household in a newly constructed building must be completed before the house is sold.