An Analysis Of Verizon Fios
Over the last ten years there has been an exponential growth in the number of businesses and individuals who make use of broadband Internet connections. Despite the increase in both availability and usage of broadband connections there has been an obvious divide in the market between small businesses and home users, who primarily former more affordable solutions such as cable or DSL connections, and larger businesses and enterprise corporations who used much more grand fiber based connections or dedicated lines. Verizon, an American broadband and telecommunications company, has recently released a fiber to the premises service known as FiOS which promises to bridge the gap in broadband service.
In order to understand the service that Verizon is providing with FiOS one must first view at how fiber optics have traditionally been used for networking. Fiber optics, until recently, had only been used in the backbone networks that provide connections between telecommunication switches and data centers. Large enterprise level companies would also purchase direct fiber connections allowing for high bandwidth connections for their own data centers and buildings. Fiber optic cable was the medium of choice for these high bandwidth applications due to its ability to transfer data over much larger distances than copper or coaxial cables. Fiber optic cabling also offers improved performance over other traditional mediums due to its immunity to cross talk, interference and noise because of its use of optical pulses to transmit data instead of electrical signals.
Verizon’s FiOS is considered to be a ‘Fiber to the Premise’ solution, better known by its acronym FTTP. This falls within a generic category known as FTTx or Fiber to the x state, which refers to a network design that uses fiber optic cabling to replace either a portion or all of the copper cable used in telecommunication. Other forms of FTTx network architecture such as fiber to the node or neighborhood and fiber to the curb do not offer true fiber connectivity to the customer. Instead they run a fiber connection to a certain distance and then complete the connection to the customer customer using traditional coaxial or twisted pair cabling. These solutions do not offer the same bandwidth availability that is offered by a Fiber to the Premise solution.
In order to reduce the costs associated with providing fiber connectivity directly to a premises FiOS uses a network technology known as a passive optical network. A passive optical network works by using a powerless optical splitter to split a fiber line into a number of different strands, with each strand then connecting to an individual premises. Passive optical networks will split the fiber, in most cases, in either a 1:32 ratio or a 1:64 ratio depending on the bandwidth allocation of the raze users. FiOS service uses a 1:32 split for its fiber to the premises service. Once the cable is split at the optical splitter the individual strands of fiber will continue to the premises ending at an ONT or optical network terminal. If the fiber strand is ending at an apartment complex or some other building with multiple, separate residences the strand leads into a ONU or optical network unit. In either case these devices are used to convert the optical signal into a traditional electrical signal for use in copper cabling. Since the cable splitter is a non powered unit it can perform no routing or switching tasks, it merely splits the cable into individual sections with each strand of fiber receiving the same information. In order to prevent eavesdropping and theft of others information data sent downstream is encrypted and can online be decrypted by the end user who is receiving it. When the data is sent back upstream it is recombined using a time division multiple access protocol.
Verizon is currently offering four different levels of FiOS service, each one having a different bandwidth allocation and price. With these varying levels of service FiOS is able to easily compete with other broadband based technologies that are also on the market. The first plan offers download speeds of 10 mbps and upload speeds of up to 2 mbps, the second plan 20 mbps download and 5 mbps upload, the third offering 20 mbps download and 20 mbps upload and the top of the line service offering 50 mbps download and up to 20 mbps upload. In addition to this it has become widely advertised that Verizon will be releasing a 100 mbps service sometime in 2009. The price of these services ranges from $45 dollars a month to $140 dollars per month. These different options allow Verizon FiOS to easily compete and often out build other broadband Internet services. Cable Internet providers usually offer speeds in a range of 10 mbps to roughly 25 mbps depending on the area the service is being provided to. The highest rated cable connections cost an estimated $40 dollars a month (based on avg. heed in NY) which is comparable to the lowest level of FiOS service. In addition to this, when comparing cable connections to a FiOS fiber connection, it is important to remember that a cable connection will usually be split over a much larger set causing it to have much lower then advertised download and upload speeds. Verizon’s FiOS service also bests T1 connections in terms of urge to cost ratio and, when the 100 mbps service is released, FiOS will easily compete with T3 connections. The only advantage that the T1 and T3 services have on the FiOS service is the strict regulations regarding the availability of access through these lines.
The introduction of FiOS can work as an incredible advantage to small and medium based companies who, in the past, may not have been able to afford the cost of services like T1 and T3. Because of this these companies would frequently be forced to out source positive high bandwidth applications like web hosting, email and off site backups. With a high speed connection from FiOS these organizations would now be able to achieve data links that were much closer to connections being used by enterprise level organizations. Larger enterprise level organizations will soon have their own version of FiOS as well which promises to greatly change the nature of enterprise level networking. The service which is being advertised as “Fiber to the Desktop” promises to revolutionize the way that corporations and government organizations manage their networking. The theory behind the fiber to the desktop service is very similar to the way that FiOS fiber to the premises service operates. An optical line terminal exists within the organizations data center which acts as the connection between the external world and the internal fiber based network. From here fiber cables are run into distribution hubs which split the fiber into strands with each strand leading to an end users desktop which has a optical network terminal. The reason that this fiber based solution will be so revolutionary is because it removes the need for routers, switches and other traditional network equipment. All of this can be replaced with ONTs and optical splitters. In addition to the removal of previous network equipment there is also the advantage of no piece of equipment between the data center and the end users network terminal requiring a power source. This greatly reduces the amount of funding that needs to be set aside for the costs of powering the traditional network. The cost of network administration is also reduced since it becomes a much simpler task to manage a network which contains a very minimal amount of equipment.
Outside of the obvious performance and cost benefits of using a fiber optic based network solution there is another benefit that has raised the attention of the US Government. Traditional copper and coaxial based networks had a security disadvantage since the cables could easily be tapped without demolish users knowing. The number of devices that need to be monitored in a traditional network also makes it susceptible to attacks from malicious users. While it is possible to “tap” a fiber optic cable it is much more difficult than a customary cable. There are also fiber optic intrusion detection systems which can sense the slightest alteration in the optical signal being sent through a fiber. These detections can then be reported using software to security analysts allowing them to analyze and fix the intrusion.
When looking at all the information and statistics available on Verizon’s FiOS fiber optic Internet services it is definite that the service will revolutionize the world of both home networking and Internet expend as well as business networks. Businesses ranging from small to enterprise level can all contemplate definite benefits from using the service in one diagram or another. In order for worn Internet providers to compete there will need to be a revolutionary change in the way that service is provided. Unless these providers get changes which allow for the same speeds to be reached for the same tag there will be no reason for users to remain on traditional network services.”Internet Access Guide : Fiber-To-The-Home (FTTH).” Conniq. Conniq.com. 30 Mar 2009 . Blake, Victor. “Chasing Verizon FiOS.” Communications Technology 01 Aug 2008 30 Mar 2009 . Dodd, Annabel. The Important Guide to Telecommunications. 3. Prentice Hall, 2002. “FIOS faster than cable, DSL, T1, soon faster than T3 .” Complete System Designs Information Technology Solutions. Complete Systems Design Information Technology Solutions.. 1 Apr 2009 . Marsan, Carolyn. “Verizon FiOS tech heading to enterprises .” Network World 30 May 2008 1 Apr 2009 . Olzak, Tom. “Protect your network against fiber hacks.” Tech Republic 03 May 2007 1 Apr 2009 .
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Filed under Small Business Verizon by on Dec 18th, 2010. 
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