The demand for high-speed internet and seamless connectivity is ever increasing, and is not confined to industrial and commercial establishments alone. There is a huge speed and connectivity demand for home networks too, which may be partly owing to businesses operated from home, increasing use of smart devices, work from home options, e-learning, and other factors. From the past few years, there is a rise in the demand for fiber optic networks as well as blended networks. This is because copper cable networks cannot meet the growing demand anymore, which is why legacy networks are often blended with fiber optic networks using devices such as media converters, switches, and more. Going one step beyond this is the concept of Fiber to the Room or FTTR which shows the evolution of home networking. FTTR optimally utilizes fiber optic technology to achieve a robust home optical network. This post discusses the concept of FTTR, why scalability is important, benefits of FTTR in home networks, and more.

What is FTTR?

FTTR is an advanced version of fiber optic technology. It comprises the laying of optical fibers to remote nodes to ensure an entire home or even a building gets access to the robust network. Technically, one optical fiber can be extended to each room without having to terminate them. This advanced communication technology creates multiple endpoints within a home, building, office, hotel, or a given area. There is a distribution point for an entire area such as a building, which works as a central point of control for all the points in the network, where all the cables converge. Each point, known as room unit, is connected to this central distribution point via a fiber optic cable. For easy identification of each of these points and prevent mixing, wave division multiplexing (WDM) is used. WDM enables signal transmissions over different wavelengths, and over a single optical cable. This technology establishes and maintains high speed and seamless connectivity because of the point distribution pattern.

Benefits of Implementing FTTR

Here are few of the many advantages FTTR offers.

• Strong connectivity and network coverage throughout the designated area and beyond are few of the major benefits of this technology. This facilitates fast transmission of bulky audio and video files at speeds of around 1Gbps.
• The technology is scalable and offers a huge bandwidth that makes your network future proof, which means there is enough bandwidth to add devices, nodes, and so on as part of expansion.
• Low latency is another major benefit of FTTR.
• Since FTTR uses fiber optic cables, it is safeguarded from EMI and noise-related issues. It is secure, reliable, and not easy to tamper with or hack.
• Its connectivity and reliability go beyond todays wireless 5G networks, typically meant for high-frequency applications. However, wireless networks may suffer signal losses, not be able to penetrate through walls or certain corners of a room, and may fail if there are too many users involved as there is not concept of different nodes. FTTR overcomes all these challenges and can suffice the requirements of each user sitting anywhere across the building or given area.
• It is useful for professionals in gaming applications, AR/VR, video-conferencing, watching movies and videos, and other types of heavy applications.
• In terms of wire layout, it is pretty simple, safe, and can be matched with the home environment and aesthetics.

Ideal Use Cases: FTTR Caters to Smart Homes

Compared to traditional Wi-Fi networks in homes and buildings, FTTR offers a more improved user experience when it comes to high-bandwidth applications such as gaming and smart home device connectivity. With online gaming and smart home markets gaining traction, the demand for reliable connectivity available in each corner of the building has surged. This is essential in connecting and facilitating communication among smart devices such as refrigerator, television, sound systems, laptop, air conditioners, LED lighting systems, and more. Since optical fiber is directly extended in each room or area, FTTR supports IoT and smart devices to build efficient smart home systems.

Future of FTTR: Potential Impact of FTTR on the Future of Home Networking

Needless to say, FTTR holds a bright future ahead with the growth of online gaming, smart home market, home-based businesses, and more. The global market for FTTR is still in nascent stage; however, it is projected to grow at rapidly over the next eight to ten years. The FTTH market was valued at $23.42 Billion in 2023, and is projected to reach $95.88 Billion by 2033 at high CAGR of 15.1%. The figures speak a lot about the prospect of FTTR and FTTH.

You can now enjoy watching 4K videos or make sure you have your food ready and heated by the time you reach home after a long day at work. All of this is possible by implementing FTTR to connect to smart homes and gaming apps. If you choose to expand your network through FTTR, you will need good quality fiber optic network devices and the ones that are compatible with legacy systems as well. VERSITRON has been in the market for several years and offers custom network devices such as switches and media converters among others. These are available with advanced features and in varied configurations that ensure your network becomes futureproof. In case you are interested in knowing more about these network devices, you can contact their team of experts via phone or email.