Impact of strategic decisions on the planning of FTTx-Networks: A case study

We present research results achieved in the framework of FTTX-PLAN, a project partially funded by the German Federal Ministry for Education and Research. The goal of this project is to develop tools and methods that support the automated planning and optimization of FFTx networks. Such methods enable to optimize the network infrastructure with regard to capital expenditure (CAPEX) by selecting the optimal locations for central offices, fiber collects, distribution points as well as trails between them. These methods can also provide useful insights to help taking strategic decisions such as the choice of technology, optimal penetration rate or consideration of upgradability scenarios before the actual planning process takes place. In this paper we first give an overview of the methods developed in FTTX-PLAN and briefly present how they can be used for the planning and optimization of FTTx networks. We then review the different strategic decisions in FTTx planning and illustrate their impact by means of a use case of the roll-out of FTTx networks in urban or rural areas.