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An operator’s success relies on its ability to attract new customers, reduce customer churn and increase Average Revenue Per User (ARPU).

instead of relying on a closure around the connectivity point to provide environmental protection. Drop cables in a variety of lengths are pre-connectorised with the hardened connector, and they plug into IP68-rated terminals at the distribution point or NAP to enable easy incremental connection of subscribers. Even inexperienced installers can complete an installation without any risk of fibre damage or contamination in a fraction of the time it used to take experienced technicians to enter a closure, splice a fibre and re-seal the closure. The result is increased operational efficiency and significant cost savings as the customer uptake of FTTH service grows. Let’s take a closer look at hardened connector technology. The body features two keys to guide it into the terminal port and protects the polished connector ferrule end face by protruding beyond the ferrule. If a connector is banged against a hard or dirty surface, the end face is protected from damage and contamination. These connectors interface with a wide range of terminals designed for an array of NAP deployment scenarios, including various sizes, optical splitter capabilities and the option to cascade multiport terminals so they feed another along a network route. The innovation of the hardened connector for FTTH customer drops has reduced activation times by 40 minutes or more per subscriber through the elimination of time-consuming tasks such as: cable set-up, cable access (opening closures), splicing and easy routing in customer homes through the use of an indoor/outdoor cable (outdoor cable with indoor 3mm jacketing). An innovative pre-connectorised cabling solution is a cost-effective way to deploy optical fibre in outside plant distribution networks up to five times faster than traditional field installations. The pre-connectorised cables and NAPs are factory tested and available to ship as a complete distribution cable/terminal system.

The increased speed of network deployment, along with the reliability of factory testing, offers reduced installation complexity/need for rework and makes testing easier with connector access points along the network. Accelerated FTTH deployments for the future The modularity and simplicity of the hardened connector in a pre-terminated fibre cabling distribution system can accelerate customer coverage with minimal capital investment. Hardened connector technology has decreased the need for costly, high-demand skilled labour, and by installing a 100 per cent factory-tested plug-and-play solution, has also reduced risk during installation. Specifically, it allows capital expenditure (CAPEX) deferment in relation to service take-up so that operators can adopt a “pay- as-you-grow” business model for service delivery. In a competitive environment, in which access to market and capturing customers is key, reliability and speed are critical. With these industry developments, operators can respond to tomorrow’s changing application and bandwidth requirements more quickly and efficiently – enabling faster service roll-out, shorter lead times for customer connection and faster time to revenue.

Every component in an FTTH deployment is critical, but none more so than the customer connection.

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Vol. 38 No. 4 - November 2016 Issue