Communities want broadband choices, people want high speed access at reasonable prices. This presentation, uses the historic seaport of Newburyport, Massachusetts to illustrate the likely options, challenges and issues facing communities across the nation.

1. Introduction to Newburyport
Residential Broadband
Greg Whelan
Greywale Management

2. Agenda
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Introduction
Newburyport Broadband Options
Most Prevalent (DSL and Cable)
Technical Limitations
Fiber 101 & Technical Limitations
Last Mile Issues
Broadband in Your Home
Why no FiOS in Newburyport?
City Network Options and Issues
Final Comments

3. Broadband Background
Winner

4. Introduction
Netflix
Google
The
Internet
Facebook
Twitter
Your Goal: Connect to the Internet

5. Introduction (Part II)
Netflix
Google
The
Internet
Facebook
Twitter

6. “Simplified” Network Architecture
Home
Access
Core
Metro
OSS/Billing
eMTA
Amps
DBDS
Amps
CM
QAM
Taps
Access Network
STB
IP
Switch
Optics
IP
Switch
Metro Transport Network
MTA
Modulator
Optic
Transmitters
Optic
Transport
Encoders
Sat
Receivers
6500
VOD
Servers
AD
Servers
National/Regional Transport
CRS-1
HSD
Mux
Mux
CMTS
10K
CM
Core IP Router
(CRS-1)
National
Customer
Care Center
Network
Operations
Center
Public
Backbone
Interconnect
Private
Backbone
Interconnect
IP Media
Services
(CDN)
Voice
Complex
6500
Security
(SCE…)
Demodulator
IP Content
Control Center
Service
Control

7. Newburyport Broadband
(Options)
Satellite
Comcast
Head End
Verizon
Central Office
Wireless
Power
Netflix
Google
The
Internet
Cable
Facebook
Phone/DSL
Twitter
Cell Tower
(Near State Police)

8. Most Prevalent “Wireline” Options Today
The “Last Mile”
Comcast Headend
(Hale Street)
COAX/Cable Modem,
“Tree and Branch”
Architecture
Netflix
Copper/DSL
Google
The
Internet
“Home Run”
Architecture
Facebook
Twitter
Verizon CO
(Green Street)
CMTS = Cable Modem Termination System
DSLAM = Digital Subscriber Line Access Multiplexer

9. What do they look like?
DSLAM (Alcatel)
CMTS (Arris)

10. Bandwidth Limitations
•
Both architectures have asymmetrical
data rates due to RF Frequency issues
–
–
“Downstream” 3M to 20 Mbps
High downstream (To the home) than
upstream (Away from the home)
Usually not an issue because traffic flows are
asymmetrical as well
•
“Upstream”500Kbps to 4 Mbps
Web Surfing, Video/TV
•
Cable has a shared upstream (tree and
branch) which can lead to congestion
(slower performance) during peak
hours
•
DSL has dedicated upstream but
connection from the DSLAM to the
Internet is “Over Subscribed”
–
Note: FiOS uses a Passive Optical Network
(PON) architecture which is similar to the HFC
architecture except the fiber terminates on
each home
To Internet

11. Fiber?
Cable is a Hybrid-Fiber-Coax Architecture
Fiber
Comcast Headend
(Hale Street)
Fiber
COAX
Netflix
Google
Twisted
Pair
The
Internet
Facebook
Verizon CO
(Green Street)
Twitter
Fiber
Fiber
DSL is a FTTx Architecture
FiOS is a PON Fiber Architecture
If we had
FIOS

12. FTTx (Fiber to the ____)
• FTTH – (1 home) Fiber to the home
• FTTC – (8-16 homes) Fiber to the
curb
–
Copper to the home with higher speed DSL (Shorter
distance, less signal attenuation)
• FTTN (50-100 Homes) – Fiber to
the Neighborhood (or pedestal or
cabinet.
– Those green boxes,
– Longer copper cables = less
bandwidth
• FTTR – Fiber to the Rich 

13. Last Mile Issues
• Expensive and labor intensive to deploy
and maintain
• Rights-of-way/Real Estate/Political Issues
• Density is key
– Cost per home passed/Cost per home served
• Why don’t we all have fiber today?
– $ Billions invested in deployed copper pairs
and coax cable.
– New technologies (e.g., DSL and DOCSIS)
continue to improve bandwidth to homes.

14. Triple Play Distribution (SP)
CAT5/6
Cable Modem/
DSL Modem
Coax/Copper
Coax
NID
Copper

15. Triple Play Distribution (SP)
A little more complex view!

16. Triple Play Distribution (OTT)
Coax/Copper
CAT5/6
Netflix, Hulu,
RoKu
NID
VoIP/Skype/
Vonage et al

17. Why No FiOS in Newburyport?
• West Newbury has FiOS
• Massachusetts has town-by-town franchising
• Towns demand quid-pro quo for franchise
– New Fire Truck, New School Wing
• Verizon abandoned MA to states with statewide franchising
– E.g. Texas
• Newburyport is ideal for FiOS
– Aerial wiring (e.g. Telephone poles, No need
to dig trenches which are expensive and
disruptive)
– Dense neighborhoods (can serve many homes
per mile of fiber)
– Affluent community (Desire triple-play
services and can pay for them)

18. City/Metro Options?
• City owned Dark Fiber? Regional Broadband?
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Cost to “light it”?
Cost to connect each home?
Interconnect Cost (To Internet)?
Cost to maintain it?
Regulatory/legal issues
• Municipal WiFi?
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Been tried in many places..
Cost of each access point X # of access points
Back haul cost? New fiber?
Peak time congestion issues?
Cost to maintain?

19. Final Comments
• Government cannot mandate
deployments
– Can only create competitive
environment
• Competition (or threat of) is good
– Will drive bandwidth up and rates down
• Don’t under estimate what it takes to
deploy and maintain last mile
solutions

20. Thank You!
Greg Whelan
gwhelan@greywale.com
Greywale Management