Latin America. MDUs are a great challenge for fiber optic service providers, which is why innovation is a crucial point in the industry.
With population growth in urban areas, in addition to the increased connectivity demands this has brought, multifamily units (MDUs) or "vertical living spaces" have become increasing challenges in offering subscribers an efficient connection to optical networks. Large buildings with several apartments require a lot of connections and joints to make, either in messy closets throughout the building or in basements full of things. Vertical ducts can look saturated and mean an increase in the cost of splicing per subscriber.
"Multifamily drives (MDUs) present many challenges for service providers deploying fiber optic networks (FTTH)," said Mark Alrutz, Senior Director of FAE Service Providers for CommScope. "They must deal with complex provisions, architectural hurdles and local regulations. Similarly, access to customers' apartments and the telecommunications room can sometimes be difficult, so installers need to get the job done quickly."
One of the biggest challenges for operators and service providers is managing the excess cable length that affects predetermined solutions. Splicing and skill requirements can be reduced using industry-standard interfaces such as pre-terminated connectors for subscribers, however, large sets of simplex cables and excess cable length can still saturate vertical cabinets and conduits.
Because of this, Mark Alrutz pointed out that many suppliers have had to adapt and develop new solutions to streamline the management of cabling infrastructure:
"In the same way that a Bluetooth speaker automatically connects to our phones with no apps to install or drivers to download, when industry-standard interfaces are combined with innovation it can make possible solutions that might not otherwise even occur," he added.
These types of technologies show how plug-and-play concepts can be applied even on larger scales. Following the example of the horn, by combining a little innovation to industry standards you can have solutions and tools that not only streamline wiring management, but make the implementation and operation throughout the MDUs more efficient.
"The industry's own advancement has made us innovate in unexpected ways. For example, in the case of MDUs it is better to use smaller multifiber cables with connectors in the vertical conduit, and simplex cables and connectors for subscribers in the horizontal. Thinking about all these things, at CommScope we have designed the Rapid Fiber Distribution Terminal (RDT), an innovative terminal that allows you to simply take the pre-installed multifiber cables to the distribution center and plug them in. So all cables are stored without the need to make additional splices, or have loose cables," concluded Mark Alrutz, Senior Director of FAE Service Providers for CommScope.
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