Types of fiber networks

Advantages of optical fiber

The most important advantages that the use of fiber optics offers us are the following:

High bandwidth: great bandwidth available.

High reliability: The bit error rate (BER), which is a clear indicator of link quality, is of the order of 10 ^ (- 10)

Low losses: Typical fiber attenuation of 0.2dB / Km, which allows terminals and repeaters to be highly spaced.

Fire resistant: The melting point of the Silicon fiber is approximately 1900ºC (against 1100ºC del Cobre).

Fire protection: Photons do not generate sparks and thus it is safe to operate even in explosive atmospheres.

Light weight: The fiber cable weighs 10% to 30% less than copper.

Oxidation free: The crystal is chemically stable and thus it can prevail in adverse environments (such as ocean floors).

High physical flexibility: The Fiber Optic cable can easily be folded, allowing quick installation in already used conductors. Despite this there is a maximum radius of curvature that should not be exceeded so that the fiber performance is optimal

Abundance of resources: The fiber optic cables can be built entirely with dielectric materials, the raw material used in the manufacture is silicon dioxide which is one of the most abundant resources on the earth's surface.

Electrical isolation between terminals: As there are no metallic components, there is no current inductions in the cable, so they can be installed in places where there is a danger of electrical cuts.

Absence of emitted radiation: The optical fibers transmit light so they do not suffer electromagnetic interference, which is an advantage, but it is also an advantage that when transmitting light they do not produce radiation, so they do not affect the operation of other electronic devices. This makes fiber the safest way to transmit very high quality information without degradation.

Transmission characteristics as a function of temperature: The transmission characteristics remain more or less unchanged due to temperature changes (-40-200ºC)

Types of fiber networks

Now a days many cable internet companies are available in the market.With regard to the types of fiber optic networks that could be used, the range of possibilities is quite broad and to opt for one must take into account the current and future requirements that this network will have to support. The existing options are basically divided into two categories. Passive and active.

Passive: These networks are called PON (Passive Optical Networks). Their main characteristic is that they do not have power components between the final subscriber and the main distribution point. The mainstay of these networks is that they use a point-to-multipoint architecture that looks like a tree structure. To divide the signal between the different users, passive optical splitters are used. Usually for 32 or 64 users. The most common types of PON are Gigabit PON (GPON) and Ethernet PON (EPON).

Active: These networks are called AON (Active Optical Networks) although they are also called Active Ethernet. They use traditional Ethernet technology in a point-to-point star topology. One or more fibers are dedicated to each end user between the user and the first row of Ethernet switches / routers.

When deploying an FTTH network, the cost of it is paramount. Historically, PON networks have been more frequent in the US while AONs have been more popular in Europe and Asia. This has been the case because PON networks require less fiber and the average distance between users in the US is very large, which is why PON networks were more profitable. PON networks have to be practically always the least expensive option without importer the place especially. So, why in Asia and Europe does AONs have more acceptance? The reason is that these networks provide greater service flexibility, including better support for multimedia applications that require large volumes of symmetric bandwidth. For this reason these networks are also gaining popularity in the US.