Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei has introduced a fibre-to-the room (FTTR) connectivity solution for home users as well as small and medium enterprises (SMEs).
This comes as the global workforce has speedily had to adapt to new ways of working, with some calling for better quality for in-home WiFi connections to support the hybrid work model.
Additionally, SMEs have made their digital journeys a priority as they look to turnaround business following the upheaval of the last two years.
The FTTR solution, introduced this week at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, aims to meet the accelerated internet demands by building a single WiFi network for homes and enterprises, according to Huawei.
Huawei said FTTR for Home aims to extend fibre to every room, building an all-optical base for smart homes.
Jeffrey Zhou, president for optical access network products at Huawei, noted FTTR for SME provides functionalities like voice, the router, network maintenance and super-high-performance for the user.
Stephen Wilson, principal analyst at research firm Analysys Mason – who delivered an overview of the progress of connectivity over the last two years – said consumers increasingly value the quality of their broadband connection, rather than only the price point.
“The pandemic has changed the nature of broadband usage. The home has become an office, an online entertainment centre, place for education and much more…reinforcing the value of home broadband over the past couple of years,” said Wilson.
The FTTR for Home solution features the main FTTR, edge FTTR, transparent fibres and other optical network components. The solution offers full coverage, roaming and management.
Zhou explained the fibre connection solution is environmentally-friendly and can serve the network for more than 30 years. “It can lower carbon emissions by 30%. FTTR will build and create new business models for our customers.”
FTTR for SME offers ultra-high concurrency, and can be easily deployed and managed, according to Huawei.
The company believes its FTTR solution will improve the internet access experience for home and SME users, and also build competitiveness for operators.
It said the FTTR all-optical WiFi base allows operators to obtain higher profits and further expand the blue ocean market of digital homes and enterprises.
“In the future, our concept is that fibre will connect everywhere,” stated Zhou. “Fibre is a strong transmission medium for broadband from 1Gbps to 100Gbps. Fibre is also green, lowering carbon production as a result of connection by 30%. FTTR will therefore build and create new business models for our customers.”
Wilson added: “If operators can tap into this change in consumer perceptions and desires, they will be successful. FTTR won’t only allow operators to meet these needs, but also develop new kinds of connectivity offers; for example, with speed guarantees.”
South Africa has witnessed massive growth in the fibre market during the course of the pandemic. Fibre networks have passed 2.56 million South African homes, to date.
There’s also big fixed wireless broadband adoption in the market, with an additional 1.6 million subscriptions on fixed wireless 4G and 5G subscriptions expected. This will take the fixed broadband home subscriptions to roughly 2.8 million, not only comprising of fibre but LTE and 5G delivered on fixed wireless.
According to Huawei, more than 20 global operators have chosen FTTR for trial and commercial use.
When asked when the FTTR solution will be available in South Africa, Zhou didn’t provide timelines, but said it is being launched globally and will also be available in the country “soon”.
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