Few network operators would question the truth that broadband infrastructure is the "new dialtone" of the network. And in most geographies, there is little doubt that competition and regulations are combining to encourage ever-faster broadband connection speeds.
Operators agree that competition and regulations combined could easily drive down carriers' ROI for broadband infrastructure and even profit margins. The relationship between competitive positioning and profit isn't a happy one, and it demands careful capacity planning analysis when considering broadband delivery technology options.
Four last-mile technologies for broadband infrastructure merit consideration.
- DSL, a technology that reuses copper pairs installed for analog voice service in digital delivery applications
- CATV coaxial cable, the technology used by cable TV providers to deliver television programming and updated to carry broadband using DOCSIS standards from CableLabs
- FTTH, normally deployed in a PON configuration
- Fixed wireless broadband, which most often means Wimax
Other options such as broadband over power line are being considered, but the capacity wars among traditional telco and cable competitors may push broadband speeds beyond the levels that could be reliably obtained using power-line delivery.
Each access technology has its own pros and cons.
The gold standard for broadband content and entertainment delivery is clearly FTTH. But the challenge is proving return on investment for the network, which has the highest pass cost. That limits FTTH to applications where the economic density of a service area is high and ARPU is likely to pay back quickly on the investment. As a result, that usually means that FTTH must be used both for TV and broadband service delivery.
Google is also pushing for legislation that would require dark fiber as part of government construction projects, which would slow carrier infrastructure upgrade plans.
On the regulatory front, the FCC recently announced its US universal broadband service goal -- 4 Mbps by 2020, which is modest compared with other countries but is designed to protect net neutrality. In a surprising move, the FCC is now claiming the authority to regulate broadband to ensure that enough people have access to high-speed services.
When doing a capacity planning analysis, issues that could affect broadband infrastructure sharing and net neutrality are of particular importance because they can affect not only the gross margins obtained for service (wholesale versus retail pricing for shared infrastructure) but also the expectations on broadband capacity and service quality. It's important to be objective in both areas, since bad assumptions will lead to bad plans and a bad outcome.
Tom Nolle is president of CIMI Corporation
This article originally appeared in SearchTelecom.com
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