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 International Journal of Computer Applications (0975 – 8887)
Volume 72– No.12, June 2013

Design and Implementation of a Practical FTTH

Network

Dheyaa Jasim Kadhim Nahla Abdul-Rahman Hussain

Department of Electrical Engineering Department of Electrical Engineering
Baghdad University, Iraq. Baghdad University, Iraq.

ABSTRACT low initial cost of the outside cable plant when implementing
Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) has long been recognized as a a FTTH network.
technology that provides future proof bandwidth [1], but has Many researchers wrote on the scope of FTTH. In [4]
generally been too expensive to implement on a wide scale. Economic aspect of projects and/or solutions in
However, reductions in the cost of electro-optic components telecommunication networks is discussed and the authors
and improvements in the handling of fiber optics now make found that the GPON is the more suitable to implement FTTH
FTTH a cost effective solution in many situations. The than other networks. In [5] a comprehensive cost modeling of
transition to FTTH in the access network is also a benefit for FTTH was presented, which includes outside plan, head end,
both consumers and service providers because it opens up the and premises equipment and labor with enhanced reach and
near limitless capacity of the core long-haul network to the split ratio and estimate cost as associated with passive and
local user. In this paper individual passive optical active equipment and components for the typical FTTH PON.
components, transceivers, and fibers has been put together to The aim of [6] is to enhance the quality of service offered by
form a complete FTTH network. Then the implementation of standard passive optical networks with reduced network costs.
the under construction Baghdad/Al-Gehad FTTH network is To that extent, a dynamic multi-wavelength protocol has been
presented according to the available information from Iraq developed to increase the network upstream bandwidth and
Telecommunication Post and Company (ITPC). In this work introduce multiple service levels to a Fiber To The Home-
designing, planning and deploying of FTTH network based on based through a Gigabit Passive Optical Network (GPON).
Gigabit Passive Optical Network (GPON) will be evaluated in
order to obtain an optimal practical sample when designing In this paper, studying, designing and implementing of FTTH
and implementing any FTTH network. network based on GPON architecture through taking
Baghdad/Al-Gehad as a study case which it is one of the Iraq
Keywords Telecommunications and Post Company (ITPC) FTTH
projects in Iraq. A studying of the required number of PON
Passive Optical Network (PON), Fiber To The Home (FTTH), network ports is introduced in terms of take rate with fixed
Gigabit Passive Optical Network (GPON). amount of cycle time to support multiple services and to
guarantee adequate transport capacity per subscriber in Al-
1. INTRODUCTION Gehad FTTH network. Cost optimization is introduced for
High Speed Broadband (HSB) deployments are frequently feeder cables, distribution cables and total cost of Al-Gehad
justified primarily by today's applications rather than FTTH network through the GPON technology with respect to
anticipated demands. For instant, streaming video content is the number of subscribers.
considered by many as the ultimate bandwidth hungry The rest of this paper is structured as follows section II will
application. When one adds the bandwidth requirements of illustrate FTTH architecture. Section III illustrates the access
one High Definition Television (HDTV) stream, a few network and in section IV, we present the components of
standard definition streams and Internet browsing, it may FTTH network. Conclusion is presented in section V.
seem that 20-30 Mbps of bandwidth is sufficient in the long
term. 2.ITPC ACCESS NETWORK
FTTH technology provides residences with high speed ARCHITECTURE
broadband access to digital services and the Internet. The
FTTH networks have now established their economic Cater to the needs of large bandwidth and High Speed Internet
competitiveness by providing significantly reduced operating (HIS) of users, Iraq Telecommunication Post and Company
expenses and enhanced revenue opportunities for carriers. In (ITPC) has built the national project of FTTH network in
addition, a FTTH solution based on Wavelength Division Baghdad and takes advantage of the existing infrastructure
Multiplexing (WDM), or a λ - based structure, allows for resources of fiber optic networks such as the central offices,
additional flexibility and adaptability to support future PDN networks, etc. ITPC FTTH access network consists of
services [2]. FTTH network has very useful property it is the four layers as shown in Figure (1), these four layers are:
distributed architecture in manner of several varieties of 1. Application layer: it could be called service level
splitters located at different strategic places in the network [3]. since it represents providing services such as High Speed
For example, at the first power dividing point the optical Internet (HIS), Voice over IP (VoIP) and so on.
splitters might range in size from 1:8 to 1:2. Typical
secondary splitter sizes near the subscribers might range in 2. Core layer: it is the backbone of passive
size from 1:4 to 1:16. The main motivation for this distribution network (PDN), it contains core routers.
architecture is to minimize the amount of optical cable that is
needed for the distribution and drop fibers, which provides a

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 International Journal of Computer Applications (0975 – 8887)
Volume 72– No.12, June 2013

3. Convergence layer: consists of the following

components:
a. Provider Routers (P) Routers.
b. Provider Edge (PE) routers.
c. Broadband Remote Access Server (BRAS) it is double
up link to the Cisco PE Router and contains LAN interface
card, electrical interface card and optical interface card. It
supports the security filtering feature, the hardware based wire
speed NAT function and load balancing. The data flow comes
from OLT to the cisco PE Router to BRAS then to Passive
Distribution Network (PDN) as it is clear in Figure (2).
d. Authentication Server (AAA): consists of Data base (DB)
server to store user data including user name, user password
and user authentication information. It achieves the user Figure 3. FTTH Architecture
identities, control the user access to different services and The OLT is located at the local exchange and connects the
support roaming authentication and authorization in Point to access to the metro backbone. An ONT is used when the fiber
Point over Ethernet (PPoE) authentication process. extends into the customer premises, whereas an ONU is used
e. Element Management System (EMS) and Network when the fiber line terminates in some type of
Management System (NMS) and layer three switches: they telecommunication cabinet located near a cluster of homes or
can manage the network and data equipment of service layer, businesses. Connections from the ONU to the premises can be
core layer, convergence layer, access layer and terminal layer by means of media such as twisted-pair wires (e.g., telephone
in a centralized way. Also it provides centralized operation lines or digital subscriber links) or coaxial cable [7]. When an
and maintenance capabilities for all devices and network. ONU resides at the curb, the access system called Fiber To
Management server provides function as user management The Curb (FTTC), or it resides at the end user location the
accounting, web services, etc. system called Fiber To The Home (FTTH) or building, called
Fiber To The Building (FTTB). So, all fiber access systems
4. Access layer: consists of OLT, splitter and ONT. could be called FTTx. All these types of PON architecture is
This layer will be explained in more details than the other shown in Figure (4).
layers, since the part that has been implemented in Al-Gehad
FTTH network represents the access layer.

Figure 4. Fiber To The x (FTTx)

Figure 2. Data Flow

The simplest method of transmission is to use Time-Division

3. DESIGN OF Al-GEHAD FTTH Multiple Access (TDMA), wherein each user transmits
information within a specific assigned time slot at a
NETWORK prearranged data rate. A Wavelength Division Multiplexing
PON (WDM-PON) uses a passive WDM coupler as the
Passive Optical Network (PON)-based Fiber-To-The-Home remote terminal. Signals for different ONUs are carried on
(FTTH) is a solution that can break through the economic different wavelengths (1.3µm in downstream direction and
barrier of traditional point-to-point solutions. Figure (3) shows 1.5µm for upstream direction) and routed by the WDM
PON-based FTTH system architecture where a PON connects coupler to the proper ONU. Since each ONU only receives its
several Optical Network Terminations (ONTs) in customer own wavelength, WDM-PON has better privacy and better
premises and an Optical Subscriber Unit (OSU) to an Optical scalability [8].
Line Termination (OLT) in Central Office (CO) through a
passive optical splitter. PONs are usually based on a tree Because ATM cells from ONTs are combined into one cell
stream to the OSU after the optical splitter/coupler, there may
topology between the Optical Line Terminal (OLT) and the
be collision among upstream cells from different ONTs unless
Optical Network Units (ONUs).
there is a Media Access Control (MAC) protocol to

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 International Journal of Computer Applications (0975 – 8887)
Volume 72– No.12, June 2013

coordinate their transmission. So TDM-based MAC is used Layer 3 switches and then the routers to ITPC Passive
with a frame structure for collision-free upstream transmission Distribution Network (PDN) network. The length of feeder
on the PON. Note that in downstream transmission there is no cables is 243km and the length of distribution cables is
such a conflict. 405km, so the total fiber cables length will be 647km.
After studying and summarizing the varying building features
and application scenarios of the detail site survey, and based
3.1 Optical Distribution Network (ODN) on the requirement of IPTC, the design will be as follow:
For FTTH solution the access layer will provide OLT a. For general network topology, a ring topology is
equipment in exchange; all subscribers will be connected used to deploy the FTTH passive network, offer the protection
through Optical Distribution Network (ODN). The proposed to Optical Distribution Network (ODN).
connection will be from the OLT to access point Fiber Access
Terminal distribution box (FAT). b. There is 20% spare capacity in the feeder cables,
from the Central Office up to the Fiber Distribution Terminal
As it is obvious from Figure (5) the FTTH system comprises (FDT), to meet the future requirements.
the Optical Line Terminal (OLT) on the Central Office (CO),
the Optical Network Terminal (ONT) on the user side, and the c. Feeder section from CO to FDT, 144F optical cable
Optical Distribution Network (ODN). The FTTH construction will be proposed by ring topology and 2:4 first level splitter
features the PON technology, which provides point to point will be proposed in FDT cabinet.
and point to multi-point applications. ODN provides the d. Distribution section from FDT to Fiber Access
physical channels from OLT and ONT to communicate with Terminal (FAT) is 72F, 48F, 24F, and 12F optical cable will
each other. be proposed by star topology and 1:16 second level splitter
will be proposed in FAT, which is closure to wall mounted
FAT product to meet different requirement and scenarios.
Design and implementation Al-Gehad FTTH network will be
illustrate using the information that has been obtained from
ITPC. Figure (6) shows the network topology logical diagram
that will be used to implement Al-Gehad FTTH network. Two
topologies are used, ring topology for feeder cables that are
connect the Fiber Distribution Terminals (FDTs) to the
Central Office (CO) by first level splitting of 2:4, and star
topology to connect several numbers of Fiber Allocation
Terminal (FAT) to each FDT by second level splitting of
1:16.
OLT will be deployed in each central office and the quantity
will be calculated to satisfy the coverage capacity. Each OLT
will connect to the converged Layer 3 switches and then the
routers to ITPC PDN network. BRAS will be installed in the
core central offices. BRAS are full load configuration with the
Figure 5. OLT Connection from OLT to Terminal
Distribution Box processing capability of not less than 115,000 lines. In the
normal status, each BRAS just take the service traffic which
The Optical Distribution Network (ODN) can be divided into belong to the corresponding areas. When one is broken, the
four parts from the CO end to the user end: feeder cable other BRAS will take the whole service. AAA is the same
subsystem, distribution cable subsystem, drop cable with BRAS. EMS remote redundancy is ensuring the
subsystem and optical terminal subsystem. reliability.
The access network and related BRAS/AAA/EMS will
connect to ITPC Passive Distribution Network (PDN)
network and work as one part of ITPC national broadband 4. IMPLEMENTATION OF Al-GEHAD
network. In the central offices, the PDN network some is
ready, some is not ready. Even the PDN network is ready; it FTTH NETWORK
needs expansion for FTTH access network. In each central
office, two layer 3 switches (active/standby) aggregate the Optical distribution network is placed in Al-Gehad exchange.
Gigabit Ethernet Interface (GE) interfaces of OLT and ODN contain two components, the first one is fiber
connect to the two routers (active/standby) by 10GE distribution terminal (FDT) and the second one is fiber access
interfaces. In the core central office the PDN network also is terminal (FAT). Usually DFT called cabinet, its dimension is
responsible for the connection of BRAS/AAA. 60cm(width)*500cm(hight)*40cm(depth). It connected to
OLT in CO in ring topology from one side, and the other side
connects to the FAT in star topology.

3.2 Al-Gehad FTTH Network Topology The number of FDT can be calculated from the following
relation:
According to the information from ITPC, the FTTH network
in Al-Gehad is consists of two OLTs placed in Al-Gehad No. of FDT = No. of Fibers in Feeder Cable/8 (1)
exchange (CO) will be serve 6000 subscribers in total area of In Al-Gehad FTTH network the feeder cable of (144) fibers
about 32km2. It has been planned to use 6000 ONTs, one so, according to the relation above the number of FDT in Al-
ONT per subscriber. Each OLT will connect to the converged Gehad FTTH network is (16) FDT, and the number of Fiber

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 International Journal of Computer Applications (0975 – 8887)
Volume 72– No.12, June 2013

Access Terminal (FAT) is 8*4=32FAT/FDT. And each FAT

serves 16 subscribers. So, each FDT serves 32*16=512
subscribers/DFT, and we have 16 DFT, so the total number of
subscribers that can be served in Al Gehad FTTH network is
512*16=8192 subscribers.
Al-Gehad FTTH Optical Distribution Network (ODN)
consists of several components they will be illustrated and
explained briefly.

4.1Optical Network Terminal (ONT)

In Al-Gehad FTTH network there is one Optical Network
Figure 7. Al-Gehad FTTH Network OLT
Terminal (ONT) for each subscriber premise. This ONT with
4×10/100/1000 Base-T Ethernet Interfaces and 2×RJ-11 can
satisfy one single family enjoying Voice over IP (VoIP) and
High Speed Internet (HIS). Table (1) illustrates Al-Gehad Al Gehad FTTH network presents two types of services voice
FTTH network ONT specifications. (VoIP) and High Speed Internet (HSI). Last card in the OLT
contain these two services. In case of adding more services in
Table 1.Specifications of GPON ONT future, this card is changed according to the type of presented
services. The OLT specifications can be listed in Table (2).

Table 2. Specifications of GPON OLT

4.2Optical Line Terminal (OLT)

Optical Line Terminal (OLT), as the convergence point,
should have the high density, high capacity and high 4.3Al-Gehad Power Supply and Power
reliability. An OLT with two uplink cards connects with two
Layer 3 switches of ITPC PDN. The two cards work on Backup
active/standby mode for uplink protection. Each card has four Power backup solution with UPS in Al-Gehad FTTH network
Gigabit Ethernet (GE) optical interfaces of which two are as shown in Figure (8) guarantee the family voice and Internet
used and another two are for future expansion. The Layer3 service uninterruptable in 8 hours even without public power.
switches aggregate all the GE uplink interfaces from the same Also there are digital online double-conversion UPS with
OLT central office and connect with the upper router using three-phase input and three-phase output as shown in Figure
10GE interfaces. Al-Gehad FTTH network OLT can support (8). Adopting modular design and consisting of 10 kVA
4096 ONTs (i.e. subscribers) with the two level splitting first power units (PU).
level is 2:4 and the second level is 1:16. The two OLTs will
support 8192 ONTs. Figure (7) shows the OLT in Al-Gehad The rectifier shown in Figure (9) is a high frequency switch-
exchange. The total number of the possible serving mode indoor DC power system. It is designed with high
subscribers which is 8192 exceeds the required number of the reliability, high efficiency and good electromagnetic
existing subscribers which is 6000 subscribers; this is due to compatibility and easy to maintenance. The maximum
the possibility of future growth in the network. configured capacity is 600A with twelve 50A-rectifier
modules. It is designed for indoor middle capacity situations.

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 International Journal of Computer Applications (0975 – 8887)
Volume 72– No.12, June 2013

and plenum applications. The fibers are double buffered and

can be directly terminated, but because their fibers are not
individually reinforced, these cables need to be broken out
with a "breakout box" or terminated inside a patch panel or
junction box. Three types of distribution fiber cable is used in
Al Gehad FTTH network 48F, 24F, and 12F. They are
intermediate link connecting the feeder cable subsystem and
the drop cable subsystem. It had better adopt the tree structure
with the optical fiber quantities to save the engineering
investment.
AutoCAD map of Al Gehad FTTH network is obtained from
ITPC. Figure (10) shows part of the whole optical distribution
cables map of Al-Gehad FTTH network pointed on it the
Figure 8. Al-Gehad UPS System whole area which will be covered by FTTH network starting
from Al-Gehad exchange and extended to cover three
quarters they are 887, 889, and 891. Feeder cables, with
yellow color, extended from the exchange to Fiber
Distribution Terminal (FDT) cabinet, and distribution cables,
with green color, are extended from Fiber Allocation
Terminal (FAT) to the user terminal.
Length of each piece of feeder cables and distribution cables
are mentioned, as well as the distance between two manholes,
distance between FAT and manhole and the distance between
two FATs. Planner called manhole loop, it is used to change
the direction of feeder fiber cable, and since fiber cable cannot
bend.
Each Fiber Distribution Terminal (FDT) or splitter has a
number written as FDT-4 or FDT-6 and so on, and each FAT
associated with a specific FDT has a number included its
number and the number of DFT, for example, F-14/3 number
14 points to FAT number associated with FDT number 3.
Beside the number of each FAT there is a number of serving
users, for example U14 this mean that there are 14 serving
users by this FAT.
Figure 9. Al-Gehad TP48300B Rectifier

4.4Fiber Optic Cable Implementation 5.CONCLUSION

Fiber optic cable refers to the complete assembly of fibers, The proposed model of FTTH access network based on
strength members and jacket. Fiber optic cables come in lots GPON architecture is introduced. We have found that the
of different types, depending on the number of fibers and how FTTH networks have now established their economic
and where it will be installed. Choose cable carefully as the competitiveness by providing significantly reduced operating
choice will affect how easy it is to install, splice or terminate expenses and enhanced revenue opportunities for carriers. In
and, most important, what it will cost. In Al Gehad FTTH addition, a FTTH solution based on Wavelength Division
network two types of single mode fiber optic cable are used: Multiplexing (WDM), or a λ - based structure, allows for
a. Feeder cables of type 144F: this cable offers the additional flexibility and adaptability to support future
highest packing density, since all the fibers are laid out in services. The main motivation for the distribution architecture
rows, typically of 12 fibers, and laid on top of each other. is to minimize the amount of optical cable that is needed for
These way 144 fibers only have a cross section of about 1/4 the distribution and drop fibers, which provides a low initial
inch or 6 mm. Some cable designs use a "slotted core" with up cost of the outside cable plant when implementing a FTTH
to 6 of these 144 fiber ribbon assemblies for 864 fibers in one network.
cable. Since its Outside Plant Cable (OPC), it's gel-filled for
water blocking. It is the most important subsystem in the 6.ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
ODN. It uses ring structure. This subsystem is convenient for The authors would like to acknowledge the support to this
expansion of the coverage area on basis of the ensured work by the Iraq Telecommunication and Post Company
network security. (ITPC).
b. Distribution cables: they contain several tight-
buffered fibers bundled under the same jacket. These cables
are small in size, and used for short, dry conduit runs, riser

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 International Journal of Computer Applications (0975 – 8887)
Volume 72– No.12, June 2013

Figure 1. ITPC FTTH Access Network Architecture

Figure 10. Distribution Cable Routing

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 International Journal of Computer Applications (0975 – 8887)
Volume 72– No.12, June 2013

7.REFERENCES [5] Onn Haran, Fellow and Amir Sheffer,"The importance of

Dynamic Bandwidth Allocation in GPON networks",
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Ltd., 2006. [6] Björn Skubic, Jiajia Chen, Jawwad Ahmed and
Biswanath Mukherjee," A Comparison of Dynamic
[2] Cedric F. Lam,"passive optical networks: principles and Bandwidth Allocation for EPON, GPON and Next-
practice", Elsevier Inc. 2007. Generation TDM PON", IEEE Communications
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[3] P. Ossieur, X. Z. Qnetiu, J. Bauwelinck, D. Verhulst, Y.
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Passive Optical Network”,Proceedings of International Ismail," Simulation of 1.25Gb/s Downstream
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[4] Chinlon Lin, editor, "Broadband – Optical Access [8] Cisco systems, " The Exabyte Era",2007.
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