Welcome to Category B! In the previous sub-pillar, we discussed how to carry data around your home using copper cables (Cat6a). But no matter how perfect your internal network is, your internet experience depends on the "supply" coming from the outside world.
For decades, the Internet reached our homes via the old copper telephone network (ADSL / VDSL). Today, we are in the midst of the biggest telecommunications upgrade of the century: the transition to FTTH (Fiber to the Home).
As engineers, we often hear homeowners ask, "What are they going to dig into my apartment building?" or "Should I spoil my freshly painted living room?". Let's break down exactly what FTTH is, how it differs from the old VDSL, and step-by-step the path of the fiber from the street to your Router.
Until recently, providers sold 50 Mbps or 100 Mbps connections advertising them as "Fibre". In fact, this was FTTC (Fiber to the Cabinet).
The fiber only went as far as the cabin (the COFFEE) on the corner of your block. From KAFAO to your home (the so-called "Last Mile"), the signal traveled through the rotten, oxidized copper cables of the 1970s. Result? If it rains, the speed drops. If you are away from COFFEE, you have disconnections.
There is no copper here at all! The glass starts from the center of the provider and ends directly inside your living room. The signal is transmitted through light (Laser). It's not affected by distance, not affected by weather, not affected by electromagnetic interference (EMI), and supports practically...infinite speed (1 Gbps, 10 Gbps or more in the future).
The installation in an existing building (where optical fiber was not foreseen in the plans) is done in 4 distinct stages by the provider (eg Cosmote, Nova, Vodafone, Inalan).
The crew cuts a very narrow, shallow trench (micro-trench) in the asphalt or sidewalk in front of your apartment building to pass the main pipe and bring it up to the facade of the building.
A metal or plastic box is placed on the ground floor, basement or basement of the apartment building. It is called BEP (Building Entry Point). This is the "distribution station". This is where the thick cable from the street ends and the thinner cables for each apartment will start from here.
How will the fiber go up from the ground floor to the 4th floor? Because there are no empty pipes in old buildings, the provider's installer will glue (or screw) an external plastic trunking in the corner of the stairwell, next to the elevator or stairs. This duct will go vertically up all the floors. On each floor, a small "Floor Box" is placed from which the adjacent apartments will receive fiber.
The technician drills a hole in the wall above your front door (or bypasses the door frame) to run the thin, white fiber cable into your home. 1. The cable terminates in a small wall box, the Optical Rosette. 2. From there, a yellow-green patch cord is connected to a device called an ONT (Optical Network Terminal). The ONT is the "modem" of the fiber optic. It converts the light (Laser) back into digital data. 3. Finally, you connect your own Router to the ONT with a classic Ethernet cable! (Note: New routers from providers often have the ONT built into them).
If you're renovating now, you're incredibly lucky. You can save the ugly, exterior plastic ducts in your living room.
The biggest mistake in renovation is to only deal with Cat6a cables inside the house and forget about the central supply. The Engineer's Golden Rule: You must run an empty, plastic pipe (at least Φ20 or Φ25) that starts at your main Rack (or your house's low current panel) and ends down at the ground floor of the apartment building (where the future BEP will go).
CAUTION (The Physics of Glass): An optical fiber is, literally, a hair of glass. It does not withstand creasing.
FTTH is not just a "faster connection", it is a completely different technology based on the laws of optics. It frees the building from the problematic, oxidized copper cables of the last century. If the building is old, the provider will undertake all the wiring (with plastic channels). But if you're building or renovating, the provision of a smooth, empty pipe to the ground floor is perhaps the most critical and inexpensive investment to welcome the "age of light" without a second thought.
Next Step: We talked about the central supply to the house. But how do we manage fiber within the walls of our property?
We continue with the ultimate expertise of the new era: Indoor Fiber Optic Cabling: What "waits" (pipes) and boxes to leave when renovating for the provider.
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