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Fiber expansion

High-speed infrastructure for data-intensive applications

What are fiber optic connections?

Fiber optics are optical waveguides. Unlike DSL connections, signals are transmitted optically via light pulses rather than electrically. The transmission speed within the fiber is extremely fast, reaching two-thirds of the speed of light. Fiber optics offer virtually unlimited bandwidth capacity and very low signal attenuation. This makes this technology ideal for transmitting large amounts of data over long distances. Broadband Internet expansion is therefore the key technology for powerful, resilient, and scalable network infrastructures – today and in the coming decades.

How does fiber optic technology work?

Fiber optic cables are made up of several individual quartz fibers. These wafer-thin fibers transport the light waves and are combined into bundles. A single fiber optic cable is made up of four components: the core, the cladding, the buffer, and the outer jacket.

The core (1) is as thin as a human hair and transmits the signals.
The cladding (2) helps to guide the light by preventing it from leaving the fiber.
The buffer (3) and
the outer jacket (4) serve as protection from mechanical damage.

Schematic 3D view of the layers of a fiber optic cable with the numbers 1-4

Fiber optic accesses

Instead of using copper expansion via DSL or cable in the past, modern connections are now being made available via fiber optics – either to the apartment with FTTH or to the house with FTTB. So before you can benefit from fast data transmission, you have to check which connection is available.

FTTH (Fiber to the Home)

In this instance the fiber-optic cabling is routed to the individual apartment or company building. The hand-over point between the FTTH network of the telecoms provider and the customer's house network features an Optical Network Terminal (ONT), which converts the fiber-optic signal into an electrical signal for distribution in the house network. FTTH uses three different access technologies that use fiber optics as a transmission medium, but which offer different properties and functionality; namely GPON, XGS-PON, and AON (also known as Active Ethernet).

Schematic representation of an FTTH network with GPON and XGS-PON access technology

A Gigabit Passive Optical Network (GPON) is a shared medium, comparable to a cable network. The optical fibers from several households are aggregated by a passive optical splitter and share the same line to the network operator. Each network operator line provides a data rate of 2.5 Gbps for download and 1.25 Gbps for upload. The primary advantages of GPON for the network operator are that fewer optical fibers need to be laid and the port density at the exchange is higher.

The 10 Gigabit Symmetric Passive Optical Network (XGS-PON) for short, is a further development of GPON. It offers symmetrical transmission rates of 10 Gbps. This means that upload and download speeds are equal and ideal for data-intensive applications, cloud backups, and hybrid working models in modern campus networks. The transition to XGS-PON requires not only the implementation of new optical network infrastructures, but also changes to the end devices, especially routers, used in homes and businesses.

Schematic diagram of an FTTH network with Active Optical Networks (AON) access technology

Active Optical Networks (AON) or Active Ethernet are point-to-point connections between the subscriber and the network operator. Each subscriber has a separate line to the network operator's exchange, also known as PoP or CO. As a rule, Ethernet is used as the transmission protocol and offers a symmetrical speed of 1 Gbps for downloading and uploading. The great advantage of AON is that the data rate is not shared with other subscribers and each user thus has guaranteed performance. Consequently, every customer has the full bandwidth available at all times—even at peak periods. Furthermore, having a separate line makes it less susceptible to interference. The strengths of Active Ethernet are thus particularly advantageous for business applications.

FTTB (Fiber to the Building)

Here, too, the fiber optics are routed into the building. Here they generally terminate at a hand-over point that transfers the fiber optics into the copper-based house network. The residential / company units in the building thus share the bandwidth arriving over the fiber optics.

Schematic diagram of an FTTB network with G.fast

Instead of laying fiber optics to every household, FTTB terminates the fiber optics in a service connection room that may be in the basement, or in the immediate vicinity of the building. From here, the final few meters to the subscriber are often bridged by the copper twin-core wiring of the existing telephone cables.The transmission technology is G.fast, a DSL-based technology that is optimized for high-performance transmission over short distances. This enables data rates of over 1 Gbps for each subscriber. A result of this is that the data rate decreases rapidly with increasing line length due to the strong attenuation in the copper wire pair. The advantage of FTTB in combination with G.fast is that you can reuse the subscriber's existing infrastructure without having to accept speed deficits. The initial costs are low and the network can be expanded rapidly. G.fast thus enables cost-effective and rapid entry into gigabit-capable networks – especially in existing buildings with existing copper infrastructure.

Whitepaper: Fiber expansion

What is the difference between XGS-PON, GPON, and AON and what are the advantages and disadvantages of the various fiber-optic connections?

Learn more about the FTTH connection types XGS-PON, GPON, and AON as well as FTTB with G.fast in the following whitepaper:

Whitepaper: Broadband expansion with fiber-optics

Applications & advantages

Fiber-optic networks are unrivaled in terms of speed and stability: Companies with a need for high bandwidths can accelerate their applications and processes by implementing precisely tailored R&S Networks and Cybersecurity solutions.

Faster and more reliable

Unlike DSL connections, fiber optic installations offer stable high data rates. The previously known signal attenuation is eliminated. Even in conurbations, such as industrial areas and large inner cities, FTTH delivers full bandwidth.

Safe and stable

Due to their material, optical fibers are protected against external influences such as weather, fires or magnetic fields. Interference and failures are significantly reduced. In addition, optical fibers have a high level of data security, as it is complicated to physically intercept the data streams.

Maximum sustainability

No other wired technology enables such fast and stable bandwidths as fiber optics - and this will remain the case for the foreseeable future. Those who can upgrade their business connections today and use the appropriate hardware will be able to use the latest technology standard for a long time.

Our fiber-capable products

All important network elements become fit for the future with the right products. With R&S Networks and Cybersecurity, you choose the manufacturer that can offer you the complete portfolio: Routers, modules, and firewalls-all from a single source.

Product photo side R&S®LANCOM SFP-XGSPON-1

Product collage of the R&S®LANCOM Unified Firewalls desktop models

Product collage of the R&S®LANCOM Unified Firewalls rack models

LANCOM fiber-optic modules & Unified Firewalls
Product Name		Product Info
	R&S®LANCOM SFP-XGSPON-1	SFP expansion module for direct connection to XGS-PON networks (FTTH)	More information
	R&S®LANCOM SFP-GPON-1	SFP expansion module for direct connection to GPON FTTH networks	More information
	R&S®LANCOM SFP-AON-10	SFP expansion module for direct connection with up to 10G to Active Ethernet fiber optic networks	More information
	R&S®LANCOM SFP-AON-1	SFP expansion module for direct connection to Active Ethernet fiber optic networks	More information
	Desktop Unified Firewalls	Next-generation UTM firewalls for industry-leading network security in small and medium enterprises	More information
	Rack Unified Firewalls	Next-generation UTM firewalls for maximum network security in large enterprise and school networks as well as for central networking of branch infrastructures	More information

LANCOM fiber-optic routers
Product Name		Product Info
	R&S®LANCOM 1936VAG-5G	Secure SD-WAN VoIP gateway with multi-WAN over VDSL or G.fast, fiber, Gigabit Ethernet, and 5G (dual-SIM/eSIM) for secure networking of mid-sized or large enterprises	More information
	R&S®LANCOM 1926VAG-4G	Secure SD-WAN VoIP gateway with multi-WAN over VDSL or G.fast, fiber, Gigabit Ethernet, and 4G (dual-SIM) for secure networking of mid-sized or large enterprises	More information
	R&S®LANCOM 1936VAG	Secure SD-WAN VoIP gateway with multi-WAN over VDSL or G.fast, fiber, and Gigabit Ethernet for secure networking of mid-sized or large enterprises	More information
	R&S®LANCOM 1930EF-5G	Secure SD-WAN gateway with multi-WAN over fiber, Gigabit Ethernet, and 5G (dual-SIM/eSIM) for secure networking of mid-sized or large enterprises	More information
	R&S®LANCOM 1930EF	BSI-certified Secure SD-WAN gateway with multi-WAN over fiber and Gigabit Ethernet for secure networking of mid-sized or large enterprises	More information
	R&S®LANCOM 1803VAW-5G	Secure SD-WAN VoIP gateway with VDSL, fiber, Gigabit Ethernet, Wi-Fi 6, and 5G (eSIM) for secure site networking of small and mid-sized enterprises	More information
	R&S®LANCOM 1803VAW	Secure SD-WAN VoIP gateway with VDSL, fiber, Gigabit Ethernet, and Wi-Fi 6 for secure site networking of small and mid-sized enterprises	More information
	R&S®LANCOM 1803VA-5G	Secure SD-WAN VoIP gateway with VDSL, fiber, Gigabit Ethernet, and 5G for secure site networking of small and mid-sized enterprises	More information
	R&S®LANCOM 1803VA-4G	Secure SD-WAN VoIP gateway with VDSL, fiber, Gigabit Ethernet, and 4G for secure site networking of small and mid-sized enterprises	More information
	R&S®LANCOM 1803VA	Secure SD-WAN VoIP gateway with VDSL, fiber, and Gigabit Ethernet for secure site networking of small and mid-sized enterprises	More information
	R&S®LANCOM 1800VAW-4G	Secure SD-WAN gateway with VDSL, fiber, Gigabit Ethernet, Wi-Fi 6, and 4G for secure site networking of small and mid-sized enterprises	More information
	R&S®LANCOM 1800VAW	Secure SD-WAN gateway with VDSL, fiber, Gigabit Ethernet, and Wi-Fi 6 for secure site networking of small and mid-sized enterprises	More information
	R&S®LANCOM 1800VA-5G	Secure SD-WAN gateway with VDSL, fiber, Gigabit Ethernet, and 5G for secure site networking of small and mid-sized enterprises	More information
	R&S®LANCOM 1800VA-4G	Secure SD-WAN gateway with VDSL, fiber, Gigabit Ethernet, and 4G for secure site networking of small and mid-sized enterprises	More information
	R&S®LANCOM 1800VA	Secure SD-WAN gateway with VDSL, fiber, and Gigabit Ethernet for secure site networking of small and mid-sized enterprises	More information
	R&S®LANCOM 1800EFW-5G	Secure SD-WAN gateway with fiber, Gigabit Ethernet, Wi-Fi 6, and 5G (eSIM) for secure site networking of small and mid-sized enterprises	More information
	R&S®LANCOM 1800EFW	Secure SD-WAN gateway with fiber, Gigabit Ethernet, and Wi-Fi 6 for secure site networking of small and mid-sized enterprises	More information
	R&S®LANCOM 1800EF-5G	Secure SD-WAN gateway with fiber, Gigabit Ethernet, and 5G for secure site networking of small and mid-sized enterprises	More information
	R&S®LANCOM 1800EF-4G	Secure SD-WAN gateway with fiber, Gigabit Ethernet, and 4G for secure site networking of small and mid-sized enterprises	More information
	R&S®LANCOM 1800EF	Secure SD-WAN gateway with fiber, and Gigabit Ethernet for secure site networking of small and mid-sized enterprises	More information

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Faster and more reliable

Safe and stable

Maximum sustainability

LANCOM fiber-optic modules & Unified Firewalls

LANCOM fiber-optic routers