A reliable, high-speed internet connection has become a necessity in the time of digital economy. With no competition in meeting the ever-growing needs, fibre-optic technology continues to reign the broadband world. With two main deployment options, Fibre to the Building (FTTB) and Fibre to the Premises (FTTP) – also referred to as Fibre-to-the-Home (FTTH) – that cater to slightly different needs, it is imperative to understand their distinctive specifics, advantages, limitations, and their ideal deployment scenarios when selecting the right connection type. While both utilise fibre-optic cables and deliver significant advantages over traditional copper-only connections, they differ in their reach and implementation.
Fibre to the Building (FTTB): Cost-effective reuse of wiring
FTTB brings the fibre-optic connection to a distribution point located in a multi-dwelling unit (MDU) building or business park, typically a basement or telecommunications room. This location acts as a hub from which traditional copper wiring is used to deliver internet access to individual units within the building.
Benefits: FTTB can be advantageous for several reasons
- Cost-effective deployment: Deploying fibre to every single home can be expensive. Compared to FTTP, deploying FTTB requires less fibre-optic cable which makes it a more economical option, as the fibre optic infrastructure is laid only to the distribution point in the building.
- Faster installation: Within the building, no new cabling is necessary which saves deployment time and cost.
- Scalability: FTTB can provide internet access to a large number of units/users within a single building, with speeds that exceed traditional copper-only connections.
Disadvantages: Of course, the FTTB coin also has its flipside
- Shared bandwidth: The transmission capacity reaching the building is divided among all units, potentially impacting individual connection data rate.
- Copper bottleneck: The final leg of intra-building connections uses copper wiring, which can considerably impair the quality, data rates and reliability.
- Legacy technology: FTTB is not upgradeable in terms of higher data rates due to limitations of last-leg copper.
- Physical protection: The equipment at the distribution point must be installed in a waterproof, weather-protected and vandal-resistant room or cabinet which causes higher upfront costs.
- Power supply: The distribution point requires a dedicated power supply which implies specific permits. Continuous powering causes higher costs and increases the carbon footprint. Any backup power-supply batteries contribute to the depletion of natural resources and eventually require adequate waste management.
Fibre to the Premises (FTTP): Unparalleled reliability at full speed of light
FTTH brings the optical fibre connection all the way to the individual home, dwelling unit or business. Dedicated fibre-optic strands stretching all the way from the service provider to users delivers dedicated, reliable and high-data-rate connectivity.
The benefits of FTTP are numerous
- Superior speeds: FTTP offers the highest possible data rates which far exceed those that FTTB can provide. It easily meets the (multi-gigabit) needs of bandwidth-intensive applications such as streaming ultra-high-definition content, video conferencing, remote work with large file transfers, and online gaming.
- Lower latency: Fibre-optic connectivity of FTTP excels in significantly lower latency compared to copper, which is crucial for real-time applications such as video conferencing and online gaming.
- Reliability: Full-fibre FTTP is immune to electromagnetic interference known to cause quality degradation in copper-based connections. This ensures stability and reliability that businesses and homes that depend on constant internet access need.
- Future-proof technology: FTTP is built to handle future advancements in internet technology and bandwidth demands. With FTTP, higher data rates are just a wavelength away, and the same physical infrastructure (the optical distribution network) will last for decades since it is able to accommodate future technological advancements.
- Environmental sustainability: With significantly lower power consumption per user, FTTP (and its PON flavours in particular) exhibits much lower carbon footprint than FTTB or any other copper-based technology. At comparable data rates, the average power consumption per user – and the resulting carbon footprint – of PON-based FTTP is two orders of magnitude lower than VDSL-based FTTB.
Disadvantages: Possible limitations of FTTP are related to business aspects, not the technology
- Higher deployment cost and longer installation time: Installing fibre-optic cables to individual premises can be more expensive than FTTB, particularly in areas with low population density. Apart from construction itself, attaining permits of property owners can sometimes be time-consuming and expensive. Similarly, changing the connectivity at customer premises from copper to fibre requires physical replacement of the equipment within individual units, contributing to higher costs.
Choosing the right fibre-optic technology
Undoubtedly, both FTTB and FTTP offer significant improvements over traditional copper-only internet connections. Ultimately, the choice depends on specific needs, priorities and available budgets and resources.
In general, the deployment of FTTB makes most sense in apartment buildings and MDUs, office buildings and student campuses. In these cases, FTTB is a cost-effective solution in providing high-speed internet connectivity to users with low-to-moderate requirements.
On the other hand, FTTP is ideal for future-proof deployment in new housing developments, individual homes requiring top-tier connectivity with high data rates, and for businesses that need a dedicated and reliable internet connection with unparalleled performance.