Fail Engineering was selected by Lafourche Telephone Company, headquartered in
Larose, Louisiana to prepare a proposal to provide triple play services via fiber to a
new high end residential subdivision. The original plan to serve this subdivision was to
construct an extension of the copper facilities out of an existing fiber fed remote for
approximately 2.52 miles to provide POTS and DSL capabilities, along with a coax extension
from the local existing CATV Company to provide video. The new project plan was to consist
of providing fiber optic facilities to the Amaris Isle Plantation, a Greenfield development
in the Grand Isle exchange. This development had approximately 160 lots that would
ultimately need FTTH service. The initial requirements for service were estimated to be 32
homes.
The goal of the proposal was to provide design options for the provision of
service via the following method:
Fiber to the Home triple play services through their telco
utilizing a Passive Optical Network (PON) with an RF Overlay video solution to tie in
the video signal from their CATV Company.
Designs were created to satisfy both the inside plant and outside plant elements
of the project. In regard to the electronics for the FTTH option, Calix C7 and OSI
Fiberpath solutions were considered. OSI was preferred due to its available GPON
capabilities. Harmonics video couplers, amplifiers and combiners were selected to
provide the RF Overlay function and a GR303 upgrade for the client’s Nortel DMS100/200
switching system was quoted.
In regard to the Outside Plant design, a Local Convergence Point (LCP) architecture
was chosen with the splitters deployed in the cabinet at the entrance to the development.
This architecture provided a fiber-rich distribution network that was provisioned to
provide video, voice and data services to the entire development but allowed for a
fiber-lean feeder. This architecture allowed for splitters to be deployed at one
centralized location as growth occurred in the development as opposed to multiple
locations. The direct-buried method of construction was to be used with pedestals being
used as opposed to handholes to provide more convenient access to maintenance technicians.
A two fiber drop with a 1” innerduct was deployed to each lot. This would allow the video
and voice/data to be provided on separate fibers in the future if necessary. After careful
consideration, the Central Switch Homerun architecture was not chosen due to the distance
of the development from the central office and a low initial take rate. The distributed
splitting architecture was also considered to serve this development but was not chosen.
The additional cost of splitters deployed further in the distribution network would not
provide enough savings as opposed to deploying a larger fiber count. Future growth and
adaptability were also issues that were considered.
