Do we really need fibre optic network?

Fibre optic network is often considered as next generation broadband. This new technology can offer up to 100 Mbps or even more and is prevalent in most of the nations in Asia Pacific region. Although fibre optic networks offer reliable, high speed broadband connections , their main drawback is their requirement of large investments for setting up of the infrastructure. Since this is a new broadband technology, the fair assessment of it is to emerge only in long run.

In spite of this, fibre based broadband could be the solution to the age-long problem of actual speed Vs advertised speed in the UK. It is thought by many that the incumbent copper wires should be replaced with the advanced FTTH to improve the average speeds that we are presently getting. Most ISPs provide information related to actual speed in small print to alert the customers and the telecom watchdog Ofcom has also instructed the ISPs to clearly mention the actual speed that users are likely to get on their adverts.
The average speed of broadband connections in the UK shows how the UK is lagging behind countries like Japan, Korea and Sweden. The latest research shows that South Korea, where FTTH is deployed, has more than ninety percent of the households that receive speeds ranging between 50 Mbps and 60 Mbps, on average. In comparison, the average speed of broadband connection in the UK is found to be a little less than 4 Mbps.

FTTH network is often felt as an inevitable necessity in the present scenario. However, the questions of who will initiate this upgrade with the huge  £15 billion investment and when will the new technology roll out are yet to be answered. The recent discussion held on Westminster eForum between industry analysts, academics, leading industrialists and journalists urged the leading ISPs to take the UK broadband industry to next technological level.

However, the recent report from BBC online news quoting Ofcom and BT as saying this transition towards fibre optic networks ‘could be premature’ is quite interesting. The main issue of cost of setting of this expensive network and the affordability of such services in the UK still remains.

Justin Paul of Alcatel-Lucent says, “The question is how to make money and I’m not sure the answer is good.” It is yet to be seen how many people in the UK will find the FTTH affordable.

Meanwhile, Peter Philips of Ofcom, feels that there is a need to assess the real requirements and performance of such advanced fibre optic networks from the UK context, with significant evidences to support the findings before anyone seriously thinks about this fundamental change.
“We have to ask ourselves what would be the disadvantage if your investment comes later than others. We would be able to learn from the experiences in other countries,” he cautioned.

BT, the largest broadband provider in UK has its own plans of upgrading of its networks. Its 21CN is supposed to be fully functional by 2011, however, BT will be gradually launching its ADSL+2 products (with speeds up to 24 Mbps) from next year. Once all BT exchanges become ADSL+2 enabled in three years time, most broadband customers in the UK will get 24Mb broadband. As such, it seems that most critics of FTTH networks feel that there is hardly any need for speeds higher than this level.