Video Delivery over Copper Pair and its Role Relative to Fiber
Telecommunication fixed networks were originally constructed entirely from metallic transmission media. In developed countries, the core, or backbone, of the network that interconnects the switching centers is now mainly optical fiber. The access portion of the network that connects switches to customers (the so-called “last mile”) is, however, still dominated by twisted copper pairs. There are over 560 million twisted copper pair connections worldwide. Optical access network technologies have been developed and proven; however, the sheer inertia of the installed copper base means that it could take many years to migrate the access networks from copper to fiber. This paper describes the technologies available to telcos to deliver broadband services such as television and video-on-demand over the access network as it evolves from copper to fiber.
- Print ISSN
- 0036-1682
- Published
- 1996-06
- Content type
- Original Research
- DOI
- 10.5594/J09570