FTTX – Fiber To the X

Definition

FTTX(Fiber to the X) is a collective term for a variety of optical fiber delivery topologies which are categorized according to the fiber termination place(X=H for home, P for premises, C for curb and N for node or neighborhood, B for Building and Z for zone etc.).

Fiber To The X (FTTx) is different from a traditional optical network. It is a new trend for a local area network (LAN) application. In most FTTX applications, only one optical fiber is used. That single optical fiber passes data in both directions. This is very different from a LAN application where the transmitted optical fiber sends data in one direction and the receive optical fiber sends data in the other direction. In a LAN application, both optical fibers can have data passing through them at the same time.

Termination Place

We usually see some FTTx words, such as FTTH, FTTN or FTTB etc. in many academic articles. H(home), N(node/neighborhood) and B(building) refer to the termination place of the fiber. In addition, there are FTTP (P for premises), FTTC (C for curb) FTTZ (Z for zone) and FTTD (D for desktop).

FTTH
FTTH (Fiber to the home) – Fiber terminates at a box on the outside wall of our home. FTTH could provide a wide variety of broadband services within the family, such as VOD(video on demand), home shopping, home school etc. which provides more business opportunities. Furthermore, if matching WLAN technology, it will make the combination of broadband and mobile so that we can achieve the future broadband digital home vision.

FTTN
FTTN (Fiber to the node or neighborhood) – Optical cabling usually terminates in a cabinet or pole which may be as much as a few miles from the customer premises(a little similar with the FTTC).

FTTP
FTTP (Fiber to the premises) – FTTP is used to encompass both FTTH and FTTB deployments or is sometimes used to indicate that a particular fiber network includes both homes and businesses. FTTP can offer higher speed than any other broadband services, so that operators usually use this technology to provide voice, video and data services.

FTTC
FTTC (Fiber to the curb) – It’s sometimes also called fiber to the cabinet. Optical cabling usually terminates in the street cabinet or pole within 300m of the customer premises. It’s a main broadband service nowadays.

FTTZ
FTTZ (fiber-to-the-zone, the same as fiber-to-the-telecom-enclosure) – FTTZ a form of structured cabling which is typically used in enterprise LAN, where fiber is used to link the main computer equipment room to an enclosure close to the desk or workstation. However, despite the similarity in name, FTTZ is not a considered part of the FTTX group of technologies.

FTTD
FTTD (Fiber to the desktop) – It is a ideal of FTTX solution. Fiber connection is installed from the main computer room to a terminal or fiber media converter near the user’s desktop.

Advantages of FTTX

· Higher speeds

· Carrying more capacity than twisted pair conductors or coaxial cable

· Less cost of fiber

FTTX Technology Classification

· Ethernet point-to-point

· Point to Multi-Point

· PON access network technology