An Engineering and Policy Analysis of Fiber Introduction into the Residential Subscriber Loop

This paper presents an engineering cost model which protransmission resources. This study examines three to the literature: the switched active star, and passive star. For each an engineering planning determines the Cost Of installation over One quadrant of a network (Fig. 1). This section reviews these architectures and examines vides a framework for evaluating alternative network architectures for providing fiber to the home. The analysis employs this model to construct estimates of the average cost per subscriber of several network alternatives which have been proposed in the literature. Our results identify two possible network architectures, the active double star and passive double star, as particularly attractive alternatives. Sensitivity FORSN designs analyses provide detail on the critical contributors to overall costs. The paper concludes with a discussion of several policy issues raised by the the component technologies whose cost and performance analysis, including issues of the proper allocation of risk from fiber-tocharacteristics determine the Of an * . . the-home investments. overall architecture.