Most service providers know from firsthand experience that today’s consumers have an enormous and insatiable appetite for broadband content. It can be stressful to providers who are required to provide everything from basic voice services to HD TV, to video-on-demand and interactive gaming. To those savvy customers, the promise of an FTTP connection offers several competitive differentiators including broadband technology, service customization, and Quality of Experience (QoE).

Yet many of today’s networks will require a significant upgrade to realize the potential these advanced services offer both financially and competitively. These upgrades must accomplish two goals: 1.) dramatically increase bandwidth while 2.) simultaneously improving the quality of the broadband connection. Last Mile upgrades typically require moving from CO and Remote-Terminal-(RT)-based DSL to CO- and RT-based FTTP, which can take years depending on the size of the access network and migration timetable. As a result, during the transition period, subscribers will continue to receive a significant amount of content over copper or mixed copper/fiber broadband access.

Some service providers, especially those in rural areas, may decide to keep a mixed network in place for the long term, determining that only portions of the service area will require the higher bandwidth and predictable signal quality that fiber networks provide. Practical considerations all but guarantee a mixed DSL and FTTP network in most broadband deployments for years to come. To minimize operational complexity and financial burdens, network simplicity and flexibility are key.

Mind Over Network: MSAP-ing
A simple and flexible transition from DSL to mixed or all-fiber networks is possible with the integration of multi-service access platforms (MSAPs) that provide several important benefits to service providers. The chosen platform sustains a wide range of network interfaces, and integrates a variety of network functions that enables providers to keep existing management and support systems in place. It also gives service providers an added level of flexibility and significantly reduces migration costs because providers do not need to continuously replace one network element (i.e., DSLAM) with another (i.e., OLT) during the upgrade.

As a baseline, most broadband connections today utilize ADSL or ADSL2Plus interfaces. But new options are now or will be readily available in the near future. These include VDSL2, GPON, and optical Ethernet (100/1,000 Mbps). The ability to easily migrate from one to any of the others is a key consideration for any service provider that is either in the transition phase or currently considering the migration to FTTP.

As such, MSAPs must do more than simply provide the requisite broadband interfaces to assist the service provider in the transition. The ideal MSAP should also enable the service provider to migrate a subscriber connection from one technology to another without requiring a network redesign.

For example, those service providers that choose to maintain mixed copper and fiber access networks indefinitely may choose to upgrade existing ADSL networks to ADSL2Plus or VDSL2 technologies. While these network technologies provide less bandwidth and more latency than fiber, they are significantly faster than earlier versions of DSL and most alternative broadband options. Upgrading the DSL network as part of building a mixed network or extending a fiber network deployment offers subscribers at least the faster speeds of newer DSL technologies, and can fend off encroachment by potential competitors.

Let’s examine the situation if a subscriber is upgraded from ADSL2Plus to VDSL2 using a MSAP. Using this strategy, the transition should be as simple as “swinging” connector cables from an ADSL2Plus module to a VDSL2 module. Additional configuration changes may be required but the MSAP should not require forklift upgrades to facilitate the transition. This flexibility is essential to a simple migration strategy and reduces stress on everyone involved.

The migration from copper to FTTP can also be viewed in a similar fashion when a MSAP is involved. Changing media (from copper to fiber) requires only a little more than a simple cable “swing”; using existing network transport without forklift changes to the MSAP chassis can undoubtedly simplify the migration to FTTP.

Since FTTP will invariably bring higher transport capacity requirements, the ability to easily upgrade network transport is another strategy that will simplify the transition. An MSAP with the performance and flexibility to easily migrate from GigE to 10GigE network transport is another consideration when migrating to FTTP.

It’s clear that over the next decade a large number of service providers will be stressed to the max as they are forced to embrace a strategy to increase the bandwidth and quality of their broadband network. Some will choose a definitive move to FTTP. Others will continue to leverage existing copper facilities with ADSL2Plus or VDSL2 technologies. A third type of service provider will embrace a hybrid approach investing in FTTP access based on competitive or business considerations.

What is certain is that subscribers will continue to drive bandwidth and quality requirements higher. Service providers that plan ahead and build flexibility into their networks will be in the strongest position to offer new, revenue-enhancing services and fend off threats from competitive access technologies. All while minimizing the operational and financial impact on their business.

Juan Vela is Director of Solutions Marketing and Strategy for Occam Networks. He has more than 10 years experience in Last Mile access technologies. For more information, visit www.occamnetworks.com.

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