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CONTENTS FOREWORD
F BRESYSTEMS Contents
Issue 14 • Winter 2017 5
14 17 20 25 29 32
36 News
Ovum: Global FTTP subscriptions overtake DSL l European Commission and EIB launch €500 million broadband fund l Metro and long haul fibre: Consolidation is the name of the game l Elenion targets silicon photonics
Profile: CommScope
CommScope is excited about the future of optical connectivity in access and enterprise networks, writes Beth Harlen
Technology Focus
Facebook launches Voyager, bringing open source concepts to optical networking equipment
Feature: A quantum of security
Optics can protect encryption systems from the threat of quantum computers, finds Andy Extance
Opinion: Salvaging Google Fiber’s achievements
Google wanted to revolutionise the roll-out of fibre to the home, and it still could, writes Benoît Felten
Feature: Here be dragons
Pauline Rigby bravely explores the roadmap for next- generation optical access systems
Show Preview: FTTH 2017 A look ahead to the FTTH Conference 2017 in Marseille
Product Update A round-up of some of the latest new products in fibre optics
25 20 14
Foreword Variety, the spice of life
and business ideas that never cease to delight me. It all starts – or does it finish? – with workers digging trenches in the dirt and joining cables to create the physical networks. By complete contrast, there are semiconductor scientists manufacturing optical widgets in clean rooms where dirt is virtually forbidden. From blockbuster mergers to the smallest new start-up; from submarine networks crossing the ocean to the impossibility of a rural fibre network crossing a bridge; from mega data centres larger than a football stadium, to the lone Cisco router being used to dry laundry in a garage, the variety is endless (and occasionally amusing). Te articles in this issue reflect that variety. On
T
page 17, we take a quick look at Facebook’s Telecom Infra Project, which aims to drive down the cost of telecom equipment by disaggregating hardware and soſtware. Meanwhile, on page 20 Andy Extance discovers how key distribution based on single photons will protect our encryption systems from the threat of quantum computers, which could be reality within a decade. Our cover theme is optical access and two
features explore contrasting aspects. On page 25, respected industry analystBenoît Felten speculates about what Google Fiber will do next, and how it could still dramatically change the market for optical access. And on page 29, we examine the factors influencing the development of the new roadmap for passive optical network technology. We also have a preview of the upcoming FTTH Conference 2017 in Marseille, France, on page 32. Whatever part of the fibre-optic industry you
Cover: iDesign/alexwhite/Liu Zishan/Ewelina Wachala/
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Editorial and administrative team Editor: Dr Pauline Rigby •
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SUBSCRIPTIONS: Free registrations available to qualifying individuals. Subscriptions £120 per year for 4 issues to readers outside registration requirements. Enquiries to Europa Science, 4 Signet Court, Cambridge CB5 8LA, UK. Tel: +44 (0)1223 221030. Fax: +44 (0)1223 213385. ©2017 Europa Science Ltd. While every care has been taken in the compilation of this magazine, errors or omissions are not the responsibility of the publishers or of the editorial staff. Opinions expressed are not necessarily those of the publishers or editorial staff. All rights reserved. Unless specifically stated, goods or services mentioned are not formally endorsed by Europa Science Ltd, which does not guarantee or endorse or accept any liability for any goods and/or services featured in this publication. US COPIES: Fibre Systems is published by Europa Science Ltd and distributed in the US by DSW, 75 Aberdeen Road, Emigsville PA 17318-0437. Periodicals postage paid at Emigsville PA. Postmaster: Send address changes to Fibre Systems, PO Box 437, Emigsville PA 17318-0437.
hail from, we hope you will find something of interest in the magazine. To receive future issues, we encourage you to subscribe on our website,
www.fibre-systems.com. Enjoy the issue!
Pauline Rigby Editor, Fibre Systems
pauline.rigby@europascience.com
he fibre-optic industry is always fascinating to observe and report on. It encompasses an incredible wealth of technology, people
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