Networks in Buildings:
A Central Role
Remote management of building network infrastructures is critical when it comes to supporting service providers...
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From Amenity to Necessity

The ROI for fiber-optic telecommunication escalates with fast-expanding Internet use

What’s the most valuable part of a residential development? Is it the elaborate fountains and landscaping, or is it the new clubhouse with its flat-screen televisions and gaming systems? Actually, one of the most ­important amenities can be a thin strip of featureless land throughout the property that harbors a critical system just a few feet below its surface.

Providing access to a cutting-edge telecommunications network is a critical decision for a developer or a community. The quality of this network has the potential to effect the satisfaction of every resident as well as the community’s ability to attract new residents.

While telecommunication quality may not be the first thing that comes to mind as a way to satisfy or attract residents, it has a tremendous impact on their daily lives today, and that impact will only grow in years to come. Consider the change in Internet use in just the past ten years. The service that at one time simply brought us text-based messages is now used for enhanced communication, retail sales, community networking and the list keeps growing.

Users are constantly demanding more of their telecommunication networks. Voice-Over IP telephone service, Web 2.0, movie and music downloads, teleconferencing, video-on-demand and the potential for up to 500 broadcast channels, all can be carried over a single network. The lines between the classic triple play (video,voice and data) are beginning to blur as residents rely more and more heavily on their telecommunication network for entertainment, communication, work, and for general access to the world around them. Traditional networks installed throughout the 1980s and 1990s lack the bandwidth capacity to handle the increasingly heavy demands at acceptable speeds going forward.  

But an innovative alternative is now available. Thanks to a breakthrough technology, existing properties can upgrade their current infrastructures to fiber-optic networks without having to remove existing wiring and contribute to landfills. This solution can deliver the speed and capacity of fiber without a complete overhaul.

Exploding Demand
Internet traffic increases dramatically each year, and more online video, music, and gaming options promise to drive demand for bandwidth exponentially in the future. Internet traffic in the U.S. today is typically measured in “exabytes.” One exabyte has approximately 50,000 times the amount of information in the Library of Congress—the largest library in the world—which has more than 120 million items on approximately 530 miles of bookshelves.

In 2001, U.S. Internet traffic totaled 8.4 exabytes. Analysts at Nemeses Research expect traffic to reach more than 600 exabytes by the year 2012. From YouTube, IPTV, iTunes, and high-definition images, to 3D games and virtual realities, a new wave of technology is swelling into a flood of Internet traffic.

Unfortunately, the cable and DSL systems available to most U.S. homes simply will not be able to handle these demands. Even with improvements and upgrades, traditional Internet providers cannot support future bandwidth demand the way fiber-optic wiring can.

Unlike copper wiring, which has limitations on the amount of information it can carry, fiber-optic networks offer virtually unlimited bandwidth within their tiny strands of glass fiber. Optical electronics transmit data through each strand at the speed of light, and advances in electronics continue to push more information through the strands of glass. This means that as more and more applications escalate the demand for more bandwidth, the capacity of fiber-optic networks is best positioned to accommodate them.

With the rise in bandwidth demand, the need for more powerful networks has risen dramatically.

For example, most new digital cameras create images that contain two-to-15 megabytes of information. At the upload speeds generally available to people using a cable modem or DSL, it takes well over a minute to transmit a ten-megabyte picture. Ten megabytes equal 80 megabits (there are eight bits per byte), so transmitting at one-megabit-per-second (Mbps) equals 80 seconds. It normally takes even longer because the network sends extra bits to help route the network traffic and to provide security. At dial-up speeds, it would take at least 20 minutes to send that photo. With a fiber-enabled download speed like 15 Mbps, that same picture would download in just a few seconds.
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COMPANY NEWS

Connexion Technologies Named NCTA's Best Private Company 2009

The NCTA 21 Awards are recognized as North Carolina's most prestigious awards, celebrating innovation and excellence in North Carolina. This annual showcase honors companies and individuals in 21 categories who represent the best and brightest in technology and business.

Read the full press release