HUBER+SUHNER goes back to the future at FTTH Council Europe

Global connectivity supplier HUBER+SUHNER has jumped forward in time at FTTH Council Europe to give delegates a unique insight into the role of fiber in the year 2026, as well as an overview of how we have got there.

Fiber Optics Market Manager for HUBER+SUHNER Kurt Misteli addressed a busy auditorium on day two of the event, taking an entertaining and informative look back at the fiber industry in 2016.

"In 2016, the fiber industry was entirely different to the one we see before us today," said Misteli. "But this is not surprising, considering that access to broadband was not yet a given and there were a vast number of obstacles to overcome to receive the best possible service."

Misteli went on to say that, incredibly, in 2016 we considered 4G to be fast connectivity and we were actively debating whether or not fiber access was really necessary going forward, both domestically and commercially.

"Some insisted on squeezing every last drop out of tired, dated copper infrastructures in 2016. In doing so, countries jeopardised their international competitiveness as a center for business. We now know that investing in a future-proof, fiber optic infrastructure was vital in ensuring that our respective countries continued to be competitive commercial forces."

One of the factors that had a significant impact on the existing infrastructure and reinforced the need to invest in a fiber-based broadband network was the total dependency of private life and business on being online coupled with the exponential rise of the Internet of Things and the bandwidth requirements brought with it.

"In 2015 there were around 18 billion connected devices in the world. In 2020 that number had risen to over 50 billion. Existing copper networks just couldn't deal with the bandwidth required to handle the incredible amount of 'smart' devices that became available – both in the home and in the outside world."

As a knock-on effect, continued Misteli, access to broadband has been declared a basic human right – much like access to water, electricity and a good transport infrastructure.

"So what have we learnt over the last 10 years?" asked Misteli. "We now know that the early adopters of fiber have been the biggest winners. Their economies have grown stronger; businesses are more attracted to them as base locations; education, innovation and productivity levels have skyrocketed and high skill jobs are available – all of which have been massively contributed to by the adoption of a fiber-based infrastructure."

As an innovator for FTTx connectivity, HUBER+SUHNER is continually focused on ensuring a bright future for homes and businesses alike. The company's extensive portfolio of products helps to enable operators to meet the demands of the future throughout the whole network – from the central office to outside plant and through to Fiber to the Home.

HUBER+SUHNER tackles the challenges network operators face in coping with the explosion of in-home demand with three key approaches: "Grow dense. Think practical. Stay simple."

Grow dense, think practical, stay simple

HUBER+SUHNER provides fiber management solutions that enable operators to 'grow dense' within the Central Office environment by managing high packing density in a way which is scalable, sustainable and adaptable to evolving technologies such as WDM.

The company also considers the need to 'think practical' when innovating user-friendly, cost-reducing solutions for FTTH outside plant installations where such challenging environments make practicality a pre-requisite.

Finally, as fiber is pushed into millions more homes in order to satisfy the surge in demand, it is increasingly important to 'stay simple' within the convenience of customer premises.

A broad portfolio of high end fiber management solutions, high quality fiber optical components and carrier grade transport solutions will be on display during the event.

FTTH Conference visitors can discover more about HUBER+SUHNER's range of solutions at LuxExpo, Luxembourg from 16-18 February 2016 at Stand G4.

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