There are now multiple solutions when it comes to delivering high-speed connectivity. As well as a fibre connection to a premises – credible alternatives exist but the costs of doing so, remain too high.
LTE, 4G and 5G based fixed wireless access now offer excellent performance capabilities. In the case of 5G FWA, this is practically as good as fibre. Also, copper/DSL access is still a viable option.
Fibre is still required
As good as the alternatives are, each of them still requires the use of fibre as part of their delivery. Although fibre can provide huge capacity directly into homes and business premises, it’s also essential for providing the backhaul needed to connect FWA, or other fixed last-mile technologies to the core network. Fibre has the necessary capacity to transport data into the core without any problems.
Mixed deployments
The long-term movement towards a dispersed knowledge economy, with increasing numbers of workers moving from cities to suburbs, has been sharply accelerated by the global pandemic.
It’s not just workers either. Home users now demand and expect high-quality, on-demand streaming education and entertainment services. To support this seismic shift, and accompanying demand, fibre-providers need to consider mixed deployment.
Fibre will be provided to the premises where it’s possible, and for connectivity to cabinets and cells where different access techniques are required.
The demands of 5G
5G, in general, needs fibre for each and every cell site, and to be able to support the massive increase in the number of connected devices enabled by the IoT. The data volumes produced by many devices may be small, but with the huge densities expected per kilometre, fibre is required to ensure efficient backhaul.
No fibre network operates in isolation
Because Communication Service Providers (CSPs) need to be thinking about building capacity for a range of use cases, fibre is the obvious solution. Networks need to be flexible and adaptive to take account of new and emerging demand and use cases as they arise.
CSPs need to think about likely traffic profiles, so that the network can be appropriately dimensioned.
Do policies need to be in place to prioritise traffic types, and what last-mile connectivity options will be deployed?
Cost management and effective roll-out plans can’t be done via guesswork. To get these key questions right, access is needed to a comprehensive range of information. Geospatial network planning, design and engineering tools will need to be utilised. These will help the CSP network planner to enhance workflow efficiency, reduce error and improve productivity. In turn, this helps strengthen the economic case for fibre, at the same time as making it more realistic.
So, how exactly do these planning tools work?
Optimised through the power of location analysis
With a GIS (Geographic Information System) based approach, you gain a highly granular, spatially accurate, real world network model. This can be used to design the optimum fibre network for your needs before the ground is broken.
GIS enables you to share and visualise essential network information across the team, segmenting if necessary, with highly specific analytical views.
Harness the power of geospatial
At Enghouse Networks, we believe we’ve created the very best GIS planning tool for your fibre rollouts. The Enghouse Networks GIS Network Planning & Management Portfolio is based on many years’ experience of making fibre work for a wide variety of firms with radically different needs. We’ve also partnered with Esri, the market leader in the GIS field.
This ensures that your work in the field is optimised through the power of location analysis. The project is organised from the planning stage to as built, enabling you to keep everything on track. The data collected allows you to deliver in-depth analytical insights that enable you to fully assess risk, and spot potential problems before they arise.
