How Fiber To The Home or FTTH works?
In today’s world of internet, connectivity has immense importance in our lives. The present-day generation needs connectivity as much as oxygen. Access to high-speed broadband is a necessity. FTTH technology provides high-speed access to the internet at your home.
FTTH means fiber to the home. Its a network of fiber optic cable that comes to the home of the end-user. Before the invention of FTTH, an ISP used to lay down optic fiber to the exchange and then provide individual connection via copper cable.
Furthermore, as technology advanced, fiber optics became popular. ISP’s began installing it near to the home and last-mile connectivity was provided by CAT6 cables.
In addition, as technology advanced,
Why FTTH Technology?
The FTTH simply means fiber to the home. Before explaining about FTTH, first, we must know about the fiber optic cable. A fiber optic cable transfers data by means of light. So, in short, data transfers at the speed of light.
Furthermore, the high-speed data transfer leads to faster internet speeds. So, you can use popular streaming services and video calling platforms. Modern smartphones and applications need a fast internet connection. F
The fiber optic cable can work in various climates and temperatures. In addition, it doesn’t rust in a humid climate like copper cables. The fiber optic cables are hardy and don’t carry an electric current. So, they are safe.
In comparison with traditional copper cables and modems, FTTH can transfer much more data. Thus, it reduces the cost of ISPs as single fiber optic cable can carry much more data than multiple copper cables.
Working of FTTH
FTTH enhances internet speed drastically. You can stream movies, download data, make video calls, listen to the podcast at the same time without any lag.
FTTH technology works on both active and passive optical networks. As data moves in the form of light it needs to have the correct destination. Both types of network have their own data separation and routing mechanism. Both methods have their own advantages and disadvantages.
The active optical network uses electricity for switching and routing of data. It needs electricity and routing equipment to separate out and send data to specific customers. Hence, without an electrical switching equipment, this will not work.
On the other hand, the passive optical network doesn’t need electric switching equipment. It uses optical splitters to separate and move data along the network. The strand of optic fiber can serve 32 users. The electricity requirement is only at the source and the destination. Some times network providers may combine both types of networks and make a hybrid network.
Optic Network Types:
The PON passive optic network has a small range and you need to be near to the source of the data. Furthermore, the PON network does not guarantee a dedicated network speed. Its bandwidth varies depending upon the number of subscribers. So network quality may degrade during peak hours.
It has tremendous advantages as well. PON doesn’t need high investment and it is low on maintenance. In addition, each strand of the
The active optical network, on the other hand, does not have bandwidth problems. It relies on ethernet technology so inter portability becomes easy. Network restructuring is not required. In addition, you can scale up this network very easily.
However, it also has disadvantages. The active optical network needs switching router for every 48 users. This makes the active optical network costlier to implement and maintain. This system also increases investments and it is by default less reliable than the passive network. It also doesn’t work in case of power failures. Hence, people prefer PON as it is reliable and easy to maintain.
In conclusion, FTTH technology will dominate the market irrespective of 4G or 5G technology. The FTTH is simple, reliable and easy to maintain. So, we are very sure the future is all about
Video courtesy: FTTH council Europe
Watch FTTH technology in detail
Read on: What is a smart home? >>
