Extending the Life of Your Copper Network Through Physical Layer Solutions

By Rob Mertz, Marketing Manager, 3M Communication Markets Division Business White Paper

Table of Contents
Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Next Generation Network (NGN): Vision versus Todays Realities. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . An Evolution of the Embedded Copper Network. . . . Expansion and Rehabilitation Gallery. . . . . . . . . . . . Summary. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . References. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

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Introduction
The increasing popularity of enhanced services presents an exciting opportunity and a considerable challenge for telecommunications services providers. Customer demand, stiff competition from cable operators, and the decline of voice revenues have made enhanced services offerings mandatory. But when it comes time to add the capacity needed to deploy broadband services, many telcos have discovered that the costs can be staggering. This white paper presents an innovative and field-tested approach developed by 3M as an alternative to the costly and time consuming practice of hot-swapping existing cabinets and contents for all new components to deploy enhanced services. The method, involving cabinet expansions and rehabilitation, extends the value of legacy investments and helps to significantly reduce the time and money needed to bring enhanced customer services to market.

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Next Generation Network (NGN): Vision versus Todays Realities

During the early 2000s, fiber was considered one of the the primary mechanisms for broadband access, and that fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) network architecture was the means of delivering the increased bandwidth needed for enhanced services. Advocates of NGN and FTTH envisioned building an entirely new communications infrastructure -- installing fiber in new developments and elsewhere, replacing the existing copper infrastructure upon which the telecommunications industry was established. Experts believed that creating an all-fiber infrastructure would serve to link the country in the same way that copper wires and phone linked previous generations of Americans from coast to coast. But demand and economic realities have intervened in ways that could not have been imagined a decade ago. Last Mile fiber infrastructure build is a costly proposition for even the worlds largest telecommunications services providers. Running fiber through a typical American neighborhood can run between $500 and $700 per home and sometimes higher than that, according to numerous industry reports. In addition, telcos incur more costs to install and connect each subscriber to an FTTH network plus central office upgrades and other fiber-based improvements. (In Europe, the cost to deploy FTTH is nearly double the US figures, according to studies by Analysys Mason and AT Kearney.) But homes passed doesnt necessarily equate to take up rate. Unlike the era in which the copper network was built, todays customers have many communications options. Running fiber can be a highly speculative prospect, especially given the ferocious competitive climate within the industry. Companies that decided to invest in creating a fiber network have quickly discovered that the material and labor expenses can rack up quickly, particularly in established neighborhoods. Hot-swapping existing cabinets is an expensive, time intensive, and potentially perilous process for telcos. A significant investment in time and money beyond that already anticipated for fiber runs and hot-swaps is required to resolve permitting, community restrictions, and right-of-way issues before any work can even begin. Importantly, the overall return on a hefty investment in FTTH can be suppressed due to its speculative nature. Depending on the short-term take up rate, the telecos return on investment may quite possibly be pushed out far into the future.

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NGN Challenge: Address Market-Driven Business Considerations

Telcos face an ongoing struggle to keep up with an ever-growing need for capacity. Once defined simply as Internet access, enhanced services as a category has exploded. The market for enhanced services is in its infancy in terms of adoption and development. Its a marketplace limited only by our collective imagination. Social networking, cloud computing, high-speed file transfers, and streaming audio and video have changed the way bandwidth is used. Customers are increasingly demanding the same speeds and quality as they might experience in the workplace. With current and potential customers clamoring for enhanced services, planning for an all-fiber future and delaying deployment can be disastrous to a companys immediate and short-term goals as well as its longterm prospects. Todays customers are not accustomed to delays. Telcos who leave customers waiting are vulnerable to competitive poaching, putting revenue generation and infrastructure investments at an even higher risk. Managing cost and delivery of an evolving set of new services is a critical challenge. The ability of telcos to deploy services quickly has become both a business imperative and a key survival strategy. Speed is therefore crucial. To help ensure a strong return on investment, deployment cost must be minimized and the revenue stream must be established quickly. Unlike 20th century customers who had no other option but to wait until phone lines were installed from a single company, todays customers have many choices. The time lag between infrastructure and subscriber order must be minimal. To reduce costs and increase speed to market, more and more companies are choosing an innovative yet commonsense approach to meeting consumer demand: expanding and rehabbing existing cross-connect cabinets. The concept of broadband over copper may seem counter-intuitive, given the initial vision for FTTH and the resulting views of the value of the embedded copper network in todays high-speed world. For a growing number of telcos, however, leveraging the existing copper network is an ideal technological and economic solution. Why copper? Because its already there. 

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An Evolution of the Embedded Copper Network

Broadband Over Copper Network: Key Advantages
Reduced capital expense Lower operating expense Quicker deployment Faster speed-to-market Faster revenue stream establishment Increased revenue Increased return on investment Quicker recapture of deployment costs Competitive advantage
 Replacing the existing network entirely with fiber has become so costly and timeconsuming that many telecommunications services providers have begun to pursue alternatives to fiber, including copper and a hybrid architecture: fiber-to-the-node (FTTN). This approach enables operators to use copper-based last mile links and xDSL technology. Because of the industrys recent fixation on fiber, many companies do not realize that advances in copper technology and related software have been, and continue to be, vigorously pursued. An international consortium led by ECI Telecom was formed in 2007 to develop technology that would boost DSL speeds using Dynamic Spectrum Management as a future evolution of broadband access networks using existing copper infrastructure. Experts such as Stanford University professor John Cioffi, a DSM research pioneers has argued that copper has more available bandwidth than fiber, but its capacity isnt being utilized properly. In 2004, Cioffi and others at Stanford, joined by Mung Chiang at Princeton, Alexander Fraser at Fraser Research Lab, and industry partners, began FAST Copper, a multi-year project funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation. The goal of the project is to substantially improve the rate, reach, reliability, and quality in copper-based last mile broadband access to everyone with a phone line. The team realized that ubiquitous access to everyone across America is a formidable task, given technical and socio-economic challenges, and proposes leveraging the installed copper plant. The teams overall solution is a hybrid fiber/DSL deployment where fiber is pushed into the access network but copper takes over the last mile, thereby utilizing the best of ubiquity, broadband, reliability, and economic viability. Advances have enabled copper to deliver at previously unimaginable speeds. According to a company news release in 2010, Alcatel-Lucent Bell Labs successfully demonstrated a technology that boosts the transmission speeds achievable over just two digital subscriber lines, delivering 300 Megabits per second. At these speeds, service providers will be able to maximize the ability of the existing copper infrastructure widely deployed around the world to satisfy demand for bandwidth-intense residential triple-play and business services, for years to come, the release announced. Copper speeds will likely continue to increase.

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Application Considerations for DSL Deployment

Pushing the last mile through copper elevates the importance and value of the existing cross-connect block and cabinet. Substantial time and significant cost savings are derived from expanding and retrofitting cabinets, rather than completing expensive cutovers that involve removing everything from the pad, positioning a new box with new blocks and other components, and splicing and jumpering of the new blocks. The cross-connect is the crucial element in leveraging the copper network to deliver enhanced services. The vast majority of cross-connect cabinets in the field are good candidates for cost-saving rehab and expansion. Some already have enough pair count to support the DSL application. About a third of the cabinets must be expanded, according to Matt Gillette, executive vice president of Pearce Services, Inc. (PSI). PSI is a Contractor that specializes in the repair, replacement, expansion, relocation, and servicing of telephone crossconnect cabinets. Since 2007, the company has completed about 3,000 rehab and expansion projects a year and estimates rehabbing and expansion, rather than hotswapping, saved at least one PSI customer, a major telco, $9 million per year for the past four years. Every expansion and rehab project presents unique challenges that require a tailored solution. But in basic terms, rehabbing leaves the existing block in place, adds an expansion block where needed, and increases pair count to support the broadband offering. The cabinets internal compartment capacity is often increased by using components that reduce space requirements by up to 50 percent. Expansion and rehab is about half the cost of a full cut-over. The solution accelerates time to market and requires far fewer labor hours to accomplish. Because the expanded and retrofitted cabinet sits within essentially the same footprint, right-of-way and permitting issues are virtually eliminated. Overall, the solution provides a competitive advantage because customers do not have to wait as long as they would for an all-fiber solution. Using the existing copper network also permits the solution to be quickly and efficiently deployed to a larger number of customers. Expansions are accomplished within the original footprint by adding an extension that increases the cabinets height or width and interior space. Accomplishing the expansion usually requires little to no splicing or jumpering. Given that some cabinets in the field date back 30 or more years, expansion and rehab might not be feasible in all situations. Designing and engineering the right solution for each site takes experience and an understanding of technical and business challenges. Successful DSL deployment over copper at the crossconnect cabinet is dependent upon many factors. These include: Distance from the DSLAM; half-tap splices, embedded cable conditions, and other electronics on line Quality of premise work Required pair count versus existing pair count; projected growth in pair count to support broadband offering A site evaluation to include condition of cable, existing count, general existing capability and environment An examination of the existing infrastructure to support the cabinet, including pads and other supporting structures Local codes: permits and other regulatory steps Evaluation of current infrastructures ability to support existing services and an examination of service records Location evaluation, which may reveal particular needs as to cabinet size or aesthetic considerations Understanding of the business case: how many homes are to be passed and what is the planned take-up rate? Labor evaluation: will contractors or company personnel be used for cabinet placement, splicing and jumpering? Identification of rehab or expansion solution for the specific location by the block, by the frame, or by the cabinet

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Cabinet expansion for remote DSLAM injection

The overriding goal in selecting an expansion and rehab cabinet is to ensure the integrity of the original cabinet and/or base and copper components. The cabinets must open from the front fully, slide into place, and should include discreet port or bread pan cabling solutions. Optional expansion/RHB blocks and frames enable the installation to be conducted block-at-a-time or frame-at-a-time. Pad mount conversion cabinets and kits are designed to increase pair count. The cabinets can be expanded in either height or width, and may be expanded from single sided to double sided cabinets. Selecting expansion and rehab products that are designed to upgrade cross-connect pair count in a manufacturers cabinet is crucial. This is a best practice that helps to provide cost-effectiveness as well as installation efficiencies.

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Expansion and Rehabilitation Gallery

1800-pair expansion frame/blocks; 900-pair per side

Retained the existing 3600-pair frame/blocks with no interruption of service

Existing frame mounted in a new cabinet Utilizes the existing pad Pad Mount Expansion Cabinet Existing 3600-pair, double-sided cabinet with an 1800-pair expansion

900-pair expansion frame/blocks on top and side of cabinet

Retained the existing 1800-pair frame/ blocks with no interruption of service

Existing frame mounted in a new cabinet

Pad Mount Expansion Cabinet Existing 1800-pair cabinet with a 900-pair expansion

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900-pair expansion frame/blocks on top and side of cabinet

Maintain the swing out frames/jumpers and access to splice chamber Retained existing 1200-pair frame/blocks with no interruption of service

Pad Mount Expansion Cabinet Existing 1200-pair cabinet with a 900-pair future expansion

900-pair future expansion frame on side of cabinet

Maintain the swing out frames/jumpers and access to splice chamber

Retained existing 1200-pair frame/blocks with no interruption of service

Utilizes the existing pad Pad Mount Expansion Cabinet Existing 900-pair cabinet with a 900-pair expansion

400-pair expansion frame/blocks

Retained the existing 900-pair frame/blocks with no interruption of service Expansion kit added to existing cabinet, maintaining features of the existing cabinet Pad Mount Expansion Cabinet Existing 900-pair cabinet with a 400-pair expansion 10 3M Communication Markets Division www.3M.com/Telecom

Retained the existing 600-pair frame/blocks with no interruption of service Existing frame mounted in a new cabinet 750-pair expansion frame & blocks added to the side of cabinet

Pole Mount Expansion Cabinet Existing 600-pair cabinet with a 750-pair expansion

300-pair expansion blocks added to the top & bottom of cabinet

Retained the existing 600-pair frame/blocks with no interruption of service

Existing frame mounted in a new cabinet

Pole Mount Expansion Cabinet Existing Fully operational XP cabinet with 1200-pair expansion 11 3M Communication Markets Division www.3M.com/Telecom

Fully operational XP cabinet with 1200 pair expansion

Finished Product

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Summary
Expansion cross-connect solutions enable network operators to focus broadband investment toward services that help increase revenue in one of the fastest and least expensive ways. Key benefits of expansion and rehabilitation of cross-connect cabinets to leverage the copper network include: Substantially reduced labor, material, and other related costs typically associated with cutovers Faster time to market and reduced wait for customers, which provides a competitive advantage in the marketplace Virtually eliminates often costly and time consuming right-of-way and permitting issues Improves and accelerates return on investment prospects Helps to deliver enhanced services to more people in more places Accelerate broadband network deployment and improve speed-to-market by empowering your existing copper infrastructure to quickly and cost-effectively deliver broadband services customers demand.

References
1. FAST Copper for Broadband Access by Mung Chiang, Jianwei Huang, Dahai Xu, Yung Yi, Chee Wei Tan, Raphael Cendrillon, Electrical Engineering Department, Princeton University, Marvell Semiconductors. 2005-2006 overview paper. 2. Alcatel-Lucent Bell Labs achieves industry first: 300 Megabits per second over just two traditional DSL lines. News release issued by the Alcatel-Lucent Press Office, Paris, April 2010. 3. The Costs of Deploying Fibre-Based Next-Generation Broadband Infrastructure. Study conducted by Analysys Mason, commissioned by the Broadband Stakeholder Group. September 2008. 4. Study for the Hellenic Ministry of Transport and Communications, AT Kearney. May 2008. 5. Broadband 2.0: How Technology and Economics Make Copper Ideal for the Next Wve of Advanced Services, Ikanos Communications. 2010. 6. Want broadband access? Save copper infrastructure by Heather Burnett Gold, senior vice president of external affairs for XO Communications. The Hill, July 26, 2010 7. BSG publishes costs of deploying fibre based superfast broadband. News release issued by Broadband Stakeholder Group, September 8, 2008. 8. Cable vs. Fiber by Catherine Yang, Tom Lowry, Roger O. Crockett, Peter Burrows, and bureau reports. Bloomberg Businessweek, November 1, 2004. 9. Last mile broadband access key to small-business growth by Carl J. Grivner. The Hill, January 25, 2010. 10. Copper wire as fast as fiber? by Nate Anderson. Arstechnica.com, October 2006. 11. Fiber-optic speeds achieved over copper lines by technology/telecom staff reporters. Physorg.com, April 28, 2010.

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