Written by: Per O. Andersson, Ingvar Fröroth and Stefan Nilsson-Gistvik

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The uptake of broadband services among residential and small- to medium-sized businesses is being helped by developments designed to relieve capacity bottlenecks in existing copper-based access networks. Likewise, the falling costs of laser equipment, fiber and cable installation are positioning fiber-optic solutions to overcome this capacity hurdle. The functionality, scalability and widespread understanding of Ethernet technology make Ethernet-over-fiber a strong candidate to become the preferred solution for extending optical techniques straight out to the wall socket. By offering symmetric transmission of 100 Mbit/s or better, Ethernet-over-fiber access networks will enable the delivery of advanced services including IP-based television, IP telephony, and robust, secure, LAN-interconnect services. Given current and emerging Ethernet standards, which address issues, such as priority traffic handling, LAN security, and circuit-oriented provisioning, it is likely that flexible, multipurpose access networks will soon be built entirely on Ethernet technology.

[First published in Ericsson Review no. 04, 2001]