Fiber To The X - Definitions

Definitions

The telecommunications industry differentiates between several distinct configurations. The terms in most widespread use today are:

• FTTN/FTTLA (fiber-to-the-node, -neighborhood, or -last-amplifier): Fiber is terminated in a street cabinet, possibly miles away from the customer premises, with the final connections being copper. FTTN is often an interim step toward full FTTH and is typically used to deliver advanced triple-play telecommunications services.
• FTTC/FTTK (fiber-to-the-curb/kerb, -closet, or -cabinet): This is very similar to FTTN, but the street cabinet or pole is closer to the user's premises, typically within 1,000 feet (300 m), within range for high-bandwidth copper technologies such as wired ethernet or IEEE 1901 power line networking and wireless wi-fi technology. FTTC is occasionally ambiguously called FTTP (fiber-to-the-pole), leading to confusion with the distinct fiber-to-the-premises system.
• FTTB (fiber-to-the-building, -business, or -basement): Fiber reaches the boundary of the building, such as the basement in a multi-dwelling unit, with the final connection to the individual living space being made via alternative means, similar to the curb or pole technologies.
• FTTH (fiber-to-the-home): Fiber reaches the boundary of the living space, such as a box on the outside wall of a home. Passive optical networks and point-to-point ethernet are architectures that deliver triple-play services over FTTH networks directly from an operator's central office.
• FTTP (fiber-to-the-premises): This term is used either as a blanket term for both FTTH and FTTB, or where the fiber network includes both homes and small businesses.
• FTTD (fiber-to-the-desk): Fiber connection is installed from the main computer room to a terminal or fiber media converter near the user's desk.

To promote consistency, especially when comparing FTTH penetration rates between countries, the three FTTH Councils of Europe, North America, and Asia-Pacific agreed upon definitions for FTTH and FTTB in 2006, with an update in 2009. The FTTH Councils do not have formal definitions for FTTC and FTTN.

To some, fiber to the telecom enclosure (FTTE) is not considered to be part of the FTTX group of technologies, despite the similarity in name. FTTE is a form of structured cabling typically used in the enterprise local area network, where fiber is used to link the main computer equipment room to an enclosure close to the desk or workstation.