IN THIS ISSUE... 05 NEWS


TO THE LETTER


Cisco to acquire Acacia Communications n Cignal AI: Compact modular hardware sales exceeded $275m in Q1 n Ofcom rules confirm Openreach must open up infrastructure


10 FEATURE: TEST & MEASUREMENT


There are many challenges to overcome in providing quick and efficient characterisation of photonic integrated circuits, finds Andy Extance


14 ANALYSIS & OPINION: TEST & MEASUREMENT Robin Mersh on why creating an invisible network is the next step in connectivity, and why it is important to put quality, rather than speed, at the heart of broadband experience


18 FEATURE: SUBMARINE NETWORKS Keely Portway looks at the latest developments in submarine networks, and the issues and trends shaping this market


22 ANALYSIS & OPINION: SOFTWARE & SERVICES


Putting software-driven, real-time optical layer performance awareness to the test, by Mattias Fridström and Parthiban Kandappan


26 FEATURED TECHNOLOGY: BEND-IMPROVED FIBRES Keely Portway looks at the next generation bend-improved fibres, and how they can be used to future-proof networks


28 ANALYSIS & OPINION: FIBRE & 5G Ray O’Connor looks at why wireless and fibre should be considered as complementary, rather than in competition


34 36


ANALYSIS & OPINION: FIBRE & 5G A look at the continued importance of fibre-based networks to enterprise in a 5G world, with Kevin Sahim


TECH FOCUS: CLEANING Ed Forrest advises on the impact of primary and secondary contamination on fibre optic connection surfaces


39 PRODUCTS A round-up of recent new product announcements


F


ibre hit the mainstream media headlines once again in the summer as the then contender to be Conservative Party leader, and the next UK prime minister, Boris


Johnson pledged to make full-fibre available for all UK homes by 2025. Existing targets, as published in the Future


Telecoms Infrastructure Review (FTIR) last summer, include allowing the majority of the population access to 5G; connecting 15 million premises to full-fibre broadband by 2025 and providing full-fibre broadband coverage across all of the UK by 2033 – which the government acknowledged as ‘vital to underpin 5G coverage’. Johnson made the claim in his regular column


for Te Daily Telegraph, in which he said: ‘Te government has just set a new target for the 100 per cent roll-out of full-fibre broadband – by 2033. As a deadline, that is laughably unambitious. If we want to unite our country and our society, we should commit now to delivering full-fibre to every home in the land not in the mid-2030s – but in five years at the outside.’ Since then, of course, he has won the leadership


race and is – at the time of going to press – the UK’s Prime Minister. Following his move into 10 Downing Street, representatives from the UK broadband industry contacted Johnson to request he back his pledge by removing a number of barriers to deployment. In an open leter, which was signed by


the heads of the Internet Service Providers Association (ISPA), the Federation of Communications Services (FCS) and the Independent Networks Co-operative Association (INCA), the industry welcomed any commitment from the Prime Minister to improve digital connectivity in the UK. Te leter also highlighted four key areas that


Editorial team Editor: Keely Portway


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


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need atention before the UK can catch up to its European counterparts when it comes to fibre deployment: a reform of the fibre tax; helping providers who need access to buildings and land owned by ‘unresponsive’ landlords; pushing through the mandate fibre to all new builds and addressing the current skills gap. Whether Johnson will uphold his promise


and take heed of the experts’ recommendations remains to be seen, but as representatives of the industry put it: ‘work needs to start now, and 100 per cent fibre coverage requires a 100 per cent commitment from government’. In other news, exhibition season is once again


upon us. If you happen to be reading this at the ECOC conference and exhibition in Dublin and would like to meet the Fibre Systems team to let us know what you are up to, please feel free to get in touch.


Keely Portway Editor


Issue 25 n Autumn 2019 n FiBRE SYSTEMS 3


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