Multi-gigabit connectivity for MDU customers… without laying fiber
Over the last few years, various factors, such as increased Pay-TV use, on demand streaming and increased home working, have driven the heightened demand for ultra-fast broadband in the home. The average home network handles a considerable amount of traffic. From meeting the needs of the home worker, the streamer, the video caller, to the gamer, the stakes for greater broadband connectivity have never been higher. Instant, near faultless connectivity is considered the norm. Any hint of delay, jitter, or buffer and customer frustration grows. Fiber, with its high gigabit rates and speeds, is considered to be the technology to provide the perfect connection.
Many in densely populated, urban environments are spoilt for choice when it comes to ultra-fast reliable broadband, choosing from a plethora of different
broadband providers that offer a service in their area. For those in rural areas however, they might not be so lucky. Government subsidies might now be helping drive the roll-out in rural terrain, but they have for so long been overlooked due to the expense and complexity of laying fiber there, compounded by low take-up rates.
This is a situation not dissimilar to those residents that find themselves in multi-dwelling units (MDUs, for short), such as apartment complexes or hotel blocks. MDUs often pose problems for broadband providers, even in urban areas, due to accessibility difficulties and economic viability. Without the necessary, ubiquitous connectivity, landlords struggle to attract and maintain tenants.
Keeping pace with EU neighbors
Ultra-fast fiber connectivity is no new phenomenon. It has long been touted as the heir predecessor to the previous generations of legacy technologies, and adverts omnipresent in our everyday lives, whether that be in newspapers, on our TV screens or roving adverts, displayed on buses or the side of company vans.
You might think that in today’s day and age, we must all surely have great coverage? Well, we hate to break it to you, but you are mistaken. The most recent FTTH Council Europe’s Market Panorama report for the 39 EU countries, highlighted that 244 million homes had been passed with fiber, but there were only 121 million subscribers connected. While the overall coverage rate was 69.9 percent, the low take-up rate of fiber highlights the remaining work to be done.
So, how can those living in apartments get access to the fiber connectivity they so desperately crave?
Victim of landlord delay
Tenants living in the UK’s estimated 480,000 MDUs have typically had to wait for their landlord’s permission to have a broadband operator enter their building to install connectivity. It is estimated that 40 percent of broadband provider requests for access are blocked due to no response.
But as recent as last year, UK tenants were handed a huge boost when a new law was introduced. The enforcement of the Telecommunications Infrastructure (Leasehold Property) Act (TILPA) ensured tenants can now receive broadband upgrade regardless of the silence of their landlords.
Thanks to TILPA, broadband operators can now gain access to a block of flats 35 days after the operator’s request to the landlord. It is estimated that an additional 2100 UK residential buildings a year will now be connected as a result.
Lending MDUs a helping hand
It is understandable why providers would devote more time and resources to connecting Single Family Units (SFUs), such as houses, as they can lay fiber more easily and have higher success when it comes to take-up rates.
And while broadband providers can more easily access MDUs in the UK, the challenge posed by fiber installations remains. Providers must navigate various complex obstacles when laying fiber to MDUs. Installing fiber to every flat is expensive in terms of labor costs and disruptive to customers. There may also be a lack of fiber ducts and technical or historical preservations that stand in the way of rapid and cost-effective deployments.
In addition to the logistical hurdles, approvals can hold the process up considerably. Broadband operators must await the building owner permissions or until their silence period has reached its limit. If a landlord, on their own accord, wishes to upgrade their property’s broadband, they will need resident and business permissions to access each building and apartment.
Extending existing connectivity
As customers crave better connectivity and landlords, more tenants, broadband providers must consider all viable options. One could be using the building infrastructure that already exists within these MDUs. As many of these buildings were built in the 20th century, they have existing coaxial cabling and copper piping to every floor from the basement upwards. A time and cost saving alternative to pulling new cables.
Fiber access extension technology promises multi-gigabit fixed broadband speeds and avoids the cosmetic damage and noise complaints typical of a large-scale and taxing fiber deployment. Broadband providers are in a win-win situation: they can continue their fiber roll-out at pace and overcome the challenges typical of an MDU.
A more cost-effective and less complex upgrade of broadband should keep customers happy and broadband providers satisfied.
For a list of the sources used in this article, please contact the editor.
By Helge Tiainen
Helge Tiainen is Business Development Director at InCoax Networks. InCoax Networks AB repurposes existing property coaxial networks in fiber and fixed wireless access (FWA) extension deployments for Communication Service Providers (CSP) globally.
The technology is a high performance, future proof, reliable and cost-effective complement, that reduces installation time and improves take-up rate, to boost digital inclusion and Internet access for all.