Fiberisation

1. Background

• The process of connecting radio towers via optical fibre cables is called fiberisation. 
• It helps provide full utilization of network capacity and carries large amounts of data once 5G services are rolled out. 
• Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his 2020 Independence Day speech, laid out the vision to connect every village in the country with optical fiber cable (OFC) in 1,000 days. 
• To reach the targeted level of fiberisation, India requires about ₹2.2 lakh crore of investment to help fiberise 70% towers. 
• Satellite communication also can facilitate 5G broadband connectivity to areas where it is not feasible to deploy terrestrial infrastructure like remote villages, islands or mountainous regions.

2. Fiberization in India

• India is a developing country; here, as a citizen, we can find many unplanned activities and accidental fibre cable cuts. 
• Keeping the networks up is often a significant challenge for the installers. Even though India is the second-largest telecommunication market globally, fibre deployment in India is much lower than in other key markets.
• To meet the market requirements, India has to target a deployment rate of 150 MKm fibre/year in the next few years to achieve 1.3 fibre/capita by 2035.
• In today’s time, the need for this level of fiberization is exceptionally high.
• Fiberization refers to connecting towers with the core and radio via optical fibre cables, enabling the full utilisation of network capacity and bringing out the best standards. Fiberization also provides good backhaul support to the network. 
• Large-scale fibre deployment in India is vital to meet the needs of the 5G network.

3. Potential benefits of Fiberisation

• Significantly increase high-capacity, fibre-based connectivity – driven by the expected increase in 5G RAN, as well as for increased network capacity demands
• Adopt flexible network architecture to support not only the 5G Non-Standalone (NSA) mode that accelerates 5G deployments by leveraging existing 4G Evolved Packet Core (EPC) networks, but also the 5G Standalone (SA) mode that leverages a full 5G Core
• Support both hard and soft end-to-end network slicing, vital for operators to provide application-dependent service characteristics
• Intelligently automate and orchestrate physical and virtual network elements to deliver an agile service to prevent operational costs from spiralling out of control
• Leverage an edge cloud architecture to lower latency, reduce long-haul transmission costs, and improve security by hosting content and applications locally

4. Challenges associated with fiberisation

• To reach the targeted level of fiberisation, India requires about ₹2.2 lakh crore of investment to help fiberise 70% towers. 
• Government programmes like BharatNet and Smart Cities will further add to the demand for fiber deployment, necessitating a complete tower fiberization.To achieve that vision, cables must be laid at a speed of 1,251 km a day, around 3.6 times the current average speed of 350 km a day
• While all States/UTs are required to implement these rules, they are not in complete alignment and still require certain amendments to align

5. Satellite communication as an alternative

• Satellite communication can provide high-capacity backhaul connectivity to large numbers of edge servers over wide areas, thereby complementing the terrestrial network with cost-effective scalability, according to a report by Intelsat, a satellite service provider.
• Satellite communication can facilitate 5G broadband connectivity to underserved areas where it is not feasible to deploy terrestrial infrastructures like remote villages, islands or mountainous regions. 
• Satellite-based networks are the only means for delivering 5G broadband to users on board moving vessels, including cars, ships, aeroplanes and high-speed trains. In addition, space-based broadcast capabilities support over-the-air software updates for connected cars anywhere in the world, the Intelsat report said.
• Space-based backhaul will also provide disaster relief services, support emergency response teams as well as deliver broadband connectivity for one-off entertainment or sports events anywhere in the world, Intelsat said.
• The low-Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites will be well-suited to offer not only backhaul but also direct connectivity. As the 5G standard is adopted, new markets will open up for satellite operators, including IoT, private 5G, and cellular backhaul for densification to enable more cell sites and edge devices