Building The Missing Link: ABI Research Examines DSL And Fiber Deployment

Oyster Bay, NY -- Telephone companies see their future in the delivery of the "triple play" - especially "telco TV" -- to their customers' homes. Critical to any such delivery chain is a speedy access network to connect users with providers. Telcos in many parts of the world are aggressively building out fiber and DSL networks to deliver that bandwidth to consumers.

But there are many flavors of both fiber and DSL: different network architectures that deliver different performance levels at different costs and with diverse implications for future expansion. Which to choose?

ABI Research has answered that question and many more in a new study, "Worldwide DSL and Fiber Market Assessment", which compares the various architectures that telcos are using to deliver broadband.

"We have approached the subject from a new angle," says ABI Research's principal analyst of broadband technologies, Michael Arden. "We have divided the available technologies into three categories, based on how deeply the fiber component penetrates the network: fiber to the node, fiber to the curb, and fiber to the home."

The report examines the suitability of the various technologies (fiber formats A/BPON, EPON, GPON, GEPON and Active Ethernet, and DSL formats ADSL, ADSL2, ADSL2+, VDSL and VDSL2) for each network architecture, and sets up six scenarios to help network operators find the best solution for their geography, legacy equipment and customer base.

For example, says Arden, "fiber-to-the-curb puts the DSLAM close enough to the house that you can use VDSL2 for the final few feet of copper into the premises, and still get very high speeds."

Arden's research finds that VDSL2 and GPON are the only solutions that can easily provide the bandwidth required for future applications. However, cost vs performance and the ease of future upgrades all get factored into telcos' network planning decisions.

The report also identifies operators and the vendors who are supplying them worldwide, and describes the kinds of networks they are installing.

SOURCE: ABI Research