In the internet world, there are all sorts of ways to get the signal to your house through various cables and connections, even through the air from space, although that is becoming less and less common every day. The most popular delivery systems are copper cable and fiber optics.
FTTH, FTTC and FTTN are fiber optic legs. Made of strands of glass, fiber optic Internet provides faster, smoother service with more room for signal traffic compared to traditional copper cable wires.
FTTH (Fiber to the Home), FTTC (Fiber to the Curb) and FTTN (Fiber to the Node) refer to the wiring path and configuration the signals travel. The closer the fiber optic legs reach to the final destination, the better the connection.
How do FTTH, FTTC and FTTN differ?
What is FTTH (Fiber to the Home)?
FTTH (Fiber to the Home) also called fiber to the premises (FTTP), is the installation and use of optical fiber from a central point directly to individual buildings such as residences, apartment buildings and businesses to provide high-speed internet access. FTTH dramatically increases connection speeds available to computer users compared with technologies now used in most places.
Moves between the property line switch box and the residents' junction boxes. Because the connection goes directly to individual residences, FTTH offers a higher bandwidth. It's expensive to install in some areas. Some carriers install fiber optics for this leg as a selling feature in new developments. But, an FTTH home has a disadvantage if a carrier needs to install a separate power line. Power and Internet signals don't move together in fiber optics.
How does FTTH work?
The defining characteristic of FTTH is that it connects optical fiber directly to residences. It uses optical fiber for most or all of last-mile telecommunications. Optical fiber transmits data using light signals to achieve higher performance.
FTTH access networks are basically structured like this: fiber optic cables run from a central office, through a fiber distribution hub (FDH), then through a network access point (NAP), then finally into the home through a terminal that serves as a junction box.
What is FTTC (Fiber to the Curb)?
FTTC (Fiber to the Curb) Loops means local Loops consisting of fiber optic cable connecting to a copper distribution plant that is not more than five hundred (500) feet from the End User's premises or, in the case of predominantly residential MDUs, not more than five hundred (500) feet from the MDU's MPOE. The fiber optic cable in a FTTC Loop must connect to a copper distribution plant at a serving area interface from which every other copper distribution subloop also is not more than five hundred (500) feet from the respective End User's premises.
How does FTTC work?
An FTTC broadband connection is established using the existing copper infrastructure and your BT line. An FTTC broadband connection uses fiber optics to link the cabinet to the exchange and the core network. At the point of the cabinet, the broadband is divided into multiple premises between users.This is the shared (contended) broadband model.
The 'last mile' (although not always literally a mile) is the final stage between the cabinet and the premise, delivered using copper wire. As with ADSL broadband, speeds are affected by the distance between the copper wire and the fiber optics cabinet; The further away your premises are from the cabinet, the slower the download and upload speeds you experience every day. Before installation, you can discover your distance from the cabinet and likely performance, to understand if this is the right solution for your business.
What is FTTN (Fiber to the Node or Neighborhood)?
FTTN (Fiber to the Node or Neighborhood) serves a few hundred customers. They must be within a one mile radius. The remaining distance to the home, often referred to as the "last mile," can use DSL through existing telephone or cable company lines. Customer proximity to the node and delivery protocols determine data rates.
While FTTH can offer faster speeds, it is more expensive to install. FTTC or FTTN provides fiber optic Internet to more customers at less expense.
FTTN can reach theoretically up to 100Mbps. However, you'll find typical evening speeds stick between 75Mbps and 90Mbps on the highest speed plan. However, fiber to the node customers are heavily reliant on how far they live from their node. Like with ADSL exchanges, FTTN customers farther away from the node have a diminished capacity to achieve top speeds.
How does FTTN work?
The National Broadband Network is made up of fiber optic cables that run out across the country from major hubs and into your neighborhood. These cables are capable of delivering incredibly fast and reliable internet.
Fiber to the Node (FTTN) technology is one of seven different ways the fiber optic cable can be connected to your home. It was also the cornerstone of former Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull's promise of "cheaper, faster (to roll out) and more affordable" NBN.
With a FTTN connection, fiber optic cable is run to a central cabinet in your neighborhood: the node. Your house then connects to the nearest node using the same copper wiring you're currently using for your landline phone and your ADSL broadband.
Because less fiber optic cable is used, and more existing phone line is recycled, FTTN NBN connections can be cheaper when compared to other technology types. But it can come at the expense of speed, as we discussed earlier in this guide. If your house is more than 400 meters from the node, your connection may not be able to achieve the maximum speeds of which the NBN should be capable.
What is FTTx (Fiber to the x)?
Fiber to the x (FTTx) is a collective term for any broadband network architecture using optical fiber cables to replace all or part of existing copper cables. FTTH is a more specific broadband network architecture that discretely refers to fiber to the home. To this end, Fiber to the x (FTTx) comprises many additional variations of fiber optic access infrastructure, beyond FTTH, including:
- FTTP: fiber to the premises
- FTTN: fiber to the node or neighborhood
- FTTC: fiber to the curb or cabinet
- FTTB: fiber to the building or business
- FTTdp: fiber to the distribution point
- FTTD: fiber to the desk
To recap, FTTX refers to all types of fiber infrastructure. FTTP goes all the way to the premises and includes FTTH, FTTB and FTTR. FTTC, which is very similar to FTTN, only goes partway, with copper cabling usually doing the rest.
Tools for FTTH, FTTx
It needs some optical fiber tools for FTTH, FTTx installation and maintenance, such as optical power meter, fiber cleaver, fiber tool kit. And Fiber Fusion Splicer with low loss is the most important. It is better to choose good tools from reliable suppliers like Splicer Market.