IN THIS ISSUE... 05 NEWS


5G IS COMING


UK High Court rules in favour of ASA on use of ‘fibre’ in advertising n Cloud operator spend on optical hardware reached $1bn last year, says Cignal AI n Altice Europe closes sale of SFR FTTH stake


10 ANALYSIS & OPINION:SHOW REVIEW Keely Portway reports from the OFC 2019 Conference and Exhibition in San Diego


12 ANALYSIS & OPINION: NEXT GENERATION NETWORKS 800G has been a hot topic in the first quarter of the year, with two companies bringing the first offerings in this area to the market. Keely Portway reviews the latest developments


14 FEATURE: NEXT GENERATION NETWORKS Andy Extance discovers how a new implementation agreement for low-power


consumption will see small modules push technological barriers


18 ANALYSIS & OPINION: NEXT GENERATION NETWORKS Power over Ethernet could help service providers adapt to the opportunity provided


by IoT to remain competitive, argues Ankit Agarwal


20 FEATURE: FIBRE & FIBRE OPTIC CABLE Cabling infrastructure will be vital in the deployment of 5G networks. Three industry


experts explain why they believe this is so, and offer an insight into the kinds of smarter infrastructure that could be adopted


26 ANALYSIS & OPINION: FIBRE & FIBRE OPTIC CABLE Scott Modha looks at how the right technique goes a long way, and how operators


could benefit from simplified microduct network deployments 29


ANALYSIS & OPINION: COHERENT OPTICS Network core flexibility will become just as important as capacity, and coherent solutions could be key to accommodating changing traffic flows, explains Eugene Park


32


TECH FOCUS:TEST & MEASUREMENT The importance of fibre optic test equipment has increased in recent years as global fibre deployment ramps up. This was evident in some of the latest product developments demonstrated at industry events and also shown in the most recent market research predictions


35 PRODUCTS A round-up of recent new product announcements


Editorial team Editor: Keely Portway


n Consulting editor: Pauline Rigby


keely.portway@europascience.com, +44 (0)1223 221048 pauline.rigby@europascience.com,


n


+44 (0)1223 221030 Regular contributors: Andy Extance, Rebecca Pool


Advertising and production team Advertising manager: Jon Burrows


n n Tel: +44 (0)1223 221034


Senior designer: Zöe Andrews 221035


n jon.burrows@europascience.com


Tel: +44 (0)1223 221037 Design and production manager: David Houghton com


Corporate team Managing director: Warren Clark


n zoe.andrews@europascience.com n n


david.houghton@europascience. Tel: +44 (0)1223


n warren.clark@europascience.com


Fibre Systems is published by Europa Science Ltd, 4 Signet Court, Cambridge CB5 8LA, UK. Tel: +44 (0)1223 221030 Fax: +44 (0)1223 213385 Web: www.europascience.com ISSN: 2053-5147


All editorial information should be sent to editor.fibresystems@europascience.com


www.fibre-systems.com @fibresystemsmag COVER: Shutterstock.com


SUBSCRIBE FOR FREE ONLINE AT WWW.FIBRE-SYSTEMS.COM/SUBSCRIBE


SUBSCRIPTIONS: Free registrations available to qualifying individuals. Subscrip- tions £120 per year for four 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. ©2018 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.


A


s we go to press millions of streamers are nearing the end of the final season of Game of Trones. Having arrived fairly late to that particular party, it


is only now that I can begin to appreciate the level of frustration that fans must face in areas of poorer connectivity, trying to keep up with the plot twists and turns at the same time as their fibre-rich friends and family – and avoiding spoilers! Te industry was making its collective way to


Amsterdam for the FTTH Conference as we went to press with the previous issue. 5G was a big talking point, with its promise of faster speeds, more stable connections and lower latency – all perfect for streaming content such as the aforementioned show. In his welcome keynote Ronan Kelly, president of the FTTH Council, addressed the ‘5G vs fibre debate’, stating: ‘without full-fibre access across Europe, that vision of 5G overtaking fixed infrastructure won’t happen.’ With fibre essential to the future of 5G, other


themes from the event surrounded the need for greater fibre deployment and working toward copper switch-off. Tis comes with its own challenges – consumer awareness, for example, which cropped up several times over the three days. Kelly asked: ‘How is a fake Rolex or fake Louis Vuiton any different than operators selling “fibre” that isn’t fibre?’ Tis refers to the frustration surrounding companies who may claim to offer full-fibre products to consumers, when they are in fact referring to hybrid networks that contain coaxial or telephone cables, as well as optical fibre. Kelly said not only is it damaging to the fibre


brand, but to drive demand for the kind of full- fibre connections that will ensure Europe a place at the forefront of ‘gigabit society,’ consumers must be willing to demand a full-fibre connection. Without this demand, there will be no investment, and how can you demand something you believe you are already geting? We have a number of industry experts looking


at the latest developments and challenges in fibre and fibre optic cable. In our news pages there’s the latest between the UK’s Advertising Standards Authority and CityFibre on the issue of the term ‘fibre’ in advertising. On page 20, three people from across the supply chain discuss why cabling infrastructure will be vital in the deployment of 5G networks and advise on the kinds of smarter infrastructure that could be adopted. Page 26 contains information about microduct network deployments, and page 32 covers innovations in test and measurement. If you’d like to join these contributors and have your say in Fibre Systems, we’d love to hear from you, so get in touch.


Keely Portway Editor


Issue 24 n Summer 2019 n FiBRE SYSTEMS 3


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40