Next generation access
Encyclopedia
Next-generation access (NGA) is term used by British Telecommunications
(BT) describing a significant upgrade to the telecommunication access network
replacing some or all of the copper cable with optical fibre. Since fibre is capable of sustaining higher data transmission rates over longer distances than twisted-pair or coaxial cable
, these Internet access
networks are marketed using the term "broadband".
The physical fibre optic cables and equipment to deliver the service is an access network
.
said: "Next generation access (NGA) networks" means wired access networks which consist wholly or in part of optical elements and which are capable of delivering broadband access services with enhanced characteristics (such as higher throughput) as compared to those provided over already existing copper networks. In most cases NGAs are the result of an upgrade of an already existing copper or co-axial access network."
UK operator BT
offers a similar description: "Broadly speaking, it means internet that uses next-generation optic fibres, rather than the copper wires which most broadband users in the UK use at the moment."
It is generally accepted that NGA includes fibre-rich infrastructure and technologies such as fibre-to-the-cabinet (FTTC), fibre-to-the-home or premises (FTTH/FTTP) and upgraded cable TV
networks.
around the world have been rolling out high-speed Internet
access networks since the mid 2000s.
Some used a network topology known as Active Ethernet Point-to-Point
to deliver services from its central office direct into subscribers’ homes. fibre termination was handled by a residential gateway
provided by Advanced Digital Broadcast
inside a subscriber's home to be shared with other consumer electronics
(CE) devices.
Since 2007, Italian access providers Fastweb
, Telecom Italia
, Vodafone
, and Wind participated in an initiative called fibre for Italy, aim of creating a countrywide FTTH network in Italy. The pilot taking place in the Italian capital, Rome, has seen symmetrical bandwidth of 100 Mbit/s. Telecom Italia
, which refused to take part in the fibre for Italy initiative, has an even more ambitious plan to bring FTTH/B to 138 cities by 2018.
By the end of December 2010, the total number of FTTH-enabled homes had passed 2.5 million, with more than 348,000 subscribers.
Fixed wireless
and mobile wireless technologies such as Wi-Fi
, WiMAX
and 3GPP Long Term Evolution
(LTE) are an alternative for providing Internet access
.
BT Group
BT Group plc is a global telecommunications services company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is one of the largest telecommunications services companies in the world and has operations in more than 170 countries. Through its BT Global Services division it is a major supplier of...
(BT) describing a significant upgrade to the telecommunication access network
Access network
An access network is that part of a telecommunications network which connects subscribers to their immediate service provider. It is contrasted with the core network, which connects local providers to each other...
replacing some or all of the copper cable with optical fibre. Since fibre is capable of sustaining higher data transmission rates over longer distances than twisted-pair or coaxial cable
Coaxial cable
Coaxial cable, or coax, has an inner conductor surrounded by a flexible, tubular insulating layer, surrounded by a tubular conducting shield. The term coaxial comes from the inner conductor and the outer shield sharing the same geometric axis...
, these Internet access
Internet access
Many technologies and service plans for Internet access allow customers to connect to the Internet.Consumer use first became popular through dial-up connections in the 20th century....
networks are marketed using the term "broadband".
The physical fibre optic cables and equipment to deliver the service is an access network
Access network
An access network is that part of a telecommunications network which connects subscribers to their immediate service provider. It is contrasted with the core network, which connects local providers to each other...
.
Definition
The European CommissionEuropean Commission
The European Commission is the executive body of the European Union. The body is responsible for proposing legislation, implementing decisions, upholding the Union's treaties and the general day-to-day running of the Union....
said: "Next generation access (NGA) networks" means wired access networks which consist wholly or in part of optical elements and which are capable of delivering broadband access services with enhanced characteristics (such as higher throughput) as compared to those provided over already existing copper networks. In most cases NGAs are the result of an upgrade of an already existing copper or co-axial access network."
UK operator BT
BT Group
BT Group plc is a global telecommunications services company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is one of the largest telecommunications services companies in the world and has operations in more than 170 countries. Through its BT Global Services division it is a major supplier of...
offers a similar description: "Broadly speaking, it means internet that uses next-generation optic fibres, rather than the copper wires which most broadband users in the UK use at the moment."
It is generally accepted that NGA includes fibre-rich infrastructure and technologies such as fibre-to-the-cabinet (FTTC), fibre-to-the-home or premises (FTTH/FTTP) and upgraded cable TV
Hybrid fibre-coaxial
Hybrid fiber-coaxial is a telecommunications industry term for a broadband network which combines optical fibre and coaxial cable. It was commonly employed globally by cable television operators since the early 1990s.-Description:...
networks.
Network architectures
- HFC – Hybrid fibre-CoaxialHybrid fibre-coaxialHybrid fiber-coaxial is a telecommunications industry term for a broadband network which combines optical fibre and coaxial cable. It was commonly employed globally by cable television operators since the early 1990s.-Description:...
: any configuration that includes both fibre and coaxial cable to deliver content from an operator’s central office to a subscriber’s home. - PON – Passive Optical NetworPassive optical networkA passive optical network is a point-to-multipoint, fiber to the premises network architecture in which unpowered optical splitters are used to enable a single optical fiber to serve multiple premises, typically 16-128. A PON consists of an optical line terminal at the service provider's central...
k: A passive optical network is a point-to-multipoint, fibre to the premises network architecture in which unpowered optical splitters are used to enable a single optical fibre to serve multiple premises, typically 16-128. - FTTXFTTXFiber to the x is a generic term for any broadband network architecture using optical fiber to replace all or part of the usual metal local loop used for last mile telecommunications...
including FTTH, FTTC, FTTB, FTTP, FTTN and FTTC: fibre to the Home, Business, Premise, Node or Cabinet: Where fibre is used to deliver content from an operator’s central office to a variety of termination points – the subscriber’s home; a telecommunication’s street cabinet; a local node or a multi-dwelling unit – an apartment or condominium block, for example. - FMC – Fixed Mobile Convergence: where hand-off between fixed and mobile networks is seamless, providing ubiquitous connectivity.
- AON – Active Optical Network: a fibre optic network that uses electrically powered equipment, such as switch or router, to distribute a signal. This provides Pay TVPay TVPay television, premium television, or premium channels refers to subscription-based television services, usually provided by both analog and digital cable and satellite, but also increasingly via digital terrestrial and internet television...
operators and telecommunications service providers with complete control of their infrastructureInfrastructureInfrastructure is basic physical and organizational structures needed for the operation of a society or enterprise, or the services and facilities necessary for an economy to function...
, enabling them to guarantee a quality of serviceQuality of serviceThe quality of service refers to several related aspects of telephony and computer networks that allow the transport of traffic with special requirements...
(QOS) to subscribers.
Milestones
OperatorsMulti system operator
A Multiple System Operator or Multi System Operator is an operator of multiple cable television systems. A cable system in the United States, by Federal Communications Commission definition, is a facility serving a single community or a distinct governmental entity, each with its own franchise...
around the world have been rolling out high-speed Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
access networks since the mid 2000s.
Some used a network topology known as Active Ethernet Point-to-Point
Point-to-Point Protocol over Ethernet
The Point-to-Point Protocol over Ethernet is a network protocol for encapsulating Point-to-Point Protocol frames inside Ethernet frames. It is used mainly with DSL services where individual users connect to the DSL modem over Ethernet and in plain Metro Ethernet networks...
to deliver services from its central office direct into subscribers’ homes. fibre termination was handled by a residential gateway
Residential gateway
A residential gateway is a home networking device, used as a gateway to connect devices in the home to the Internet or other WAN.It is an umbrella term, used to cover multi-function networking computer appliances used in homes, which may combine a DSL or cable modem, a firewall, a consumer-grade...
provided by Advanced Digital Broadcast
Advanced Digital Broadcast
Advanced Digital Broadcast designs, manufactures and deploys solutions to distribute pay-TV and multimedia services to the connected home, for all types of networks. The company has its global headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland and regional headquarters in Denver, USA and Taipei, Taiwan...
inside a subscriber's home to be shared with other consumer electronics
Consumer electronics
Consumer electronics are electronic equipment intended for everyday use, most often in entertainment, communications and office productivity. Radio broadcasting in the early 20th century brought the first major consumer product, the broadcast receiver...
(CE) devices.
Since 2007, Italian access providers Fastweb
Fastweb
FASTWEB S.p.A. is an Italian broadband telecommunications company. It provides voice, Internet, cable television, IPTV and FTTH connection. The cable television and IPTV services were developed by Fastweb themselves as the technology market in 2000 was not mature enough to offer the level of...
, Telecom Italia
Telecom Italia
Telecom Italia is the largest Italian telecommunications company, also active in the media and manufacturing industries. Now a private concern listed on the Borsa Italiana, it was founded in 1994 by the merger of several state-owned telecommunications companies, the most important of which was...
, Vodafone
Vodafone Italy
Vodafone Italia is an Italian mobile telephony operator. The company has 31,000,000 customers and a market share of 33.4%, placing it just behind TIM...
, and Wind participated in an initiative called fibre for Italy, aim of creating a countrywide FTTH network in Italy. The pilot taking place in the Italian capital, Rome, has seen symmetrical bandwidth of 100 Mbit/s. Telecom Italia
Telecom Italia
Telecom Italia is the largest Italian telecommunications company, also active in the media and manufacturing industries. Now a private concern listed on the Borsa Italiana, it was founded in 1994 by the merger of several state-owned telecommunications companies, the most important of which was...
, which refused to take part in the fibre for Italy initiative, has an even more ambitious plan to bring FTTH/B to 138 cities by 2018.
By the end of December 2010, the total number of FTTH-enabled homes had passed 2.5 million, with more than 348,000 subscribers.
Fixed wireless
Fixed wireless
Fixed wireless is the operation of wireless devices or systems used to connect two fixed locations with a radio or other wireless link, such as laser bridge. Usually, fixed wireless is part of a wireless LAN infrastructure. The purpose of a fixed wireless link is to enable data communications...
and mobile wireless technologies such as Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi or Wifi, is a mechanism for wirelessly connecting electronic devices. A device enabled with Wi-Fi, such as a personal computer, video game console, smartphone, or digital audio player, can connect to the Internet via a wireless network access point. An access point has a range of about 20...
, WiMAX
WiMAX
WiMAX is a communication technology for wirelessly delivering high-speed Internet service to large geographical areas. The 2005 WiMAX revision provided bit rates up to 40 Mbit/s with the 2011 update up to 1 Gbit/s for fixed stations...
and 3GPP Long Term Evolution
3GPP Long Term Evolution
3GPP Long Term Evolution, usually referred to as LTE, is a standard for wireless communication of high-speed data for mobile phones and data terminals. It is based on the GSM/EDGE and UMTS/HSPA network technologies, increasing the capacity and speed using new modulation techniques...
(LTE) are an alternative for providing Internet access
Internet access
Many technologies and service plans for Internet access allow customers to connect to the Internet.Consumer use first became popular through dial-up connections in the 20th century....
.
Regulation
In September 2010 the European Commission published a new Recommendation for Regulated Access to NGA Networks along with a list of measures to promote deployment of fast broadband and NGA networks .See also
- Broadband Internet accessBroadband Internet accessBroadband Internet access, often shortened to just "broadband", is a high data rate, low-latency connection to the Internet— typically contrasted with dial-up access using a 56 kbit/s modem or satellite Internet with inherently high latency....
- fibre to the x
- Hybrid fibre-coaxialHybrid fibre-coaxialHybrid fiber-coaxial is a telecommunications industry term for a broadband network which combines optical fibre and coaxial cable. It was commonly employed globally by cable television operators since the early 1990s.-Description:...
- National broadband plans from around the worldNational broadband plans from around the worldBroadband is a term normally considered to be synonymous with a high-speed connection to the internet. The term itself is technology neutral; broadband can be delived by a range of technologies including DSL, LTE or next generation access. This page presents an overview of official Government...
- Infinite Bandwidth Zero LatencyIBZLIBZL - infinite bandwidth zero latency - is a thought experiment that asks: what will happen when bandwidth is so great, and latency so small, that it no longer matters? What will be the applications and services that become widespread?...
External links
- http://www.openreach.co.uk/orpg/products/nga/nga_hp.do
- http://www.bt.com/nga