Fiber to Me

We have all heard about how the various Fiber-to-the-X___ (fill in the blank) technologies are going to change the way we live, work and play. I personally believe that, for many years, there was more promise and hype in the market than real results.

I purchased the first home in a new neighborhood 15 years ago. Being first has its advantages and disadvantages. That spring, my cable television provider decided to dig up my new lawn and deploy fiber-to-the-curb for future broadband service expansion. Two months later, after my lawn was finally recovered, my telephone company shows up and tells me they are going to deploy fiber-to-the-curb for future communications services expansion as well. Once again, my lawn took another beating.

Years passed and little changed with my broadband or my telephone service-it was more promise than reality. A few years back my broadband service began to show some fruit from that fiber planting years earlier. And today my broadband service options are dramatically better-HDTV, On-Demand programs, high-speed Internet, VOIP, texting, Wi-Fi, home security, etc. Today, my family consumes about 150GB of these broadband services every month for a price that is slightly more than my first car payment-yes, it's worth every penny. The promise of FTTx is finally being fulfilled for me and millions of other broadband subscribers.

At CommScope, we have had a lot to do with creating FTTx technology for the broadband industry. We've also had a lot to do with training the same industry on installation, safety and best practices. If you are involved in the design, installation or project management of broadband networks, I have a fantastic suggestion for you. Go to the CommScope Infrastructure Academy and take course SP1030 - CommScope FTTX Broadband Solutions. You will be glad you did.