Fibre optics 2:1doc.mediaplanet.com/all_projects/2380.pdftelecommunications services (i.e. between “tele-phone exchanges”). From the exchange to our businesses and homes, optical

JULY 3 2008OPTICAL FIBRE

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Communication technology for modern business

CONTENTSDevelopment of optical fibre 4Communication 6-7Transmitting data 8-9Dark fibre 10-11How to secure are opticalfibre networks? 12-13The future of optical fibre 14

OPTICAL FIBRE A TITLE FROM MEDIAPLANET

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IntroductionOPTICAL FIBRE

How does optical fibre work? It is just over forty years since the concept oftransmission of data using optical fibre was firstintroduced. Today, the world of telecommuni-cations is built on optical fibre - and without it,the communications that we depend upon, bothin our businesses and our homes, on an almostcontinuous basis would simply fail to operate.Optical fibre transmission is the primary cablemedium in the core network of our long haultelecommunications services (i.e. between “tele-phone exchanges”).

From the exchange to our businesses andhomes, optical fibre is less prevalent but withinour businesses the critical backbone communi-cations between floors and in data centres,optical fibre once more takes the lead. Opticalfibre within the home is generally limited to thelinks between our audio-video componentsbut as home networking increases the use ofthe optical medium may also begin to rise. Inaddition to the obvious telecommunicationapplications, optical fibre is also used in a vari-ety of command and control systems rangingfrom our vehicles, industrial controls, battle-field communications and avionics.

Optical fibre is manufactured from a varietyof dielectric (non-electrically conducting)materials and comprises a core material and acladding material of a cylindrical construction.Light launched into the core is trapped by thecladding layer and signal transmission alongthe optical fibre is achieved by varying thelaunched light level and detecting those varia-tions at the other end. The use of light as thesignalling system, rather than electrical currentwhich is subject to a complex range of frequen-cy dependencies, contributes to the first ofthree principal advantages associated withoptical fibre - high bandwidth - meaning thetransmission of high frequency (data rate) sig-nals with minimal distortion.

As the light passes along the core, it under-goes a process called “total internal reflection” -making each reflection from the cladding backinto the core essentially lossless. This producesthe second main advantage of optical fibre -low attenuation (signal loss) - allowing signalsto be transmitted over extended distances.

The third and final key advantage is that thetransmission is totally contained within theoptical fibre. The signal does not radiate fromthe optical fibre. Neither is it affected by exter-nal electromagnetic effects - including the sig-nalling within adjacent optical fibres. Thisallows a wide variety of cable constructions tobe created to suit particular environments -where the cable is constructed simply to protectthe optical fibre.

As with all established technologies the suc-cess of optical fibre in each of its domains relieson different combinations of those advantages.

In long-haul telecommunications the threeprincipal advantages work in combination toproduce small cables containing hundreds (andeven thousands of optical fibres) with eachoptical fibre capable of supporting hundreds ofgigabits per second over tens of kilometreswithout the need for signal repeaters or regen-erators. Similar optical fibres are used in enter-prise communication networks to provide upto 10 Gb/s over distances of up to 10000 metres.

While most long-haul cables are installed inducts where cable diameters are critical, theenterprise application requires cables to bemore flexible to allow their installation in avariety of situations. Nevertheless, in-buildingoptical fibre cables still provide users with up to90 per cent saving in size and weight as com-pared to their copper counterparts - this is aparticularly important factor in high-densitycabling environments such as data centres,resulting in reduction of many tonnes in infra-structure loading.

The size and weight advantages of opticalfibre cables coupled with their immunity toelectromagnetic interference has led to theiruse in both commercial and military vehiclesincluding avionics. The immunity perform-

ance in areas of excessive electrical noise hasalso led to their use in industrial premises forprocess monitoring, control and automationapplications - it has even led to their use indomestic situations to connect the audio-visualentertainment products in our homes.

The fact that optical fibres do not radiate thetransmitted signals has led to their use in securecommunications of all types - be it battlefieldcommunications or peacetime surveillancesystems. Another consequence of the use oflight rather than electrical current as a sig-nalling system is that short circuits cannotoccur rendering optical fibre suitable in areassubject to explosion hazard.

Of course there is a downside to all tech-nologies and the cost of converting electricalsignals into light and vice versa has to be con-sidered when balancing the advantages offeredby optical fibre with the overall system cost.This has led to development, over the past fortyyears, of a number of different types of opticalfibre - each potentially more suited to a specificapplication and with an eye on overall cost.For example the optical fibre that we use toconnect the CD/DVD players in our homes arenot the same as those used for long-haul com-munications.

However, as the services we rely on fordaily life demand an exponential growthin data rates, optical fibre takes on anincreasingly prominent role and the costequations show optical fibre to be onlyeffective distribution system in an increas-ing number of areas.

BY MIKE GILMORE, FIA TECHNICAL DIRECTOR


The Fibrespeed Project started latein 2007, is a £30m investmentwhich aims to provide a fibre-net-work in North Wales, linking 14business parks in the region withhigh-speed broadband services. Theintention and belief is that by pro-viding high-speed, high qualitybroadband access to North Walesand reducing prices to those a levelnearer to the competitive ratescharged in London and the SouthEast, a stimulus will be provided toeconomic development in theregion.

You would expect a politicianto talk up a project like this, butDeputy First Minister of the WelshAssembly Ieuan Wyn Jones wasclearly taking no prisoners, whenhe announced the project in thefollowing terms: “An advanced

telecommunications infrastruc-ture is absolutely vital to the kindof economic development wewant to achieve in Wales. Fibre-Speed is a major step in the cre-ation of an infrastructure, whichwill give a whole range of Welshcompanies and organisations astandard of communicationsservices easily equal to the best inBritain. It is part of a processwhich will facilitate the long-termtransformation of our economy.”

The view from the WelshAssembly is that Fibrespeed, byproviding an alternative networkstructure which can be used byother network operators, will helpto stimulate more private invest-ment in the region from thosepreviously discouraged by thehigh costs and difficulty of

accessing the market. The projectis also expected to allow retailservice providers to offer broad-band products and services atmore competitive prices. In thelong term, the ambition is bold:Fibrespeed, the Welsh Assemblysays, will have a “transformation-al impact on Wales”. And thatvision is ambitious, involving thedevelopment of an ICT industry,increased foreign direct invest-ment, increased productivity, amdnumerous other economic good-ies. The Welsh Assembly esti-mates that increased investmentand increased productivity alonewill be worth up to £29m a yearto the Welsh economy.

It’s certainly an attractivevision; rural North Wales trans-formed into a thriving digital

economy of wired knowledgeworkers, but will it work? Well,the Welsh Assembly is in this forthe long term; the contract withGeo, who will provide the infra-structure, is for fifteen years. Andthis is the first Government sup-ported network to be delivered inthe UK, so there will be manyinterested spectators from busi-ness and politics keeping a watch-ful eye on things.

One organisation with aninterest in this type of project isthe Broadband StakeholderGroup. The BSG has recentlypublished a study on so-callednext generation broadband; aterm applied to broadband tech-nologies, including optical fibre,with a considerably improvedreliability and consistency ofupload and download speed.

In broad terms the study con-curs that development of nextgeneration broadband technolo-gies is likely to be of significantvalue. But as the report takes greatcare to point out, it is very hard topredict the exact scale or timingof rewards to investment of thissort. Economists, historians, andsociologists will undoubtedlycontinue to argue about thecausative factors responsible foreconomic success.

In the short term though,investment in optical fibre willincur significant costs and it may

Regeneration on the road tothe information highway

Development of optical fibreOPTICAL FIBRE

Can investment in a high tech infrastructure turn around failing economies regions and help avoida digital divide in the UK’s regions? It’s not an easy question, but one answer is that it all dependson who you ask. But that said, they certainly seem to like the idea in North Wales.

well be one of those areas where itcan be risky to get too far ahead ofthe game. Having said that, thereport also points out that therecould be significant costsinvolved in delaying deploymentby between five and ten years;that route carries the risk of beingleft behind.

Kip Meek, Chair of the BSG,says that we are still very much inthe early days with fibre and thereis uncertainty. It isn’t clear howquickly the enormous capabilityoffered by fibre will be taken upby users. We are in the position ofhaving a powerful technology,but nothing much to use it with;rather like having a network ofbig, wide motorways, in a societywhich only has bicycles. And thatof course constitutes risk in busi-ness terms, so it is hardly surpris-ing that those considering invest-ing in fibre are cautious. But Meekis optimistic; given the the waybandwidth use has increased he isconfident that we will find waysof utilising all the space whichnext generation technology willopen up.

In that case, it seems reason-able to conclude that the potentialof fibre networks to regenerateseems to be more a case of ‘when’rather than ‘if’. Fibrespeed lookslike the sort of daring pilotschemes that we can all learn andtake inspiration from.

BY DAVID ABBOTT


connected to them rather thanany inherent limitations withinthe optical fibre itself. However,the core diameters of singlemodeoptical fibres are of the order of9-10 microns (one micron beingone thousandth of a millimetre)and launching light effectivelyinto such as small area is anexpensive business requiring theuse of semiconductor lasers.This, of course, is not a big issuewhen the ends of your opticalfibre are in different towns sepa-rated by many kilometres but forconnections within a buildingthe equipment cost for single-mode transmission has, in thepast, been unsupportable.

Early enterprise telecommuni-cations networks such as 10 and100 Mb/s Ethernet specified theuse of two multimode all-silicaoptical fibres (one transmit, one

receive) with either 50 or 62,5micron core diameters – termed50/125 and 62.5/125 respective-ly. These larger core diametersallowed the use of cheaper LEDlight sources and also allowedtransmission distances of up to2000 metres - more than enoughfor most business premises.

However, Ethernet data ratescontinued to increase by factorsof ten and LEDS were found to beincapable of switching speedsnecessary for the next generationof applications. The advent of 1Gb/s Ethernet not only launchedthe VCSEL (vertical cavity sur-face emitting laser) source as akey component for future enter-prise networks but also identifiedthe bandwidth limitations ofmultimode technology.

It had always been known thatmultimode optical fibres with

small core diameters offeredhigher useable bandwidths but 1Gb/s Ethernet was the first main-stream solution to show the fail-ings of the 62,5/125 products.When 10 Gb/s Ethernet wasdeveloped it was found that eventhe basic bandwidth perform-ance of 50/125 products wasinsufficient for useable transmis-sion distances and that newbandwidth enhancements werenecessary. The publication byIEEE of the 1 and 10 Gb/s Ether-net standards forced the devel-opment of a category system inEurope for optical fibre cables,similar to that for copper cabling.In 2002 the standards for Cate-gory OM1, OM2 and OM3 opticalfibre cables were published andwere reflected in other standardsat international level and theUnited States.

Category OM3 cables, using50/125 optical fibre only, werethe only multimode solutions tosupport 10 Gb/s Ethernet overdistances in excess of 300 metres- necessary for data centres andbackbone links in larger build-ings. Meanwhile singlemodeoptical fibre cables provided thesame networks over distances ofup to 40 kilometres.

The demand for such highdata rates within the enterpriseinfrastructure lies in the movetowards real-time services suchas voice over Internet Protocol(VoIP) and video conferencing.When installed over data net-works like Ethernet that onlyprovide a share of a given datathroughput (and then re-trans-mit failed data), any failure inreal-time applications will showup in dramatic fashion and thenatural reaction is to installhigher speed networks to pro-vide such service with adequateresource. High speed back-bones are therefore a logicalextension of any networkingdecision to support desk-topapplications.

“High speedbackbones are

therefore a logicalextension of any

networkingdecision to

support desk-topapplications”Currently, a typical entry-level

infrastructure design for an IT-dependent client is based uponCategory 5:2002 twisted paircabling (or the equivalent Cate-gory 5e in the United States) “to-the-desk” cabling on each floorwith a backbone infrastructure ofOM3 and, in some more enlight-ened instances, singlemode opti-cal fibre cable. The backboneinfrastructure provides the band-width to support the implemen-tation of 10 Gb/s networks nec-essary to interconnect the indi-vidual floors, which in turnallows the delivery of 1 Gb/s Eth-ernet to the desk.

Optical fibre and communication CommunicationOPTICAL FIBRE

Optical fibres are constructedfrom a range of dielectric materi-als ranging from all-plastic(POF), plastic clad silica and all-silica. POF and plastic clad silicaoptical fibres have been, andcontinue to be, used to goodeffect in industrial and automo-tive applications.

However, long-haul andenterprise telecommunicationsnetworks restrict themselves tothe use of all-silica optical fibresas these exhibit the highestbandwidth performance and are,naturally enough, heavily stan-dardised at international level.All-silica optical fibres are divid-ed into two principal groupings -singlemode and multimode. Sin-glemode optical fibres have thehighest possible bandwidths andtheir transmission capacity isreally defined by the equipment


Can optical fibre provide arealistic solution to thedesk? It can, and for some it alreadydoes, but the use of twisted paircabling to provide power todesk-top devices has given cop-per technology a further mid-lifeboost that optical fibre cannotmatch.

A question that is often askedis whether such a design willcontinue to be appropriate asever-faster networks continue tobe developed. Earlier this year,the IEEE decided to develop“Higher Speed Ethernet” in twodata rate variants - 40 Gb/s and100 Gb/s. Once again these are

targeted at backbone infrastruc-tures and data centre infrastruc-tures and for the first time thebandwidth of a pair of OM3 opti-cal fibres will be insufficient tosupport either network over use-able distance. Instead parallelOM3 optics will be applied todeliver these networks – eight (4x 2) optical fibres being requiredfor 40 Gb/s Ethernet and twenty(10 x 2) needed for 100 Gb/s Eth-ernet. The full implications ofsuch a fundamental change inapproach are yet to be to bedetermined but it may be that ashift in product choice andinstallation practice is justaround the corner.

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Communication OPTICAL FIBRE


That’s not to say that it’s all usefulinformation, but as the growingcatalogue of government IT errorsjust goes to show, information isincreasingly dominating our lives.

This is no less true in businessand in a service based knowledgeeconomy, shunting large quanti-ties of information around is anincreasingly critical aspect of theactivities of many businesses.Failure of computer and informa-

tion systems can have disastrousconsequences. With the hugeincrease in the quantities of datawhich businesses and other userswant to send through their servershas come the demand for the abil-ity to send more data, morespeedily. One of the best ways ofovercoming these capacity prob-lems for the biggest networks isby using optical fibre technology.

Chris Smedley, Chief Executive

of Geo, a major provider ofbespoke fibre optic network solu-tions, explains that optical fibretechnology allows much greaterquantities of data to be transmit-ted quickly and efficiently thanwas possible using metallic cable.Geo’s two networks, built by Lat-tice plc and laid between 2001-2,are the newest in the UK and with144 fibres in 8 ducts, there is a lotof capacity there.

Chris Smedley says a lot ofthe demand for optical fibrenetworks has come from thefinancial services sector, alongwith the media sector. AsSmedley points out, the finan-cial sector has deep pockets,but they also have the need fora robust and resilient means ofsecure data transfer. With theoutsourcing of data manage-ment from city offices, the need

for the ability to access infor-mation with ease has meantthat high quality optical fibrehas quickly become the onlytechnology capable of deliver-ing the goods, so to speak.There is no way that a compet-ing technology is going tocome along and beat opticalfibre, says Smedley. But gettinginvolved with new technolo-gies brings businesses face toface with a wide range of addi-tional challenges. If they are toget the best from the technolo-gy businesses need to plan andmanage their use of opticaldata networks carefully.

Smedley says that as far as pro-curement goes, there are twomain issues that ought to be con-sidered by any company thinkingof getting hooked up to a net-work. Firstly it’s important to

select the right network for a spe-cific purpose. Geo for example, donot just provide a standard pack-age, but buy equipment from arange of top firms, dependent onthe client’s needs. One size doesnot fit all, says Smedley. But thereare several elements to ensuringthat a business gets a networkwhich is fit for purpose. You needto ensure, says Smedley, that youwill be able to control the networkas it grows; that you won’t getsidelined. Since no network willstand still, make sure that the net-work and your provider will be

Too much information We were promised the paperless office some time ago and while we haven’t got there yet, one thingis certain; as a society we are using and producing more information than ever before.

Transmitting dataOPTICAL FIBRE

“If they areto get the best

from thetechnologybusinesses

need to planand managetheir use ofoptical data

networkscarefully”

BY DAVID ABBOTT

able to grow with your companyand adapt to changing needs;whether that be more capacity orsome other matter.

Secondly companies do needto take some care to ensure thatthe physical asset is of sufficientquality; most will want high qual-ity optical fibre and will want tobe assured that it will be located ina secure environment. Thatmeans you need to be bullish andfind out how often service hasbeen disrupted. If a networkprovider’s cables are underneaththe pavement nestling alongsidethe gas and electricity cables youwill want some reassurance thaterrant gas or electricity boardtechnicians are not prone to cut-ting through your topic qualityfibre on a regular basis, some-thing which is not unheard of inmetropolitan areas.

The Geo. Metro network forexample runs through the Londonsewers, which doesn’t soundpleasant, but it has the greatadvantage that the fibre cables areunlikely to be disturbed and serv-ice disrupted. A loop networkmeans that data can travel in bothdirections and means that if oneside of the loop goes down datatransmission is not disrupted. It’sadd-ons like these which makethe difference between a top qual-ity network and one which is justaverage.

Finally says Smedley, you doneed to check that the company hasa genuine service culture. Manag-ing technology is bound to involvesnags and as a network is dynamicyou need to have access to trou-bleshoot and maximise perform-ance in a changing environment.On this note it’s worth checking out

the provider’s approach to changeand assess whether they seem like abusiness which can deal withchanging demands on your part.

Once a client is networkedthough, the provider needs to focuson managing in a way that matchesthe varied needs of clients; manybusinesses have excellent technicalteams and their requirements foradvice are minimal. But saysSmedley, a close relationship withthe provider is still vital if you are tomaximise the performance of thenetwork.

Smedley thinks that theindustry is at a key point in its’evolution now, as more bigbusinesses are building largedata networks and are reachingthe stage that rather than sim-ply buy a service from a spe-cialist provider, they want togain control of access to the

underlying infrastructure. “It’slike a fractional ownershipscheme of a telecom system,”says Smedley. For the networkprovider, it’s a bit like an ultramodern version of being a landowner. Businesses are startingto see the benefits of leasing achunk of network, givingthemselves the benefits of own-ership, but without the hugecosts of development.

Geo take the view that it’s usefulto distinguish between infrastruc-ture and transmission equipment indata networks. Businesses maywant to in effect have ownershipand control of their own network,but the transmission equipment is adifferent matter; here businessesmay prefer a more short-termarrangement. It’s just one model forconnecting businesses, but theycould be right.


Transmitting data OPTICAL FIBRE

“Since nonetwork willstand still,

make sure thatthe network

and yourprovider will be

able to growwith your

company andadapt tochangingneeds”


Dark fibre is, in simple technicalterms, an optical fibre infrastructurewhich has been installed but whichis not being used. There is no lightbeing transmitted, and therefore nosignal is being carried – dark fibrecan also be described as being“unlit” and hence where the namecomes from.

Dark fibre was very big prior tothe dot com bust. There weresomething like 29 carriers, mainlystart-ups, building pan-Europeandark fibre networks. These weremostly targeted at meeting theneeds of other telcos, ISPs andmanaged service providers. Thecosts often ran into the hundreds

of millions of pounds, particularlyas local councils and govern-ments realised there was moneyto be charged for digging up thestreets. Of those 29, many soughtsome form of bankruptcy protec-tion after the dot com crash.

Fast forward to today, and anumber of those original 29 are stillaround, either restructured, consoli-dated or otherwise reinvented. Theyhave also been joined by a numberof new entrants to the market. And,if not the champagne days of thedot com world, they are seeingsome strong demand drivers.

Clearly, with internet trafficgrowing by something like 60 per

These new builders and opera-tors of dark fibre are able to not justbuild to meet the growing telecomnetworking requirements of smallercities and towns, but also meet theneeds of business park and datacentres. These users require highbandwidth, and are clearly oftennot found in the middle of largecities.

Data centres, where computingservers and infrastructure arehoused, are a particular focus forsome of the dark fibre operators.They can benefit from the factthat the larger operators are oftenunwilling to build out their net-works, particularly until there is

absolutely proven demand. Newdata centres, keen to take advan-tage of strong physical security,high power availability andaccess to renewable energy, arebeing planned and built in loca-tions such as Lockerbie, Newportand Ely.

Research from BroadGroupshows the pressing needs forsuch data centres, and theaccompanying dark fibre andtelecoms connectivity.

How users can maximisevalue of dark fibre?The target market for dark fibreowners and operators has tradition-

What is dark fibre?Dark fibreOPTICAL FIBRE

Dark fibre, even for those within the industry, has always hadsomething of an air of mystery about it. There have been con-cerns that it is somehow illegal, particularly as the largest tele-com operators have often refused to provide it, particularlybecause they want to offer higher-value, managed services.

▲ Data centres owned by UK banks

cent a year, and the BBC iPlayeralready accounting for nearly fiveper cent of UK Internet traffic, thebasic demands for telecoms net-works are out there. More interest-ingly, a lot of the fibre is in the‘wrong place’. Many of those origi-nal 29, built networks to the sameplaces; the London – Paris – Milan– Munich and so on topology.Maybe a Manchester or Birming-ham was included, but certainly nota Sheffield or Bath. Equally, EasternEurope was very much neglected.Some of the dark fibre built tenyears ago is also struggling to beusable, shorn of investment for sucha long period.

BY STEVE WALLAGE, BROAD GROUP

“Dark fibre canprovide multipleunits of capacity

for academicinstitutions whichcan then be sold to

users at a fixedprice”

ally been the telecoms companies,ISPs and managed serviceproviders. Mobile operators andalternative telecoms companieshave also become opportunitiesmore recently. However, a realopportunity is with large enterpris-es. Such enterprises have, untilrecently, been rather wary of darkfibre. They were not always awareof the service and were often soldmore expensive, managed servicesby other telecoms companies.Equally, they had concerns aroundissues varying from cost to avail-ability to management to reliability.These issues are now changing.

CostThe equipment used to lightand manage dark fibre hasdecreased substantially inrecent years. The cost of build-ing out dark fibre has alsocome down, although around50 per cent of this cost is thecivil engineering associatedwith physically laying and pro-tecting the fibre.

AvailabilityThe emergence of new playersin niche markets providingdark fibre infrastructure in anumber of countries and who

are now marketing dark fibreconnections, managementservices and a conventionalrental agreement. Theincreased focus on this markethas allowed such companies toincrease their marketing andvisibility.

There has also been a partic-ular focus on ‘metro networks’increasing the dark fibre in andaround urban areas.

TechnologyDevelopments in optical network-ing are increasing speeds andreducing costs, with the industryreadying itself for the next technol-

ogy wave which will offer speeds of2.5 times existing networks, follow-ing on from the 4 times increase ofthe previous generation.

New marketsTwo particular new markets are theacademic and council/public sectormarkets.

Each European country has itsown National Research EducationalNetworks, linked together acrossEurope in the Geant2 network.There is substantial investment bythe established NREN’s in Europe indark fibre capacity purchase withthis market set to increase dramati-cally. As capacity usage increaseson the NREN network it becomesmore attractive to obtain dark fibre.Dark fibre can provide multipleunits of capacity for academic insti-tutions which can then be sold tousers at a fixed price.

And what is behind suchincreases in capacity? A key user ofthe Geant2 network is CERN inSwitzerland, which is investigatingsuch fascinating and highly com-pute intensive issues such as whathappened at the Big Bang and thetruth around dark matter.

Other areas include medical

and pharmaceutical research.European academic institutionsare collaborating together toshare such data, using dark fibreas the conduit to transmit vastamounts of information. Suchresearch has, as its ambitions,such aims as developing cures forcancer and malaria.

From the council and publicsector side, a particular oppor-tunity is Community Fibre. Thiscan be defined as a self-builtdark fibre system bought by thecouncil – or a consortium ofcouncils. The key idea is thatsuch a large amount of tele-coms connectivity will encour-age investment and bring newjobs and opportunities to thatlocation.

Enterprising UK councils havesought to reduce the cost of suchinvestment by, for example, usingtheir water sewers as the locationfor the dark fibre.

The idea, which emanated inthe US and Canada, has beenshown to be very successful innot just attracting such invest-ment, but also helping to devel-op local talent and start-upcompanies.


Dark fibre OPTICAL FIBRE

▲ Data centres owned by UK banks

Chart estimated dark fibre forecast from 2008-2012


For many years it has been a matterof National Security for Govern-ments and it’s Military to encryptoptical networks; Swiss Banksregards encryption of all their com-munication links to be an integralpart of their corporate informationrisk management strategy and BestPractice procedure. With huge on-going investments from Telco’s andGovernments, fibre optics is todaythe underlining physical media pro-viding greater bandwidth, speedand reliability, but if not securedagainst data theft, or industrial espi-onage, the consequences could bedevastating and immeasurable.

Everyone’s sensitive andpersonal data is currentlybeing transmitted overoptical fibres and in mostcases ‘unprotected’! Fibre optic networks form the corecommunication infrastructure fornearly all large organisations sup-porting critical business activitiessuch as real time data mirroring todisaster recovery sites or the com-munication backbone between datacentres. Indeed the recent terrorattacks in London and on the WorldTrade Centre lost no time in bring-ing home the importance of remotedata backups. These state-of-the-art fibre optic networks are typicallyfront-ended by low speed publiccommunication networks, forexample the point of sale (where

credit checks are made before a pur-chase); e-mail traffic, video confer-encing etc. This type of ‘front endtraffic’ will typically be protected

through the use of encryption,indeed in order to meet compliancyregulations like PCI (Payment CardIndustry) and others it has become

mandatory. Strangely enough however even

though these backbone networksare used to send most if not all an

Easier than you think – tappinginto optical fibre cablesToday’s communication infrastructure would be inconceivable without optical fibre. What isoften overlooked is the fact that optical transmission can be easily tapped into. The security riskshould not be underestimated as the examples of data breaches are on the increase.

How to secure are optical fibre networks?OPTICAL FIBRE

organisation’s data traffic, manylarge corporate accounts are failingto protect these core networks byallowing all their (and of course our)

BY BERNARD EVERETT


How secure are optical fibre networks? OPTICAL FIBRE

sensitive data to be sent from one building to anotherin clear text i.e. unprotected! Transmission methodsspeeds, distances, and network ownership can varyhugely but whether the communication takes placeover a few miles or across country boundaries,whether it uses private or public networks, runs at100Mb/s or 10Gb/s these networks are all vulnerableto today’s data thief.

“it is extremely unlikely thatthe victim will even be awarethat the perpetrator exists”

Potential risks of optical networksThe notion that optical cable is particularlysecure when compared with the traditionalcopper is not true and the risk of being detectedis very slight, if not non-existent.

With optic cables even being labelled ataccess points normally every 2-3miles, accessto a splicing point (joining of two opticalcables) is readily made. For as little a £500- thenecessary tools can be found on the internetand it is sufficient to simply bend the fibre,keeping the cladding (protective layer) intact,in order to extract a minimum amount of lightnecessary to track the exchange of informationwith little or no chance of being detected asnetwork operations will continue undisturbed.

Unlike in the recent HMRC and MOD securi-ty breaches where disks or a laptop have clear-ly gone missing, in a premeditated tapping ofan optical network it is extremely unlikely thatthe victim will even be aware that the perpetra-tor exists; information will not go missing asour data thief will be simply eavesdroppingand copying what transpires over the network.

The risk is realSecret Services in the United States detected“espionage“ equipment illegally hooked intoVerizon’s optical network – just before thequarterly results were about to be published. Itwas believed that terrorists wanted to bolstertheir finances by profiting from the gain in theprice of shares. Other examples include theDutch and German police, pharmaceuticalgiants in the U.K. and France, and three maintrunk lines of Deutsche Telekom at FrankfurtAirport in Germany.

North American National Association of Manu-facturers (NAM) views that tapping into fibre opticcables is a widespread method of industrial espi-onage. According to information provided by theGerman Federal Office for Information Security (BSI),fibre optic transmission paths pose a real threat interms of security. Data encryption is thus an absolutemust.

Protecting core-infrastructures using encryptionEncryption is a recognised ‘best practice procedure’and today the only practical method to protect theintegrity and confidentiality of sensitive data from apotential data breach, one that could have far greaterconsequences than we have ever seen …even in theserecent times!


Optical fibre from the localexchange to a home, apartmentblock or commercial premises iscovered by the generic acronym“FTTx”. This is variously quali-fied as FTTH if the optical fibre isrouted all the way to an individ-ual “Home” or subscriber usingoptical fibre whereas FTTB is theterm applied where optical fibre isprovided to a “Building” housingmultiple subscribers. However,taking fibre all the way to a build-ing may be one step too far andFTTx also covers the FTTK (FTTC)implementations with opticalfibre running from the localexchange to the kerb (or cabinet)from which copper cables contin-ue the journey to the subscriber.

Perhaps because it has itsown acronym, there is a ten-dency to consider FTTx assomething beyond the normaluse of optical fibre. This isincorrect since, technically,FTTx is not only viable but hasbeen so for many years. Thereis even a British Standard pub-lication (BS CLC TR 50410)which explains how it may beachieved. The cabling technol-ogy is not complex and iswholly proven - the real prob-lem is commercial viability.

In the absence of a national,Government funded, “grandplan” we have to rely on the mar-ket for a solution. There are threecritical aspects to the develop-ment of an effective marketmodel. First, there is the cost of

the infrastructure to pass, i.e.enable the final connection to,the subscriber premises. Second,there has to be sufficient demand,i.e. reason, for subscribers to con-nect to the resulting infrastruc-ture. Finally, and most impor-tantly, there has to be a guaranteethat national regulation willallow the investors to make anappropriate return.

In some countries the intro-duction of FTTx has been verysuccessful and is widespread -Japan and Korea to name but

two. However, the key to successin these countries seems to beeither for the provider to alreadyown, or have ready access to, the

necessary route from theexchange to local connectionpoints to which individual homesor buildings may subsequently beconnected at minimal cost. In thecase of Japan, the local energycompanies have benefited fromthe their established network ofoverhead power poles for the 110volt electrical supply system towhich a variety of optical fibrecables and pole-mounted jointsare attached. In the UK we do nothave this easy access to infra-structure so we are forced to con-sider alternatives - and indeed weare, even to the point of consider-ing using the sewers as a meansof reaching our subscribers.

The next issue is that ofdemand. A recent survey ofbroadband connection speeds

across the UK showed that cer-tain areas fared better than oth-ers. Despite the inherent pit-falls of such a survey it wasclear that urban areas were bet-ter served than rural sub-scribers - and in some casesyou could not get broadbandservice at all. Without a “grandplan” FTTx would not be anydifferent. The infrastructureinvestment would be targetedat the most densely populatedareas where demand per metreof installed infrastructurewould be highest. But whatwould drive demand? The mostobvious candidate is HDTV “ondemand”. It is generallyaccepted that deliverable, guar-anteed, data rates in excess of50 Mb/s - and more likely100Mb/s - would be required.Undoubtedly once we havethese additional connectionspeeds, there would be a wholerange of other true broadbandservices that would be madeavailable by service providerswhich would become “must-haves” for the technophilesamongst us. One thing is forsure, the delivery of such hi-speed consumer services suchas is going to demandFTOOTWTTS (fibre to, or on theway to, the subscriber).

The fundamental problembesetting the success of FTTx isnot technology or day-to-day

The future ofoptical fibre

The future of optical fibreOPTICAL FIBRE

viability in densely populatedareas. It is the risk of regula-tion forcing investors to openup their infrastructures to newentrants commonly known as“unbundling“ - usually on rela-tively unattractive economicterms for the incumbent.Those who disagree with thisposition point to certain suc-cessful FTTx projects withinEurope. While these isolatedexamples do exist but theyhave frequently involved theestablishment of some type oflocal monopoly - at least for agiven period of time - for theinfrastructure provider. Indeed,a more effective business modelmay push the market to sepa-rate “content providers” from“infrastructure providers” sincethe more content is available tousers, the more quickly theywill provide an effective returnon investment to all parties.

The risk of the regulatorsforcing “unbundling” does notonly impact the commercialviability of an FTTx infrastruc-ture. It also forces the initialinfrastructure to be moreexpensive since the cheaperFTTK solutions do not supportthe simple unbundling options.

As a result the imminent rollout of FTTx in the UK is unlike-ly and those who want it willneed to influence the legislatorsand not the technologists.


“it was clearthat urbanareas were

better servedthan rural

subscribers -and in some

cases you couldnot get

broadbandservice at

all”

Documents

Fibre optics 2:1doc.mediaplanet.com/all_projects/2380.pdftelecommunications services (i.e. between “tele-phone exchanges”). From the exchange to our businesses and homes, optical