This review paper discusses the benefits of fibre broadband and considerations for real estate developers in Lebanon; it compares different FTTx network architectures, the standardization of building network elements, the need for local legislations and describes typical FTTH deployments worldwide.

1. Buildings Fibre Optics Infrastructure – Part I ©2016, T- Grid Page 1
Buildings Fibre Optics Infrastructure
Part I
Omar Rawdah
T-Grid for Telecoms & Transport technologies
Berytech Technology Pole
Mkales, Lebanon
omar@t-grid.com
Abstract
The number of Fibre-to-the-Home (FTTH) subscribers continues
to grow worldwide. The need for high-bit rate applications is
increasing equally. The business case for deploying FTTH is
greatly influenced by the operator choice of access technology, the
infrastructure cost and the Return On Investment (ROI) from users
in apartment blocks or Multi Dwelling Units (MDUs).
This review paper discusses the benefits of fibre broadband and
considerations for real estate developers in Lebanon; it compares
different FTTx network architectures, the standardization of
building network elements, the need for local legislations and
describes typical FTTH deployments worldwide.
I. Introduction
Fibre Optic is one of the most popular mediums for both new
cabling installations and upgrades, including backbone, horizontal,
and even desktop applications.
Fibre offers a number of advantages over copper. Fibre provides
more bandwidth than copper and has standardized performance up
to 10 Gbps and beyond. Fibre optic signal is made of light, very
little signal loss occurs during transmission, and data can move at
higher speeds and greater distances up to 40 Km for single mode
and up to 2 Km for Multimode. So more distance is provided with
fibre optic. It is more secure, your data is safe with fibre cable. It
doesn’t radiate signals and is difficult to tap. Fibre provides
extremely reliable data transmission. It’s completely immune to
many environmental factors that affect copper cable. Fibre is
lightweight, thin, and more durable than copper cable. Its small size
makes it easier to handle, and it takes up much less space in cabling
ducts. And, fibre is easier to test than copper cable. Finally the cost
for fibre cable, components, and hardware has steadily decreased to
compete with copper.
Table 1 [1] shows the difference in internet speed (Download and
Upload) for the different technologies available. It is clear that the
technology that uses fibre optic infrastructure outperforms all other
technologies (ex. FTTH is 15 time faster than the DSL).
Table 1: Internet Speed for different technologies
II. Considerations and Benefits of Fibre
Broadband for property developers
The main message for real estate developers is to future-proof their
new buildings with the fibre optic infrastructure, or consider a mix
of hybrid-fibre-copper (HFC) infrastructure. Fibre optic building
infrastructure requires less space compared to conventional
structured cabling.
Key elements to consider:
a) Is Dark Fibre in the area/neighborhood?
b) The number of tenants expected to sign up for the services
c) The minimum (passive) infrastructure required
d) Can FTTH backbone be used for various value added services
such as CCTV, Building Management Systems, Home
Automation, IoT (Internet of Things), and Utility Monitoring?
e) What space / room facility is required?
f) What are the options (Fibre optics-only property / HFC/
conventional structured cabling)?
g) What are the regulations & guidelines?
h) What is the cost?
i) How long to implement?

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III. FTTx / FTTH Networks & Architecture
Figure 1: Types of FTTx Networks [1]
Choosing the right network architecture often generates
considerable debate especially as there is often no clear winner in
today’s market as different architectures suit different operator
requirements, business and technical priorities [1]. The number of
fibres, position of splitters (branching points) and aggregation
points, dictate the chosen network architecture shown in figure 1.
FTTC [1]
Fibre to the Curb (FTTC) – each switch/or DSL access multiplexer
(DSLAM), often found in a street cabinet, is connected to the POP
via a single fibre or a pair of fibres, carrying the aggregated traffic
of the neighborhood via Gigabit Ethernet or 10 Gigabit Ethernet
connection. The switches in the street cabinet are not fibre but can
be copper based using VDSL2 or VDSL2 Vectoring. This
architecture is sometimes called “Active Ethernet” as it requires
active network elements in the field.
FTTDp [1]
Fibre to the Distribution Point (FTTDp) – this solution has been
proposed in the last two years. Connecting the POP to the
Distribution Point via the optical cable and then from the
Distribution Point to the end-user premises via existing copper
infrastructure. The Distribution Points could be a hand-hole, a drop
box on the pole or located in the basement of a building. This
architecture could support VDSL or G.Fast technology for a short
last mile, normally less than 250m.
G.Fast [2]
G.Fast is the next high speed transmission technology over copper
twisted pair, delivering up to 1 Gbps to the subscriber, available for
public trials today but standard was finalized early 2014. For
reaching up to 1 Gbps, G.Fast is making use of higher frequencies
(106/212 Mhz), limiting the distance of transmission to maximum
250 meters, due to strong attenuation (less than 100 meter
recommended to go beyond 500Mbps). Today, for FTTDp
architectures, one can deploy VDSL2, and later, once available,
implement G.Fast.
Figure 2: Evolution of high speed transmission technologies
over copper twisted pair [2]
For Fibre-To-The-Cabinet/VDSL2 deployments nowadays, one can
introduce vectoring technology to significantly reduce crosstalk
between copper pairs in the binder and restore the bandwidth
availability to as if the subscriber was the only one in the binder, in
other words without any crosstalk at all. Moving fibre even closer
to the customer (FTTDp), G.Fast can be deployed on distinct pairs
in the same binders, also here vectoring can be introduced to
significantly reduce the crosstalk and increase the available
bandwidth to the subscriber.
FTTB [1]
Fibre to the building (FTTB) – each optical termination box in the
building (often located in the basement) is connected by a dedicated
fibre to a port in the equipment in the POP, or to an optical splitter
which uses shared feeder fibre to the POP. The connections
between subscribers and the building switch are not fibre but can be
copper based and involve some form of Ethernet transport suited to
the medium available in the vertical cabling. In some cases building
switches are not individually connected to the POP but are
interconnected in a chain or ring structure in order to utilize
existing fibres deployed in particular topologies. This also saves
fibres and ports in the POP. The concept of routing fibre directly
into the home from the POP or through the use of optical splitters,
without involving switches in the building, brings us back to the
FTTH scenario.
FTTH [1]
Fibre to the home (FTTH) – Each subscriber is connected by a
dedicated fibre to a port on the equipment in the POP, or to the
passive optical splitter using shared feeder fibre to the POP, and
100BASE-BX10 / 1000BASE-BX10 transmission for Ethernet
technology or GPON (EPON) technology in case of point-to-
multipoint P2MP topology
This paper shall focus on FTTH / FTTB as in the long term these
are considered the target architecture due to their virtually
unlimited scalability [1].

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FTTH Technology [1]
In order to specify the interworking of passive and active
infrastructure, it is important to make a clear distinction between
the topologies used for the deployment of the fibres (the passive
infrastructure) and the technologies used to transport data over the
fibres (the active equipment). The two most widely used topologies
are point-to-multipoint P2MP, which is often combined with a
passive optical network (PON) technology, and point-to-point P2P,
which typically uses Ethernet transmission technologies.
Figure 3: Point to Multi-Point (P2MP) & Point to Point (P2P)
P2MP provide a single “feeder” fibre from the central office (or
POP) to a branching point and from there one individual, dedicated
fibre is deployed to the subscriber. A passive optical network
technology such as GPON uses passive optical splitters at the
branching point(s) and the Data is encoded so that users only
receive data intended for them.
P2P provide dedicated fibres between the Access Node (or POP)
and the subscriber. Each subscriber has a direct connection with a
dedicated fibre. The route from the central office (CO) to the
customer will probably consist of several sections of fibres joined
with splices or connectors, but provides a continuous optical path
from the Access Node to the home.
Usually P2P is used for businesses and P2MP is used for residential
buildings.
Table 2 [3] shows the difference between Point to Point and Point
to Multi Point technologies:
Table 2: Comparison P2P and P2MP
Figure 4: Alcatel- Lucent comparison of P2P & P2MP
FTTx/FTTH Network Elements & Standardization [4]
To ensure clarity and consistency in communication, there should
be a common set of Terms, Definitions and Abbreviations used. In
January 2009 the FTTH Council released a document that well
defines terms used by all the FTTH Councils (N.America, Europe,
MENA and Asia-Pacific).
Study Group IEC SB4/ACT consisting of experts from IEC, ITU-T
& CENELEC recommended using FTTH council specs as a
reference for FTTH / FTTx Network Elements.
Figure 5: Point of Presence PoP & Outside Plant OSP Network
Figure 6: Main Network Elements POP & OSP

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Figure 7: FTTH In-Building Network elements
Figure 8: Main Network Elements In-Building
IV. Regulations & Standards for Fibre in
New Buildings- Lebanon
Broadband Legislations for New Buildings
Recent recommendations from an ICT workshop organized at the
Order of Engineers and Architects [5] emphasized the need for a set
of standards and guidelines, in specific a government national
telecoms code. It also emphasized the need for regulations and
technical guidelines to organize broadband networks connectivity
to buildings.
According to a recent study [6], 2/3 of European countries have no
legal obligation in place for new developments. Those that do
however, tend to be amongst the countries where deployment is
ahead. For any legislation, it seems to work best when the approach
is simple.
Integrating the legislation into a building rating standard seems also
effective [6], (GREEN, LEED, etc.).
Figure 9: Real Estate players’ broadband deployment
options with the lack of legislation.
TRA Recommendations
In 2009, the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority TRA
(Lebanon) issued, after consultations, recommendations for
Broadband Services Infrastructure requirements for New Building
[7]. This covered residential or business premises, any building that
has 3 or more stories or a built area ≥ 800sqm. It addressed the
fixed broadband Infrastructure and FTTB Active Ethernet only
with copper internal wiring.
With the introduction of the 2020 Digital Telecom plan [8], an
update to the TRA recommendation would be beneficial to address
the following:
Figure 10: TRA recommendations for New Buildings [7]
 Classification of buildings & developments
 Existing buildings
 SDU (Single Dwelling Unit) & MDU (Multi Dwelling Unit)
 FTTH P2MP- Passive infrastructure
 Fibre direct to Customer Premises or HFC solutions

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V. Guidelines for Optical Fibre In-
Buildings- Lebanon
In the absence of national broadband legislations for buildings, the
following guidelines for New Buildings’ fibre optics Infrastructure
are recommended, applicable to both residential and commercial
properties, and covering FTTH / FTTO / FTTB:
 Classification of MDUs (Medium ≤ X connections, large MDUs
>X connections) & special projects (Data Centres, large
developments, complex projects)
 Indoor Wiring & Infrastructure
 Design templates/ Pro-formas to facilitate the submission and
review process
 Engineering Guidelines (Active/Passive)
Figure 11: FTTO/FTTB Scenarios
VI. Passive infrastructure for Buildings
Getting fibre to the building is only part of the challenge if you
want to deliver high-speed services – particularly gigabit services –
to individual residents. Cabling multiple dwelling units (MDUs)
can present significant challenges, both logistically and esthetically.
Building owners and residents alike require fast and invisible
optical fibre installations that don’t disrupt either lifestyle or décor.
Figs.12 & 13 show standard optical fibre passive infrastructure for
buildings.
Figure 12: Typical passive infrastructure for an MDU
[Optomer].
Figure 13: Typical passive infrastructure for an SDU
[Sumitomo Electric].

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VII. FTTH around the World
FTTH / FTTB Map
Figure 14: FTTH/FTTB European Map [IDATE- Europe].
Figure 15: FTTH/FTTB European Ranking [IDATE- Europe].
FTTH in Japan
Figure 16: FTTH penetration in Japan [Sumitomo Electric]
FTTH in France
Figure 17: (Top & Bottom) Building Distribution Boxes &
splicing work for a large development in France [la Fibre]
FTTB / FTTH in the UK
.
Figure 18: (top & bottom) FTTH & FTTB installations in the
UK [BTOpenreach]

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FTTH in Qatar
Figure 19: FTTH installations in Qatar
VIII. Conclusion
The choice of fibre broadband technology that is the best fit both
technically and economically shall depend on each geographical
area. FTTH Active Ethernet (P2P) is suitable for business
customers and FTTH GPON (P2MP) is best fit for residential
customers. Deploying fibre closer to the premises and reusing
copper (e.g. via the new G.Fast technology) allows to overcome the
“last drop challenges”, including CAPEX savings.
Drafting guidelines for optical fibre in buildings can be beneficial
in organizing the telecoms engineering aspects in Lebanon and
guiding real estate developers. Government ICT broadband
legislations and telecoms regulations for buildings would be an
asset.
Future Work
Part II paper shall address case studies for buildings FTTH &
FTTO distributions, hybrid fibre copper designs, implementation
aspects, and workforce skills requirements.
References
[1] FTTH Council Europe, “FTTH Handbook” v6.0 2014;
http://www.ftthcouncil.eu.
[2] FTTH Council Europe, "G.Fast”, E. Frestraets, R. Zhao, D. &
O. Committee, http://www.ftthcouncil.eu.
[3] The Light Brigade,” Introduction to FTTx”, , Larry Johnson,
2014.
[4] IEC, IEC SB4/ACT: “White Paper on Standardization Work
for FTTH Infrastructure”, A. Grooten.
[5] Orders of Engineers and Architects, Beirut, “ICT Sector
Challenges and Reality in Lebanon”, Workshop, 16th March
2016.
[6] Diffraction Analysis, “The benefits of Fibre Broadband for the
Real-Estate Market”, B. Felten,
[7] http://www.tra.gov.lb/New-Building Requirements-AR
[8] Lebanon 2020 Digital Telecom Vision,
http://www.mpt.gov.lb/lebtelecom2020/index.html
About the Author
Omar Rawdah is the founder of T-Grid
in Lebanon & UAE. He is specialized
in Telecoms from Surrey University,
England. Omar has over 25 years of
professional experience in the
Telecoms & ICT, Rail & Public Safety Comms Sectors
spent between England and the Middle East.