fttc...fibre optics also offer the facility to perform a range of different activities at the same...

Whitepaper - FTTC

FTTC

working with daisywww.daisygroup.com

v1-07/13

08000408888sales@daisygroup.com

Contents

• Introduction• Whatisfibretothecabinetbroadband?• Flexibility• VoIPandcloudtechnology• Businesscontinuityanddisasterrecovery• Future-proofing• Conclusion

working with daisywww.daisygroup.com

08000408888sales@daisygroup.com

v1-07/13

SpeakingatSiliconRoundabouton20thAugust2012,Culture,MediaandSportSecretaryJeremyHuntsetchallengingbroadbandtargetsfortheUKusingFTTCtechnology.

Hesaidthat:“To really be the best you need to be the fastest. I am today announcing an ambition to be not just the best overall, but specifically the fastest broadband of any major European country by 2015.

“Getting the plumbing right for our digital economy is not just an advantage to consumers – it is also essential for our digital and creative industries, all of whom need reliable high-speed networks to develop and export their products as they move large digital files around the world.”

HeaddedthatthegovernmentwasbackingFTTC“becauseitwouldallowabigenoughriseinspeedtocreateEurope’sbiggestandmostprofitablehigh-speedbroadbandmarket,creatingtheclimateforfurtherfibreinvestment.”Hesaidthatfibrewouldbeavailableon-demandtomorethantwo-thirdsofthepopulationby2016.

Fibrebroadbandisanewtypeofbroadbandthatisbeingintroducedusingfibreopticcablestoincreasethespeedofbroadbandconnectionsforbusinessandthehome.Fibreopticcablesaremadefromglassandplasticasopposedtotraditionalcoppercables.Thesystemworksthoughconversionofinformationintolightpulseswhicharetransmittedatveryhighspeedsthroughtheindividualstrandsmakingupthefibreopticcable.

Termssuchas‘super-fastbroadband’or‘next-generationbroadband’stressthefactthatfibrebroadbandprovidessignificantlyspeedierconnectionsthanhaveeverbeenavailablepreviously.Currentlytwotypesoffibrebroadbandconnectionscanbeinstalled:

Fibre to the Cabinet (FTTC)Fibreopticcablesaretakenfromtelephoneexchangesordistributionpointstocabinetsinthestreetwhichcanthenbeconnectedtostandardphonelinestoprovidebroadbandservices.Coppercablesarethenusedfortheshortdistancesfromthecabinetstothebusinessorhome.FTTCgivesspeedsofupto80Mbdownload.

Introduction - Minister backs fibre optic to the cabinet (FTTC) broadband

working with daisywww.daisygroup.com

08000408888sales@daisygroup.com

v1-07/13

What is fibre to the cabinet broadband?

working with daisywww.daisygroup.com

08000408888sales@daisygroup.com

Source: Ofcom/BT

UK

Engl

and

Scot

land

Wla

es

N. I

rela

nd

Lond

on SE SW EM WM EE

YSH

NE

NW

UK

Urb

an

UK

Rur

al

0

20

60

40

80

100

Proportion of households (per cent)

Mar - 11

Mar - 12

v1-07/13

Fibre to the Premises/Home (FTTP or FTTH)Thismethodutilisesanend-to-endconnection.Thefibreopticcablegoesfromthetelephoneexchangeordistributionpointdirectlytothebusinessorhome.FTTP/FTTHgivesspeedsofupto300Mb.

FTTC UK coverageRecentOFCOMstatisticsshowthatoverthelastyeartheUKhasseenanincreaseinthenumberofhomesabletoreceiveFTTCservicesfrom16%to31%.Thereisamarkeddifferencebetweenthefiguresforurbanandruralareas.Inurbanareasitis35%ofhomescomparedwith15%inruralones.ThehighestfiguresareforNorthernIrelandwhichshowstheremarkablyhighfigureof87%ofhomesasthedirectresultofaDepartmentofEnterprise,TradeandInvestment(DETI)specialinitiative.ItishopedthattheprogressmadeinNorthernIrelandcanberepeatedonmainlandUKusingtheGovernmentprovisionofBroadbandDeliveryUK(BDUK)funds.

Estimated proportion of households able to receive BT FTTC services

than average UK broadband

speeds

working with daisywww.daisygroup.com

08000408888sales@daisygroup.com

v1-07/13

8xFTTCinstallationwillofferdramaticincreasesinbroadbandspeeds.Forbusinessusersthiswillmeanadoublingofcurrent20Mbpackagestoupto40Mbresultinginfasterdownloadinganduploadingofinformation.Therefore,itwillbecomesignificantlyeasiertosharelargefilesandinternetcontentcanbeuploadedmuchmorequickly.

FTTCspeedsareupto80Mb.OFCOMhaspublishedaverageUKbroadbandspeedas9MbsoFTTCiseighttimesfaster.FTTCuploadspeedsareupto20Mb,whichis20timesfasterthanstandarduploadspeeds.

Thebenefitsoftheseimprovementsarethatproductivityisgreatlyincreased,aswithstaffgainingeasieraccesstobusinessdata,theyareabletoperformgeneraltasksmorequicklyandefficiently.Internetbrowsingisalsomuchfasterwhenusingafibreopticbroadbandconnection;thisisparticularlyusefulwithregardstovideostreaming,asmaterialcanviewedingreaterdefinitionandathigherspeeds.Thequalityandreliabilityofvideoconferencingwillalsobeenhanced,resultinginbetterpictureclarityandlessbreak-upsanddelaysduringconversations.Otherbusinessservices,suchasVoIPandcloudcomputing,willalsobenefitfromBritain’sfastestbroadband.

VirtualPrivateNetworks(VPNs)willalsobenefitfromgreaterbandwidth,enablingfilestobedownloadedanduploadedatagreaterspeed,makinghomeworkingbotheasierandmoresecure.Companiesthatprovidetheircustomerswithvirtualserviceswillgainmarketadvantagefromfasterbroadband.

Fibreopticsalsoofferthefacilitytoperformarangeofdifferentactivitiesatthesametime,whichboostsproductivity.Usersoffibreopticbroadbandcanbrowsetheinternet,aswellasdownloadinganduploadingfilesanddocumentssimultaneously.Fibreopticbroadbandenablespeopletoworkcollaborativelyandmaximisebusinessefficiencies.

faster

FTTC is

Business benefits

faster upload speeds with

FTTC

20x

working with daisywww.daisygroup.com

08000408888sales@daisygroup.com

v1-07/13

Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP)

VoIPisatechnicaltermusedtodescribehowtelephonecallscanbemadeovertheInternetinsteadofusinglandlines.Overthelastfewyears,theusageofVoIPserviceshasincreaseddramatically.Thisisduetotherealsavingsthatcanbeachieved,whencomparedtonormallandlineservices.

AwiderangeofbusinessbenefitsflowfromVoIPdeliveredoverfibreopticnetworks,assignificantimprovementshavebeenmadetothespeedandqualityofvoicetransmitteddata.TheimplementationofopticalcableshasalsoresultedinmajorgainsintheclarityandqualityofVoIPtransmissions,particularlyforlongdistancecommunications.

Reducing the costs of callsOneofthemainreasonswhycompaniesopttochangetoVoIPsystemsisthattheyareabletosignificantlyreducethecostsoftheirmonthlyphonebills,asVoIPisamuchcheaperoptionthantraditionallandlinetechnology.

Savingsofbetween75%and80%canbeobtainedbyswitchingtoVoIPservices,duetomuchlowermaintenancechargesandcheapercallrates.VoIPtechnologyenableslowcostcallsasvoiceissentovertheinternetasdata,avoidingtheneedtousetraditionalvoicetelephoneexchanges,withthegreatestcostsavingscomingfromlongdistanceandoverseascalls.

CommunicationisobviouslyavitaltoolforeverybusinessandtheintroductionofVoIPtechnologyenablescompaniestoregularlycommunicatewithcustomers,partnersandsuppliersatalowcostandnothavetoworryaboutthelocationorthelengthofthecalls.

Increased portabilityPortabilityisyetanotheradvantageofusingVoIP,astheonlyrequirementforcommunicationisaninternetconnection,ratherthantraditionaltelephonesystemswhicharedependentuponaspecificphysicallocation.Thismeansmovingyourbusinesstopermitexpansionwillinvolvenoextracostwhereyourtelephonysystemisconcerned,becauseyoucanuseyourVoIPnumberswhereveryouare,providedyouhaveInternetaccess.PriortotheintroductionofVoIP,majorcostswouldhavebeenattachedtoofficemoves,astransferringthetelecommunicationsinfrastructurewouldhavebeenexpensiveandevenrequirethepurchaseofanentirelynewsystem.

Enhanced scalability Expandingyourbusinesscanbeacostlyprocess,asthiswouldhaveusuallynecessitatedtheexpansionofyourtelecommunicationssystemsbutwithVoIPallofthiscanbeavoided.VoIPprovidesyouwiththeabilitytocheaplyandsimplyincreasethenumberofphonenumbersyoucanuse,withnolimitoncapacity.

VoIPisthemostsuitableoptionforbusinessesthatoperateovermultiplelocationsandforthosewithhomeworkers,asitiscompletelyfreetomakecallsbetweenVoIPnumbers.

working with daisywww.daisygroup.com

08000408888sales@daisygroup.com

v1-07/13

Cloud computing

The main benefits of cloud computing

Cloudcomputingenablesawiderangeofdigitalassetssuchasemails,files,documents,businessapplicationsandcustomerdatatobeexternallystored“inthecloud”,whichmeansthatalltheseassetscanbeeasilyaccessedviaanycomputer,tabletorsmartphonewithinternetconnectivity.

Fibreopticsincreasesyourbandwidthandthespeedofyourinternetconnectionmakingcloudcomputingafastandefficientreality,enablingcompaniestostoreasubstantialproportionoftheirbusinessdataonline.

CloudcomputingcanbeinstalledasastandalonesolutionortosupplementyourexistingITsystems.Itwillaidyouinloweringthecostsofyourhardwareandsoftware,aswellasprovidingincreasedflexibilityintheworkplaceandscalabilityforyourITinfrastructure.Cloudcomputingisamorereliableandsecuremethodofbacking-upyourbusinessdataandhelpstolessenyourrelianceondedicatedin-houseITprovision.

Lowering your IT costsImplementingcloudcomputingcanenableyourbusinesstoloweritsspendingonITsupport,ashostingyourbusinessapplicationsontheinternetremovesanyneedforyoutosetupandinstallthatsoftwareonyourownsystem.

Similarlyyouwillhavereducedmaintenanceandupgradeneedsasthesewillbemoreeconomicallymanagedbythecloudserviceprovider.Youbenefitfromthecompetitiveratesthattheprovidercanofferresultingfromeconomiesofscaleinservicingmultipleusers.

Furtherknock-onbenefitsarethatyouwillbeabletodownsizeyourinternalITsupportfunction,givingyoucostsavingsandenablingyoutoconcentrateyourresourcesonmainstreamkeybusinessactivities.

Enhances scalabilityAsyourbusinessgrowscloudcomputinggivesyoutheopportunitytoincreaseyourITneedswheneveryourequireit.CloudcomputingallowsyourbusinesstoeasilyupscaleordownscaleyourITrequirementsasandwhenrequired.Significantcostsavingscancomefromthefactthattheproviderhastheabilitytoswiftlygiveyousoftwareupgradeswiththeminimumofeffortandexpensetoyouandyourbusiness.CriticallythereisnoneedforyoutocarryoutmodificationstoyourownITinfrastructure,againamajorpotentialsourceofsavings.Akeybenefitofbeinginstantlyscalableisthatyouonlypayforwhatyouuse.

New technologyCloudcomputingfreesyourbusinessfromtheneedtoresearchthemarkettoensurethatyoursystemsarefullyup-to-date.Adviceandsupportwillalwaysbeathand.Youwouldnolongerneedtoworryaboutthecapitalcostnormallyrequiredforyoutoupdateyoursoftware.Therewillnolongerbeanyneedtopurchasewhatcanbeveryexpensivesoftware,asthecloudprovidercansupplythistoyou.Allyouwillhavetopaygoingforwardisamaintenancecharge,againlikelytobehighlycompetitiveasyouoncemorebenefitfromthecheapratestheprovidercanofferthrougheconomiesofscale.Inaddition,thereisthemajorsavingresultingfromnothavingtoincurwhatcanbehugecapitalcostsinupgradinghardwaretokeepupwithtechnologywhichthengoesoutofdate.

Flexible workingYourbusinesswillbenefitfromtheflexibilitythatcloudservicesofferintheworkenvironment.Yourstaffwillbeabletoshareanextensiverangeofdataontheinternetwithcolleagues,customersandsuppliersusingsmartphones,tabletsorPCs,whicheverisappropriate.Inaddition,theywillbeabletocarryouttheseactivitieswhethertheyareonoroffsite.

Data backupProtectingdataisimportanttoeverybusinessandreliablebackupiscritical.Youcansafelybackupallyourdatainthecloudintheknowledgethatitwillbemanagedefficientlyandatalowcost.Youwillbeabletorelyonthefactthatshoulddatalossesoccuronyoursystemthesecanberetrievedefficientlyandquicklywiththeminimumofeffortonthepartofyourstaff.Thiswillresultinamajorreductioninpotentiallossesfrombusinessdowntime.

Keep your business greenYouwillalsobehelpingtosafeguardtheenvironmentthroughtheuseofcloudcomputingservices,asyouwillbeabletoloweryourownenergyuse.Atthesametime,thefactthatcloudservicesareprovidedfromcentralisedoperationalinstallationsmeansthattheiruseofenergyisfarmoreefficientthanindistributedsystems.Therearealsosignificantadvantagesinminimisingelectronicwastedisposalasyouwillhavelesshardwaretomanageanddealwithasitbecomesobsolescentovertime.Againthecloudprovideroperatingonalargerscalewillbeabletoputinplaceacost-efficientandeffectivelong-termplanformanageddisposalwhichwillassistinconservingresources.

Shoulddisasterstrike,businesscontinuityandspeedofdatarecoveryiscritical.Problemscanresultfromfire,flooding,powerbreakdownsandawholerangeofothersituationscausingdisruption.Fibreopticservicescanoffermajorassistancehere.Thisisprimarilyduetothebandwidththeyprovideandspeedwithwhichtheycantransmitdata.Thisprovidesbusinesseswiththeassurancethatthelargeamountsofdatarequiredtoruntheirbusinesscanbefullybackedupandeasilyaccessed.

Additionally,therearealsosignificantcostsavingsresultingfromthenewtechnology.Fibreopticsenablesmoothandfasttransferofdataatalowcostthroughtheinternettooff-sitebackupcentres.Useofthesecentresisacriticalcomponentofanydisasterrecoveryplan.Thelocationofthebackupcentreisamajordecisionforanybusiness.Differentbusinesseshavedifferentneedsdependingontheirsizeandprofile.However,anoverridingconsiderationisthatthebackupcentrelocationneedstobesufficientlyfarfromthebusinessbasetonotbeaffectedbytheparticulardisasterevent.Atthesametimeitneedstobelocatednearenoughtothebusinesstoenablestafftobeabletogettoitwithinamanageableperiodoftimeduringtheworkingday.

Business continuity and disaster recovery

working with daisywww.daisygroup.com

08000408888sales@daisygroup.com

v1-07/13

Oneofthemajorqualitiesattributedtofibreopticservicesisthatuniquelytheyarefuture-proof.Thismeansthatbecauseofthenatureofthetechnology,itdoesnothavecapacitylimitsrequiringperiodicincrease.Socapacityrestraintsaremorelikelytocomefromtheolderbusinessinfrastructureitissupporting.

InarecentarticleintheFinancialTimes,KarelHelsen,PresidentofindustrybodytheFibre-to-the-Home(FTTH)Council,wrote“TheintroductionoffibreopticbroadbandacrosstheUKcouldprovemoreefficientthanshort-termfixestoimproveconnectionspeeds.Opticalfibrehasvirtuallyunlimitedcapacitybothtoandfromtheuser,sobandwidthupgradesonlyrequirechangestotheequipmentontheendsofthelink.”Headded:“Buildthenetworkonce;enjoyitforthenext50yearsandbeyond–whysettleforanythingless?”

TheUKGovernmentshareshisview.AdamAfriyieMPChairmanoftheParliamentaryOfficeofScience&TechnologyandformerShadowMinisterforScienceandInnovation,saidthatfuture-prooffibreopticbroadbandservicesholdthekeytoensuringbusinessesintheUKcanremaincompetitiveonagloballevel.

TheHouseofLordsCommunicationsCommitteeintheirrecentreport‘Broadbandforall-analternativevision’recommendedasfollows:

“We argue that the Government should be focusing on delivering a high spec infrastructure which is future-proof and built to last; fibre optic cable, the most future-proof technology, must be driven out as close as possible to the eventual user. Then, as well as mandating open access to this optical fibre from the cabinet to the exchange, we need to ensure that there is open access to links between the exchanges that feed the cabinets, and to the higher level links into national and global networks.”

Future-proofing

working with daisywww.daisygroup.com

08000408888sales@daisygroup.com

v1-07/13

“...fibre optic broadbandservices hold the key toensuring businesses in the UK can remain competitive on a globallevel.”

Adam Afriyie, MP Chairman of the

Parliamentary Office of Science &

Technology

working with daisywww.daisygroup.com

08000408888sales@daisygroup.com

v1-07/13

Itisextremelyimportanttothefuturesuccessofyourbusinessthatyoudon’tgetleftbehindintheconnectivityrace.

TakingFTTCbroadbandconnectivityisonlythefirststeptowardsensuringyourtechnologyissupportingbusinessgrowthtargetsandcostsavingstrategies.

CompanieswithFTTCinplacecanthenreallystarttoexploitwhatthatimprovedconnectivitycandofortheirbusiness.

Conclusion