January/February/March 2020 I 7
COVER ARTICLE
By Konstantinos Stavropoulos, Ph.D.
THE DAWN OF FiberG
Optical fiber to the premises/home is part
of FTTx initiatives related to the popular
topic of fiber-to-the-home (FTTH). FTTx
may also refer to fiber-to-the-business/
building (FTTB). Both are part of fiber-to-
the-premises (FTTP).
For these FTTx initiatives, there is
fiber for small cells and distributed antenna
systems (DAS), fiber for mobile transport,
fiber for submarine cables, fiber for hyper-
scale data centers, and fiber for network
transformation. Various network and digital
transformation initiatives—from open net-
work and IT architectures (e.g., central
office re-architected as a data center known
as CORD) to automation and 5G—depend
on a strong and well-performing fiber infra-
structure. Fiber is everywhere.
Of course, the fiber everywhere
reference is not new. Neither is it specific
to 5G. FTTx is stealing the limelight in
fiber-related news. Depending on people's
location and broadband package, they may
also be receiving letters, emails or phone
calls from their broadband provider urging
an upgrade to its latest and greatest offering.
Yes, fiber.
