The access network is expected to be one of the major battlegrounds of telecommunications network operators, since upgrades of the existing narrowband access network will be the critical factor in supplying multimedia broadband services in a competitive market. The future broadband access network architecture needs to be flexible enough to efficiently support the provision of a full set of broadband and narrowband services with a wide range of capacity demands. A wide range of broadband access technologies are available. Furthermore, the key issues in the upgrading of the very cost sensitive access network are financial as well as technological, both for incumbent and new entrant operators. Thus, in order to identify minimum-risk introductory strategies the economic viability of access network broadband upgrades needs to be carefully assessed. However, despite the definite need for techno-economic evaluations, very few books have been published in this field. One of the reasons might be that broadband access network upgrading only very recently gained wide recognition as a key challenge for broadband delivery. Secondly, this kind of strategic work and these studies tend to be considered rather sensitive by operators, and thus both results and methodologies are not usually readily available. Thirdly, the work reported in this book in many respects was a major pioneering effort, which quite ambitiously aimed at modelling the whole life-cycle costs and revenue streams of access network upgrades, as opposed to several other efforts, which often are limited to pure investment cost comparisons.

Inhalt

Introduction. Section I: Access Network Evolution. Evolutionary paths and scenarios. Demand for new services. Access network technologies. Section II: Methodology And Tool For Techno-Economic Evalutation Of The Access Network. Modelling in TITAN. Geometric models. Model for mixed demographic structures. Component price versus time. Sensitivity analysis and risk assessment. Tool implementation. Section III: Case Studies And Application Results. Analysis of narrowband technology options. Radio in the local loop for rural and suburban areas. European multiservice access network upgrades. PNO and cable operator broadband upgrades. Analysis of video on demand and Internet access. Mixed residential and business area upgrades. Broadband upgrades in residential areas. Broadband upgrades in business areas. Risk analysis of PNO and cable operator upgrades. Summary and main conclusions.