Sometimes fiber to the subscriber is the best fit to support broadband services for residential and small and medium businesses. However, existing copper continues to have an amazing ability to be enhanced to meet broadband requirements. Indeed, copper-based technologies such as VDSL2 vectoring, Vplus, and G.fast can support bandwidth rates of 100, 300mbps or even 1gbps.
To decide which areas are ideal candidates for fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) or business, and which can be more than adequately served with copper-based technologies, Bell Labs Consulting suggests that service providers consider:
“To do this, service providers need to conduct a thorough access study, including a detailed market analysis of the service area,” Mohamed El-Sayed, consulting manager of the network strategy and technology evolution practice of Bell Labs, writes in an aptly titled recent TechZine article, Study shows ultra-broadband potential of copper. “With this information, the service provider can determine present and near-future bandwidth demand.”
The average bandwidth required for a fixed network in a residential area can vary significantly based on all of the above. Here are a few of the many related data points mentioned in the blog. A study by Alcatel-Lucent suggests that the current upper bound broadband access rate is about 50mbps and will be 100mbps by 2020. A Bell Labs study for a major operator in Western Europe indicates 40mbps is sufficient for triple play resident services there. And a study by U.K. government regulator Ofcom reports that average fixed residential broadband subscribers get 22.9mbps, and that broadband with a minimum download speed of 30mbps is available to three-fourths of subscribers by only has seen 21 percent penetration.
“For residential and SMB subscribers, high-speed copper technologies can deliver bandwidth in excess of current and anticipated demand,” says El-Sayed.
The bottom line is that extending the life of copper provides two major benefits. First, it is less costly than putting in fiber particularly in residential or rural areas. Second, it enables service providers to offer ultra-broadband services quickly. In a hotly competitive world with a seemingly insatiable appetite for high-speed services now, this point is as if not as important as the first.
]]>It’s monsoon season here in Arizona, so we desert dwellers know as much as anybody about the power of a storm. We also understand the problems that storms can create, such as taking out the power.
However, natural occurrences like storms and other unexpected events like power line cuts by backhoes aren’t the only external challenges with which power utilities have to contend. In a recent blog Dave Christophe, Director of Utilities Marketing at Alcatel-Lucent, explained that there’s now an additional consideration that could negatively impact power company abilities to bring people and businesses power consistently, cost effectively, and safely. That is the systematic decommissioning of legacy telephone and data networks.
Sun setting analog, frame relay, and TDM networks, Christophe explains, eliminates the communications infrastructure on which power utilities have long relied to transmit data from substations and do teleprotection, as just a couple examples.
Christophe in his piece references a recent article by his colleague Mark Madden, Vice President of North American Utilities at Alcatel-Lucent, in which the latter notes the risks of such sun setting and offers tips on steps utilities should take to avoid any interruption in the networks on which they rely – and thus in their power infrastructure and services overall. Madden also provides an example of what the transition away from legacy communications networks could lead to if not managed properly.
The example involves a regional utility that depends upon circuit-switched and frame relay technologies to support dynamic line rating sensors that track the characteristics of high-voltage transmission lines, including heat load and sagging.
“Imagine that the carrier that provided their circuit-switched and frame relay network –which, although outdated, were reliable – suddenly served notice that they planned to shut down the service within 120 days,” writes Madden. “This might sound extreme, but it is a realistic scenario. Required notice periods in many parts of the country are very short.”
To avoid getting into such a pinch, Christophe and Madden urge utilities to develop plans to transition from legacy to newer communications services and technologies.
]]>Go to Australia and you’ll quickly realize that not only is the country run reasonably well, but the continent also has a good digital infrastructure.
This is no surprise, because Australia has made a significant investment in national broadband infrastructure as part of an agenda to capture economic and social benefits in the emerging digital economy. Government broadband, particularly for the Australian National Broadband Network (NBN), ensures ubiquitous national availability of an open access, high-speed services delivery platform.
Recently the Centre for Energy-Efficient Telecommunications (CEET) undertook a study, Benefit of the National Broadband Network, to see exactly how beneficial government broadband is to the country of Australia.
The study established that the NBN will likely deliver a substantial economic benefit, but it highlighted the importance of new service utilization to meet that potential.
The study found that NBN should boost real GDP by about 1.8 percent and real household consumption by about 2 percent. After NBN debt-servicing requirements are taken into account, growth in real household consumption is about 1.4 percent thanks to the government broadband infrastructure of NBN.
The study found that the government broadband initiative also benefited six categories of online services above and beyond the economic growth mentioned above. These categories were:
“A clear finding of the study is that there would be negligible economic benefit in building an NBN if the only utilized service category is entertainment,” noted a recent Alcatel-Lucent blog post that looked at the study. “However, economic benefits will flow if other services, such as telehealth and teleworking, are more widely spread and utilized as a result of NBN.”
The findings clearly show that investment in government broadband initiatives do, in fact, benefit the economy as a whole and lead to the foundation that benefits business in the digital age. While the benefits of government broadband initiatives have been widely talked about, it is reassuring to see examples of these benefits in practice. Australia is one such place to look for an example of the benefits of government broadband.
]]>Fiber-to-the-home networks service more than 130 households today, and PON is the dominant FTTH architecture. This trend is expected to continue, with 90 percent of the forecast 300 million FTTH subscribers by 2019 to be served by PON, according to Ovum.
As PON subscriber numbers grow, so will the types of users it can address. And that will include enterprise customers. That said, TWDM is the best and obvious way forward for service providers in the GPON realm, according to Ana Pesovic, senior marketing for wireline networks at Alcatel-Lucent who in a recent TechZine posting, TWDM technology moves ahead: XG-PON1, explains why TWDM is superior to XG-PON1 on a number of fronts. These include from a bandwidth perspective, in terms of revenue potential, and in its ability to lower carrier risk.
Ovum backs up those statements in its recent article TWDM-PON is on the horizon: Facilitating fast FTTx network monetization, in which the firm suggests that communications services providers would do well to leapfrog XG-PON1 and move on to TWDM-PON.
Ovum explains the case for TWDM citing its ability to:
“Now is the time CSPs should begin evaluating TWDM PON, analyzing deployment scenarios in terms of operational and monetary benefits,” Ovum suggests.
Pesvoic of Alcatel-Lucent, which launched its Universal TWDM-PON technology solution last year, agrees, commenting: “TWDM-PON lets operators offer high revenue generating commercial services, consolidate all services (residential, business and mobile backhaul) over one network, or perhaps co-invest to share deployment cost and risk. As a result, TWDM-PON monetizes the network faster.”
]]>For more than a century, the massive Paris Metro has been enabling commuters and tourists to easily travel across the French capital. Régie Autonome des Transports Parisiens (RATP), which operates the metro network, employs roughly 54,000 employees and has yearly revenue of more than €5 billion ($5.43 billion). As part of the Grand Paris initiative, which has support from several levels of government, RATP is planning:
However, getting there means having a next generation communications network. With that in mind, the Paris Metro is converging its five communications networks into a single IP/MPLS network. Instead of separate networks for TETRA, CCTV, telephony, passenger info and IT, RATP is boldly moving ahead with a converged network aided by the expertise of Alcatel-Lucent.
“By converging our five separate legacy networks into one single IP/MPLS network,” noted Patrick Goasdoué, director of telecommunications for RATP in a recent Alcatel-Lucent interactive case study, Signaling Change for the Paris Metro, “We will not only reduce our maintenance costs, but also improve our operations.”
Companies often struggle with moving forward thanks to a network of fragmented systems that don’t effectively integrate with each other. With its expansion plans, RATP saw the opportunity to fix its own fragmentation issue as it expanded its metro network. This was a perfect time to migrate to IP/MPLS, which moves all communications over a common IP backbone.
The advantage of converging networks into one system extends far beyond improved efficiency, security and control, as Alcatel-Lucent noted in the case study. IP/MPLS not only handles communications traffic today, but it also makes future expansion easier; it can handle new applications and services, manage even more lines, trains and CCTV coverage, and be ready for whatever new innovations emerge in the next few years.
At the same time as it simplifies the communications network and makes it future-proof, the move to IP/MPLS will enable the Paris Metro to significantly reduce congestion and pollution, combat urban sprawl and agricultural encroachment, promote the economic development of the surrounding region and contribute to France's reputation as worldwide leaders in economic progress.
Not a bad trick for an old dog.
]]>
In North America, the Positive Train Control (PTC) system was mandated by the United States federal government in 2008 for railway lines carrying passengers and hazardous materials. Yet, the government deadline to have 96,500 km of track with the feature by 2015 will not be met.
Similarly, the European Train Control System (ETCS) in Europe, part of the Europe Rail Traffic Management System (ERTMS), is currently only deployed on 5000 km of track. The EU is aiming for a rollout on Europe’s 68,000km core network by 2030, and there is a long way still to go.
“With the US government set to introduce a five-year extension of the PTC bill by the end of 2015, and the EU turning the screw on ETCS deployment, this is not going away,” noted a recent blog post, Unlocking the benefits of train control with IP/MPLS, by Thierry Sens, Marketing Director Transportation Segment, Alcatel-Lucent. Sens, explained that, “Railways should therefore embrace the respective mandates as an opportunity to improve their network architecture and technology, specifically by introducing IP/MPLS.”
Signaling and train control systems require strict reliability, resiliency, performance and security, as they are mission-critical communications. IP/MPLS architecture is perfectly suited for the task.
By combining IP/MPLS routers, IP/MPLS switches, optical switches, packet microwave and LTE radio networks, railway operators also can build a converged IP/MPLS network to host both mission-critical signaling systems and additional features desired by operators such as CCTV networks and passenger Wi-Fi. While the cost of rolling out the required infrastructure to support these train control mandates is large, railway operators can at least use the opportunity to overhaul their communication systems with modern technology.
Refer in Portugal and Trafikverket (previously Banverket) in Sweden, for instance, are deploying IP/MPLS to support their signaling applications while introducing features such as synchronous Ethernet, cyber-attack protection, non-stop routing, non-stop services and fast reroute.
“These railways are well placed to reap the rewards of improved interoperability, capacity, reliability and safety by hosting enhanced train control on IP/MPLS,” observed Sens. And, Alcatel-Lucent is working with these railway operators on the design and rollout of the systems based on IP/MPLS.
Meeting the regulatory demand for automatic safety features on railways is not quick or easy. But the benefits can be great for railways that do, and next generation communications is the foundation for enabling them to meet future requirements as well as improve operational excellence and the customer experience.
]]>Fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) enables providers to deliver more bandwidth and better services to customers, but service provisioning can be a substantial headache since FTTH networks are shared and therefore the optical network terminal (ONT) location is not known. Not knowing the ONT location, currently operators must send a technician to the customer’s home to establish the right location and apply service provisioning.
Alcatel-Lucent understands this problem well, and it has taken steps to ease the pain of FTTH service provisioning by developing its ONT Easy Start solution.
The premise of the solution is a simple one: Set up an automated provisioning system that only requires shipping the customer the hardware (or having them pick it up), activation and a web browser. Once a subscription has been initiated and the customer has logged into the web portal, the service provisioning is set up automatically, both testing and activating the ONT for the customer.
For new FTTH installations, a technician still must come and lay fiber. But Alcatel-Lucent’s ONT Easy Start ensures that the process of provisioning is both easy and error-proof since the technician then just uses the automated process once the fiber has been laid. And for customers who already have the option of FTTP, ONT Easy Start makes it painless.
Source: Alcatel-Lucent
The ONT Easy Start solution relies on several network components.
To start, a full FTTH network with optical line terminal (OLT) at the central office, as well as an ONT with the end user are needed. Layer 2 provisioning is performed by the (EMS) system while optionally Layer 3 is provisioned by the access management system (ACS). Additionally, inventory systems, customer relationship management systems, and other components may interface with the solution. Lastly, the operator’s OSS/BSS needs to communicate with all these components. Taken together, the management of these disparate components is quite complex.
The solution also offers additional components that make FTTH service provisioning easier. These include the Motive Network Analyzer, a cost-effective remote management solution for fiber access networks that allows operators to perform additional line testing to ensure the quality of the fiber connection before provisioning the ONT; the Motive Field Tech Console, which handles service tickets in the case of installation problems; and the Motive Universal Device Manager, which automatically handles Layer 3 provisioning of the ONT.
FTTH service provisioning does not have to be hard with the right tools.
]]>From original TechZine Article
Metro network transport platforms must be compact, scalable, and agile to conquer the specific challenges of this key portion of the transport network. Growing and shifting traffic in the metro has triggered these challenges.
Today’s cloud-optimized metro network transport platforms “must” be:
Growth in metro networks
Following a long cycle of core network capacity build out, service providers are now challenged by the growth and shift in metro network traffic dynamics.
A recent Bell Labs study reported that the rise of social media and over-the-top video — along with the rapid adoption of mobile broadband — has led to the proliferation of mega data centers. This drives an increase in metro traffic. And it results in more traffic moving around within in the metro between data centers versus going out to the backbone.
The study also found that metro traffic will grow almost 2 times faster than backbone traffic by 2017. So, there’s not only a dramatic growth of traffic in the metro but that traffic is diverse, dynamic, and flows much differently than in the backbone.
So, what’s the takeaway from this study? Today’s metro networks increasingly require metro-optimized transport solutions versus adapted core platforms. That is, metro transport is driven by scale, flexibility, and efficiency versus sheer capacity and reach.
The new metro transport network
It is clear that a metro-optimized transport solution must be compact, scalable, and agile. But, what specific capabilities are required?
A metro-optimized transport solution can help maximize revenue and ROI by accelerating services availability/time-to-market and improving network operational efficiency. The key benefits are:
Does your metro network have what it takes?
A high-capacity, packet-optical transport solution with metro-optimized flexibility, size, and power can help maximize revenue generation and ROI in the cloud era. Look for a multiservice solution that delivers graceful pay-as-you-grow scaling with no-compromise distributed switching and agility in a metro-optimized form factor.
Our recent expansion to the Alcatel-Lucent 1830 Photonic Service Switch can help you meet the challenges of growing and shifting metro traffic demands in the cloud era.
Related Material
Listen to the podcast to learn more.
To contact the author or request additional information, please send an email to techzine.editor@alcatel-lucent.com.
]]>Originally posted on Alcatel-Lucent Blog February 3, 2015
Talk of “cyber armies” working on behalf of nations might once have been the work of Hollywood, but recent events have demonstrated the opening of a new front in the global war on terror: cyber security.
High-profile attacks on film studios, a US military Twitter account, and several US retailers have led President Barack Obama to declare that cyber terrorism is "one of the biggest threats to national security" and that his administration is working to develop better intelligence on cyber threats. "No foreign nation, no hacker, should be able to shut down our networks, steal our trade secrets, or invade the privacy of American families, especially our kids," Obama said during his State of the Union address on January 20.
The head of cyber defence for the French military, Arnaud Coustilliere, also expressed his concern at apparent attacks on French websites in the wake of the terrorist tragedy in Paris on January 7. "What's new, what's important is that this is 19,000 sites." Coustilliere said. "That's never been seen before."
A similar cyber attack at an unnamed German steel factory in 2014, which sabotaged parts of the control system resulting in severe damage to a blast furnace, show that it's not just web servers and databases that are under threat, but complete ICT (information and communications technology) infrastructure. Train, air and road traffic control systems are as a result all vulnerable, which poses unthinkable consequences for governments around the world.
There is currently a widespread misconception that IP communication networks are more susceptible to attack than a proprietary or TDM network. However, the German steel plant attack in 2014 and the hacking of legacy and proprietary industrial SCADA infrastructure in the Middle East by Flame and Stuxnet worms in 2012 show any kind of infrastructure is vulnerable.
Alcatel-Lucent has consistently invested in researching and developing highly secure solutions for its communications networks and infrastructure to ward off potential threats and provide added peace of mind to its customers.
For example, IP network infrastructure utilizes Network Access Control (NAC), encryption, and traffic anomaly detection. IP/MPLS also uses traffic segregation and isolation, which means that if one VPN network is compromised, the attacker cannot reach out to other VPN domains.
In addition, to detect intrusions and protect optical fiber networks, Alcatel-Lucent integrates advanced security features into its DWDM optical equipment, 1830 Photonic Service Switch. Layer 1 encryption of high-speed lines (10G), which are based on AES 256, one of the most advanced market standards, guarantees data integrity and confidentiality, and by preventing latency of even a few microseconds, does not compromise performance.
This type of encryption is ideal to secure the transmission of real-time high-speed data used by data centers, cloud infrastructure, and all critical communications. For railway operators, airports, road authorities and government agencies, which rely on these networks, constant availability is essential. However, with cyber threats only likely to become more sophisticated, they should be mindful of taking necessary precautions to avoid becoming the cyber terrorists' next victim.
See a detailed demonstration of how to fully protect the confidentiality of the information carried over the fiber:
Originally appeared on Alcatel-Lucent Blog February 10, 2015
Perched on the southern edge of New Zealand, a small picturesque city with a big digital vision is about to be wired with the fastest broadband speeds in the Southern Hemisphere.
You may never have heard of it, but Dunedin is the envy of New Zealand after being crowned the winner of Gigatown, an online and real world competition for communities to receive 1Gbps broadband* and two development funds to support entrepreneurs, innovators and social initiatives. The competition was run by Chorus, New Zealand’s largest telecommunications infrastructure company which is rolling out the nation’s world-leading Ultra Fast Broadband (UFB) program.
Gigatown was developed by Chorus to help educate and inspire New Zealanders about the possibilities and opportunities for a country connected with ultra-fast broadband. It attracted entries from no less than 50 towns and was something of a social media phenomenon with almost 6 million online conversations about Gigatown and the power of UFB during the 13-month long competition. Dunedin was one of five finalists – alongside Gisborne, Nelson, Timaru and Wanaka – which competed to develop a plan for their gigabit future.
Gigatown placed ultra-fast broadband firmly into the community consciousness and raised awareness of the social and economic benefits the New Zealand government’s investments in UFB and RBI could provide. It highlighted the very real human benefits enabled by the rollout of ultra-fast broadband.
Now having won Gigatown, Dunedin is very much focused on the future, placing its gigabit vision at the heart of a plan to be recognized as one of the world’s great small cities. Drawing inspiration from Chattanooga Gig, Dunedin has outlined a smart city framework that brings community together, and encourages innovation and enterprise. Its Gigatown plan identified key opportunities for smart infrastructure, engagement, accessibility and culture, health and medicine, digital inclusion, and a smart city hub, while creating a comprehensive community of engaged stakeholder groups.Dunedin Mayor Dave Cull says Gigatown has awakened the city. “This has been a time for us to think about the possibilities that 1Gbps ultrafast broadband will open up for Dunedin,” Mayor Cull said. "Win or lose, the Gigatown competition has helped us focus on the fact that faster broadband is part of our future and, as a community, we need to be ready to make the best of that. Winning means we can bring the future forward much sooner.”
Bringing that future forward is where Alcatel-Lucent comes in, both as a significant technology and services partner with Chorus, and via the ng Connect Program, which has invested with Chorus in a development fund to support entrepreneurs and innovators taking new gigabit services to market in Dunedin. ng Connect will also work with Dunedin and other Gigatown finalists to foster innovation through collaboration and broadband vision.
While best known for its stately gold rush era buildings and as the home of New Zealand’s oldest university, Dunedin has gradually transformed and experienced the flourishing of niche industries such as engineering, software development, biotechnology and fashion. With Gigatown, it now has a new advantage to grow those and other sectors to become a true smart city of the world.
* Chorus will make a special 1Gbps UFB service available in Dunedin at entry level broadband prices.
Gigatown Dunedin - Plan for Gig Success from Virtual Eye on Vimeo.
]]>Conventional wisdom seems to be that rural America moves a little slower than other parts of the country. That isn’t necessarily always true, however – especially not in the case of rural areas served by Alcatel-Lucent’s ultra-broadband gigabit technology.
In fact, such areas are among the country’s elite when it comes to ultra-fast connectivity, as highlighted in a recent Alcatel-Lucent paper, Municipality Rural Ultra-Broadband .
Chattanooga, Tenn., for example, already has gigabit services in place, serving more than 100,000 home and businesses via its municipal electric utility. Alcatel-Lucent built this network, which was the first gigabit network in the U.S., for Chattanooga in 2008.
Opelika, Ala., has an Alcatel-Lucent-powered gigabit FTTH network in place that generates millions in triple play revenue, which means the town should be able to earn back its investment in this infrastructure – which serves 5,000 customers – in less than five years. And Northeast Oklahoma Electric Cooperative’s Bolt Fiber Optic Services is just getting ready to flip the switch on a new gigabit ultra-broadband network that will power end-to-end triple play solutions for 30,000 subscribers.
“Much of our original motivation to do this had to do with economic development and competition for services so that the citizens can have good, affordable options,” says David Horton, director of Opelika Power Services.
These efforts, of course, are just a few examples of what is possible with Alcatel-Lucent’s Gigabit Express solution, which provides an average connection speed that’s 100 times faster than the average speed available today in the United States. As indicated above, that means rural businesses and residential customers can leverage these connections not only to get ultra-fast broadband access to the Internet, but also to enjoy top-quality IPTV and voice experiences. Gigabit Express is also an ideal solution to support education, public safety, smart grid, and telemedicine applications.
The availability of ultra-broadband connectivity and the kinds of services and applications mentioned above, among others, can bridge the digital divide and enable rural communities to prosper. That encourages residents to bloom where they’re planted, and it can spur new growth by attracting business to these areas.
“Broadband access is the great equalizer, promising to affect rural communities in the 21st century as much as roads and highways did in the 20th, without compromising their small-town qualities,” notes Alcatel-Lucent.
]]>
InnoTrans might have been and gone for another two years but Alcatel-Lucent’s highlights from the world’s largest railway exhibition live on in three videos which are now available to view at any time online.
Hall 4.1 was entirely dedicated to Train Control and Communications for railway networks and Alcatel-Lucent’s expertise in this critical field was shown in four key demonstrations: Converged IP/MPLS Network for Railways, Agile Optical Network for Railways, Long Term Evolution (LTE) ground-to-train communications, and Cloud Connected Passenger. A short overview of all of these solutions and their specific applications is now available to view here.
As the video shows, Alcatel-Lucent’s LTE Ground-to-Train solutions will be deployed in the Grand Paris project’s Telecom System for Future Urban Transport (Systuf). This new communications system is based on LTE, and to demonstrate the capabilities of LTE at InnoTrans, Alcatel-Lucent set up a live LTE network which hosted multiple mission-critical and non mission-critical applications. This included on-board CCTV, emergency communications, live driver view footage feeds, platform video feeds, train location services, and Tetra/PMR voice.
This live LTE network was also the foundation of Alcatel-Lucent’s Cloud Connection demonstration, which offered a vision of what the passenger train of the future might look like. The next generation of on-board infotainment services which leverage ultra-broadband connectivity were shown in a multimedia table. As the video shows, the table incorporates on board IPTV, video on-demand services, and online shopping, while passengers can use the service to book a table in the train restaurant, or check to see whether the toilet is occupied.
Perhaps the highlight exhibit for Alcatel-Lucent’s was the world-premiere presentation of its Converged IP/MPLS Network for Railways. The demonstration showed how Alcatel-Lucent’s IP/MPLS service routers and switches can build a single converged communications network infrastructure that supports all railways services and applications including signalling, as well as provide a smooth migration of existing legacy systems like analogue CCTV and GSM-R base stations to the new network. A brief overview is available in the first video, but for a detailed demonstration of IP/MPLS and its capabilities click here.
An in-depth look at Alcatel-Lucent’s agile optical networks for railways is also available in the overview and a third video. This technology is intended to counter cyber security threats to mission-critical applications, with Alcatel-Lucent’s latest solutions, Wavelength Tracker, and the 1830 Phototonic Service Switch (PSS), which constantly monitors optical losses and detects any intrusions, on display. PSS can also be fitted with the AES-256 layer 1 encryption module to preserve the integrity of the network, providing network operators with added peace of mind that their networks are protected from even the most sophisticated security threats.
With over 130,000 visitors from more than 100 countries in attendance, the 10th anniversary edition of InnoTrans was the largest exhibition yet. It was also a big success for Alcatel-Lucent. We hope you enjoy our round up of the highlights from our exhibit.
]]>From original on Alcatel-Lucent corporate blog
A few months ago our home WiFi slowed to a crawl. At first we thought it was a temporary thing, but after my son ran a diagnostic there was a problem with our high-speed broadband.
While the technician was fixing it, he mentioned that for an extra $10 a month we could get a faster plan. Living in the US we already (in my opinion) pay enough for our monthly broadband package so I immediately said ‘no.’ But I told my kids that IF they wanted to pay for it … we would consider it.
A serious discussion ensued. I have three kids – a 14-year old boy, 12-year old girl and 10-year old boy. Their share of the internet service would be roughly an extra $3.33 a month. Doesn’t sound bad to us as adults – but let me put this in perspective in my kids’ economic reality. My children do receive a weekly allowance, but they are poorly paid -- on average a measly $3 a week. Think about that math: my kids actually entertained paying ¼ of their monthly income to have a better connection speed. That willingness showed how vitally important the broadband connection is to their lives. My older kids have mobile phones, but for my younger son our household wireline is his communications lifeline.
In today’s telecom world we spend a lot of time talking about cloud and wireless. But here is an interesting fact: two-thirds of us connect to our broadband world via DSL. So while this is considered a ‘legacy’ technology, it is still very much a part of the bandwidth boosting fabric of our towns. Sixteen years ago, Alcatel-Lucent was first to launch this technology. It was revolutionary at the time to use your home phone line to connect to the Internet at then blazing speeds like 28 or 56kbps.This was based on ADSL (asymmetric digital subscriber line) technology, meaning the download speed was faster than the upload speed. This kept users happy for a while, but as the Internet continued to evolve as a way to distribute all kinds of content users were soon clamoring for more.
The next big improvement came in 2007 with something aptly named VDSL (very high speed DSL). The way that our engineers got to a higher speed was to use more frequency bands; each frequency can carry bits meaning ultimately more bandwidth. This was able to get 40 Mbps, but the distance the data could travel shortened. The reason is based in simple physics where the higher the frequency goes, the shorter the distance the data can travel. One other problem with VDSL was the way telephone lines are typically installed – in big bundles containing hundreds of tightly packed lines. These lines interfere with each other in something called ‘cross talk’, limiting the amount of bandwidth the solution was able to deliver in the ‘real world.’
Then in October 2011, vectoring made the promise of 100 Mbps possible. Developed by Bell Labs, scientists were able to use a ‘noise cancellation’ technique (similar to the way a noise cancelling headphone works) to cancel out the interference. The concept is simple, but the implementation is more challenging. In a real network you could have competing noise on every line (anywhere from 100, 200 or 400 lines to a bundle) and with usually around 4000 frequencies both upstream and downstream. All of this would have to be done with real time adjustments. It was possible but there was still one small problem. When you moved from the lab into the real world, rolling out vectoring meant updating the entire neighborhood with vectoring software. As you can imagine this slowed down the roll-out of this technology. If you have to upgrade an entire neighborhood before you can start serving even a single customer the technology wasn’t instantly appealing.
In order to address this issue, Alcatel-Lucent came up with a technology called “Zero-Touch Vectoring”, which basically automatically turns every legacy customer premise equipment or CPE into a “vectoring friendly” CPE. This allows operators to offer vectoring friendly equipment. They can roll out updates at their own pace, and the most important point: they can start today.
So, the question here is where does all of this leave more highly praised solutions like fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) or even wireless as a home option? At the end of the day, all are completely viable. There really is no right answer.The best broadband option is going to depend on a combination of existing infrastructure, economic barriers and willingness to wait. As we have seen in the last few years, fiber initially requires a lot of investment and time to add new lines. Wireless also is a possibility, but it may have coverage (or economic) challenges for the end users, especially when you want to match fixed line bandwidths. We know that it is 4 times faster to deploy vectoring than other access solutions. That means more bandwidth to more people – faster.
I don’t think anyone, anywhere would argue this is a bad thing. Definitely not in my household, where our most prized commodity is bandwidth. Why? I think it is pretty simple.Today that wire – whether it is fiber, copper or something else – links us to our friends, to our work, and to our lives. That is a powerful connection. So living without it ... is frankly something we just can’t do without.
You can see a great range of our fixed broadband technology next week (October 21-23) at Broadband World Forum at the RAI Exhibition Center in Amsterdam, Hall 11 booth #B10 or to learn more you can check out some of the more technical details here.
It has been called the “data storm;” due to increased online video usage, the cloud, and mobile devices, bandwidth demand is increasing relentlessly, and operators are straining to keep up.
Research from Bell Labs suggests that from 2013 to 2017, operators will see a 550 percent increase in bandwidth demand due to the shift to cloud and a 720 percent increase in bandwidth to support IP video across fixed and mobile networks. This will result in a 320 percent increase in the amount of traffic in the core network.
“Telecom operators are starting to realize that simply increasing the line rate is no longer sufficient to control the costs associated with increasing bandwidth demands,” noted David Stokes of Alcatel-Lucent in a recent TechZine article, Optical transport networks and bandwidth demand. In fact, we really are seeing exponential traffic growth as recent research from Bell Labs below shows expected traffic growth from 2013 to 2017.
Source: Alcatel-Lucent
As Stokes explains in a podcast on the subject, Optical transport networks (OTN) are increasingly being used to help meet this demand. OTN is a set of optical network elements connected by optical fiber links that provides transport, multiplexing, switching, management, supervision and survivability of optical channels carrying client signals.
A recent survey by Infonetics predicted that by 2016, 86 percent of respondents plan to use OTN switching in the core of their networks.
“OTN allows the photonic network to inherently support multiple protocols,” notes Stokes. “Transport rates have been defined to maximize network utilization for a photonic network carrying many different service types.”
The advantages of OTN for telecom operators are many, leading to an overall lower total cost of ownership for those that employ the technology.
Specifically, OTN enables better capacity utilization by eliminating stranded bandwidth and maximizing wavelength utilization. Through OTN, it is possible to add resiliency to legacy photonic networks where resiliency was previously not possible. Also, OTN can bring better service utilization and provisioning because OTN switching makes it easier for telecom providers to make service additions and changes.
“With optical transport networking, telecom operators can move to a single converged network capable of cost-effectively and efficiently transporting new and legacy services in a way that maximizes network utilization,” noted Stokes.
Given that demand is not expected to slow down any time soon, the converged network enabled by OTN cannot come quickly enough.
]]>Deployment of the upgrade currently is underway, and Telenor expects to have its 500,000 DSL lines migrated to the new VDSL2 platform by 2015, according to a recent case study, Telenor Achieves Competitive Advantage In Ultra-Broadband, on the rollout.
To efficiently deliver ultra-broadband services, however, Telenor needed a way to determine which of its existing DSL lines could be upgraded to VDSL2 without issue, and which ones needed additional infrastructure changes. Further, according to the case study, the company wanted to be able to provide DSL subscribers with the realistic attainable speed they could expect to receive if they upgraded to VDSL2.
Alcatel-Lucent’s Motive Network Analyzer – Copper has helped Telenor meet those goals.
The Motive Network Analyzer integrates line testing, diagnosis and optimization, helping operators ensure that DSL lines meet quality and stability requirements to successfully deploy high-speed Internet and triple play services.
One of its features is its Upgrade Predictor, which allows the operator to see how well the technology will work on existing infrastructure, and where improvements might be needed. Upgrade Predictor takes snapshot views of each individual DSL line based on values obtained from customer premises equipment (CPE) and the DSL access multiplexer (DSLAM) over a period of weeks. Telenor then could predict what needed to be upgraded and when.
The solution also offers dynamic line management, ensuring the best profile is assigned to the line in combination with its service. Using a real-time and per-line approach, DLM automatically monitors the condition of each of the lines in the network, and uses a variety of factors to optimize speed and preserve stability.
“Before Upgrade Predictor, we used tables that showed the line length from the DSLAM to the customer premises to determine if the customer line was
a good candidate for upgrade,” noted Foyn Johannessen in the case study, director of telephony & broadband at Telenor Norway.
“A the end of the day, the Motive Network Analyzer, together with our total upgrade of infrastructure, has given us a real competitive advantage,” Johannessen said. “We can offer ultra-broadband to more subscribers, know that it’s going to work, and that the customer experience will be excellent. This helps us to reduce churn and really compete and win in the marketplace.”]]>