21525 - SCTE Broadband May2022 COMPLETE

32 Vol. 44 No. 2 - May 2022 Issue Overcoming It’s no secret that demand for bandwidth is rising rapidly. The growth of video streaming and e-commerce as well as the advent of artificial intelligence and Internet of Things (IoT) are placing greater demands on the telecoms industry, and the solution providers that support them, than ever before. In tandem, after a slow start, network operators are racing ahead in deploying full fibre across the UK. As of February 2022 1 , some 33% of UK homes and businesses have access to “full fibre”, representing over 10 million properties and up from 21% in February 2021. There are several architecture options available for those deploying FTTH networks, including Physical Infrastructure Access (PIA) which delivers fibre via Openreach’s ducts and poles. In PIA applications, network congestion is becoming a problem and this will only increase as more operators expand their footprints. Likewise, to support the demand for bandwidth, a lot more 5G networks will be deployed, again creating congestion challenges with a need for substantially more radios and access points. Fibre deployment in historical areas With this necessity to blanket the UK in fibre and 5G access points also comes a need to install terminals in UK conservation areas, of which there are approximately 10,000 in the UK. These can include anything from fishing and mining villages, 18th, 19th and 20th-century suburbs, model housing estates to historic transport links and their surroundings, such as stretches of canal and railways. The challenges here are manifold. For operators, securing permissions – known as a wayleave agreement – is particularly By Ian Cowser, Applications Engineering, Corning Optical Communications the challenges of fibre deployment in historical areas from the industry Ian Cowser is a Carrier Networks Application Engineer for Corning based in the UK, taking care of carrier network operators in EMEA. Ian started his career in telecoms in 1993 in Project and Services, but has held various roles in sales, business development and product line solutions. He holds a degree in Mechanical Engineering and external project management qualifications. Ian Cowser, Applications Engineering, Corning Optical Communications 1 https://www.thinkbroadband.com/news/9177-february-2022-update-on-broadband-availability-across-the-uk-nations-and-regions

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