FEATURE: FIBRE & 5G
examples which are no longer needed by a number of consumers include voice calls and short messages, which are being replaced by services offered by free apps. To make things worse, these kinds of apps do not take any responsibility over the network infrastructure provided by telcos, creating a challenging environment for the carriers to balance investment and return.’ To overcome these challenges, Labegalini
believes that telcos will need to increase innovation to boost business and secure new sources of revenue. As a way of doing this, many are partnering or merging with content providers, data analytics or cloud suppliers, which allow for different revenue sources. ‘By adding a dash of innovation to an existing
business model,’ she explained, ‘organisations can profit and thrive from new services, and overcome the revenue drop caused by the obsolescence of traditional services. Tey will also need to carefully plan network infrastructure investments and balance technical requirements and costs.’
In the UK and Northern Europe the preferred method for maximising the capacity of existing infrastructure is to use a blown fibre technique
IN 1990 WE WERE LOOKING AT A 12-FIBRE CABLE WITH A DIAMETER OF 2.5MM. IN 2020 THE SAME CAPACITY CAN BE PROVIDED IN A CABLE WITH A DIAMETER OF JUST 0.9MM
Densifying down Te need to speed up installation is also resulting in further technical innovation of cable design. Ribbon technology, for example, allows for mass splicing of fibres, significantly reducing the time required for splicing and termination during installation. Ribbon technology cables are currently on the market utilising 200µm fibres and approaching 7,000 fibres in a single cable. ‘Increasing the speed of full-fibre roll-out
is a global challenge,’ said Ashenden. ‘Tere is much common ground, allowing international groups to centralise research and development expertise, but there are also challenges specific to individual markets. Despite the seismic changes in global business brought about by the coronavirus, one constant theme has been the need to continue with a relentless focus on
14 FiBRE SYSTEMS n Issue 27 n Spring 2020
full-fibre installation. Te speed of technical innovation will only increase – leading to ever smaller, faster and higher performing cable solutions.’ Te development of network infrastructure
is also reliant on the components, subsystems and access infrastructure behind it, and the new, digitalised era is creating waves in the ways these markets do business. Giovana Labegalini, business development
manager at Huber + Suhner offered her view: ‘Over the last 10 years, technological advancement across the world has been remarkable, with the number of things that can be connected growing exponentially. As the decade unfolds, demand will only increase for different types of streaming services and high bandwidth-consuming applications, such as virtual reality simulations.’
Te only option Te only solution that can deliver the seamless connectivity expected by consumers, said Labegalini, is fibre. ‘Creating radical change in every aspect of our lives, from how we communicate, to how we work and relax, fibre is the only future-ready option. Fibre will support deployments on 5G mobile networks, FTTx fixed networks, cloud and edge data centres, as well as enable industry transformation, together with soſtware innovation such as NFV and SDN.’ Terefore, she reasoned, investments made
within the existing network infrastructure must consider the expected quality and reliability levels demanded, both now and in the coming years, to avoid wasting money with non-future-ready solutions. ‘Year-on-year,’ she said, ‘the demand for improved network capabilities increases, and many telcos have seen the revenues from traditional services reduce dramatically. Some traditional service
Bandwidth-boost Te vast bandwidth capabilities of fibre optics, according to Labegalini, will open new doors for those operators, service providers and developers with an appetite to capitalise on the service delivery and revenue opportunities only fibre can offer. ‘Tese fibre systems,’ she said, ‘must also
match high bandwidth and low latency demands of business and residential applications on fixed lines, as well as on the infrastructure behind 5G networks. ’Tink of it like this, the fibre infrastructure is
the road that all data traffic takes and the many cars or systems on this journey must perform at their full potential to reach the desired destination. But it doesn’t mater how expensive or well-made the car is, the journey will still be delayed if the road is bumpy. Terefore, it is vital to optimise network infrastructure in all of its components to increase efficiency in order to enable infrastructure to deliver services demanded at the next level.’ Fibre infrastructure can, of course be present
in every part of the network, from the data center and central office to the subscriber. It can be viewed as a network asset. Choosing a supplier that can fulfil current
and future needs, safety and ease of installation, together with guaranteed performance, is crucial and carriers have been working closely with access partners in order to tailor optical solutions for the exact project requirements they have in mind. ‘With great performance brings peace
of mind for operation teams, in order for future requirements to be met,’ concluded Labegalini. ‘An investment now into high- quality infrastructure is an investment for the future. Aiming to save on investments in network components in the short-term may result in greater losses due to potential service disruption or the need to substitute already- installed components.’n
www.fibre-systems.com @fibresystemsmag
Prysmian
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