With the increasing need for very high-speed internet connections, optical fiber is becoming the essential solution to benefit from optimal speed. But did you know that there is technology even more advanced than classic FTTH optical fiber? Discover FTTR optical fiber, which allows you to have 10 Gbps in all rooms of the house.
At the Mobile World Congress we were able to discover the FTTR (Fiber To The Room) solution. And, it was intriguing.
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FTTLa, FTTH and now FTTR
This new technology extends the arrival of optical fiber in all rooms of a home from a single box, and this is certainly what could happen after current solutions such as FTTLa and FTTH.
In France, we know FTTLa (Fiber To The Last Amplifier), which consists of deploying the optical fiber to a street cabinet or a box located at the foot of the building. The signal is then transmitted via coaxial cable to the subscriber’s home. Although this solution is better than ADSL, it has limitations in terms of speed and connection stability.
In France, the majority of homes connected to optical fiber benefit from an FTTH (Fiber To The Home) connection. This technology consists of connecting the optical fiber to the interior of a home from the operator’s optical connection. However, it does not allow you to benefit from optimal flow in all rooms of a home.
The FTTR solution proposed by Huawei is therefore the logical next step. It allows the arrival of optical fiber to be extended to all rooms in a home from a single box.
This transparent 1.2 mm optical fiber, almost invisible, is coated with an adhesive which softens and fixes the fiber to the wall using a tool. It can be glued to a plinth, for example.
Zeop, first French internet operator to offer FTTR
We met representatives of Zeop, the first French operator to deploy FTTR optical fiber. This operator, based in Reunion Island, now offers a Huawei box with FTTR and has already equipped 5,000 homes. The offer is 36.90 euros per month, with a 12-month commitment.
According to Zeop, this solution meets a real need for people who do not wish to rely solely on Wi-Fi. Indeed, high-performance mesh Wi-Fi is expensive, and homes in Reunion are often houses with large areas. .
Huawei’s solution does not require significant work, since Zeop takes care of the integration after carrying out an on-site study. There is a main box and small boxes in each room (called “splitters”) where you want to have fiber. Installation takes approximately 2 hours.
Up to 10 Gbps in every room
Currently, the FTTR solution allows for 2.4 Gbps in each room, but Zeop plans to be able to push it to 10 Gbps in each room, and therefore the speed with Free’s Freebox Ultra.
The beauty of this solution is that it does not require expensive hardware (like SFP connectors or RJ45 adapters) to exploit maximum throughput, unlike competing solutions.
“Like others, we tried to offer terminals that relay to each other via radio waves. But the result is disappointing. Losses quickly occur due to interference and the composition of the walls. In theory, the ideal solution is to connect each terminal wired. But it is very complicated, in practice, in a consumer installation, to run copper Ethernet cables. In fiber optics, on the other hand, it is completely painless”
Later, the FTTR solution will make it possible to offer Wi-Fi 7 in every room in the future, while Huawei hardware already offers Wi-Fi 6. Imagine a Wi-Fi network mesh wired with the best possible flow rate in every room.
A technology resolutely focused on the future, but at what cost?
Yes, we know what you’re thinking: FTTR optical fiber mainly addresses specific needs in terms of speed and connection stability. For example, gamers who need a stable and efficient internet connection in a specific room in their house, or for teleworkers who need a stable and very fast connection.
The advantage is that this technology can be adapted to the configuration of many houses, including older ones, making it an interesting solution for those who cannot carry out major work. However, for households with more modest connectivity needs, FTTR optical fiber may seem like an unnecessary investment.
This remains, despite everything, a solution future proofbecause it offers high speeds and the possibility of accommodating future Wi-Fi standards. In addition, by being the first French operator to deploy FTTR optical fiber, Zeop differentiates itself from its competitors and positions itself as an innovative player on the market.
The question that now arises is who will be the first operator to adopt this technology in mainland France.
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