KELOWNA – Be it PON, HFC or xDSL, transmitting video using IP protocols will eventually be the way everyone does it.
But for right now, PON and HFC are doing it the traditional way (easy, cheaper), distributing virtually all the content, all the time across its thick pipes, to customer TVs, phones and PCs. Most traditional telcos however, have opted for DSL technology to force video and other bandwidth-intensive services through its far thinner pipelines. Bell Canada, Telus, MTS, SaskTel and Bell Aliant have all experimented with various forms of DSL over the past decade or so and collectively serve close to 250,000 Canadians (by Cartt.ca’s estimate). But it looks like the latest iteration, VDSL2, is working – and going to continue to work – pretty well, AFL Telecommunications product manager Roger Vaughn told a seminar session this morning at the CommTech Show in Kelowna.
Cable’s traditional hybrid-fibre coax networks offer tons of bandwidth, but consumers generally have to share it among the homes served by the node in their region, generally 500 homes and lower. It works quite well so far as the number of HD channels are still rather manageable – as are the number of folks streaming or downloading high-end video.
The largest passive optical network deployment in North America is Verizon’s Fios. Many assume it’s DSL, but it’s really just RF over cable, said Vaughn. “They have shared bandwidth too, even though it’s a much greater amount of bandwidth,” because the company brings fibre optics right to its customers’ homes.
“It’s basically an all-fibre version of cable TV,” he added.
The difference with the DSL technologies has been, and continues to be, that it provides dedicated bandwidth to consumers, explained Vaughn. The legacy telco infrastructure just can’t support technology that would send all signals to all consumers’ homes all the time, so DSL, a switched technology, was deployed.
But now, it’s grown and developed where it can offer bandwidth that is at least as much as most cable operators (30-40 Mbps), if not much more – but dedicated to each individual consumer.
While VDSL2 can deliver speed along with a number of interactive television features right now and into the near future (security, dynamic provisioning, video phone, remote video, less channel surfing lag time as compared to digital cable), there are a number of hurdles in the way. Various DSL technologies had distance limitations of about 18,000 feet (where it could work over copper after the last fibre leg), or about 5.5 kms, but VDSL2 drops that even further to 3,000 feet, just under a km, said Vaughn.
Despite that, the promise of being able to serve four TVs in a home, plus ultra-quick broadband, voice and providing sundry additional services (for far higher ARPUs) has companies such as the Canadian ones we mentioned, as well as AT&T (U-verse) and Qwest pursuing its deployment, according to Vaughn. That’s because even at 3,000 feet, the telcos can still reach about 80% of their customers with VDSL2.
However, acknowledged Vaughn, that 30-40 Mbps can only come when there is decent plant beyond the last fibre. The age and condition of the plant, especially in consumers’ homes, is a serious issue. Noise ingress from myriad places (as cablecos know from years of doing this) affect video in a way that doesn’t matter as much in a data stream where packets can be replaced without any knowledge to the consumer. When it comes to video though, they notice the pixilation – or freezing – of their favourite TV shows.
Vaughn said home wiring is “the biggest obstacle in IPTV installation.”
And that has meant, so far, that individual installations are taking four to six hours sometimes. “And four hours is about the limit where a customer wants you in their home,” he said to the convention delegates. Two-to four hours is optimal.
The best way to decrease that time, which is costly, is technician training, where they get the install right the first time – and can also show the customer how to use the new TV/data/phone service before they go.
Finally, cautioned Vaughn, “Content wins. Voice and data service are expected or assumed but video is most important to them.”
