Why is Micro Cabling Essential for the Future of Digital America?

BEAD or no BEAD, the US is poised for another significant wave of FTTH expansion. The “landgrab” that started back during the later days of the Covid pandemic has entered a new phase, fueled by the ISP consolidation which is well underway and gathering momentum.

That’s why this moment represents a unique opportunity. The market for fiber systems is experiencing a new phenomenon, the demand for optical fiber and cables has been exacerbated by the hyperscale data center infrastructure buildout. Materials, and labor have been allocated to this steady, reliable, growing, and yes, profitable market for material vendors and contractors alike.

From a timing perspective, this dynamic introduces a host of new challenges somewhat familiar to FTTH network operators, such as material and labor shortages which are slowing the ability of ISPs to get shovels in the ground and convert attractive markets into revenue generating subscribers.

The need to reduce cost, reduce materials, use less labor, and build faster, has never been more critical for the success of network providers.

At Emtelle, we are firmly convinced that our micro cabling solutions are uniquely positioned to solve these urgent market challenges. Our White Paper, entitled Micro Cabling: A Smarter, More Efficient Way to Deliver Rapid Network Deployment in the USA and Around the World, explains how this technology leads the way forward. The white paper outlines how micro cabling can effectively replace traditional builds which utilize legacy design criteria and bulky materials, requiring more intensive labor to get ducts, large vaults, and fiber cables in the ground.

For equivalent capacity using traditional 1 ¼ inch ducts vs. 18/14mm microduct
technology:

         4 x 1¼” ducts versus one 4-way 18/14mm microduct

Micro cabling systems and air blown fiber technology has been used around the world for over 30 years and is gaining momentum in the USA and Canada. This is because the technology can reduce the total cost of ownership by more than 25% for network operators. Furthermore, for FTTH installations, air blown fiber systems can defer a significant portion of the CapEx required in the distribution and drop portions of the network, whereby fiber is blown or pushed only when you have paying subscribers in the last kilometer of your network.

In effect, ISPs no longer need to commit to the full upfront capex required for complete builds to the property line. They can install the pathways which are needed today, then add fibers in hours rather than weeks when customers come online.

In the data center world, the adaptability of micro cabling is becoming even more relevant with the rise of AI, quantum computing, and new optical technologies such as hollow-core fiber. These technologies can have implications for the types of fibers, numbers of fibers, and size of cables that be required in the future. Micro ducts enable multiple pathways to be placed in the ground so that empty tubes can be used for blowing new cables without disruption to the existing cables in adjacently populated tubes.

The environmental benefits are equally compelling. One truckload of Emtelle’s four-way 18/14mm micro ducts, for example, carries the same capacity as four truckloads of traditional 1.25-inch conduits.

For our cities and towns, this means fewer road closures, less congestion, less pollution, and faster delivery of fiber to homes and businesses.

Micro cabling is a smarter way of building networks that are less costly, quicker to construct, much more scalable and flexible, and environmentally lighter. Micro cabling technology presents an opportunity to bring equal access to high-speed internet within reach of every community while reducing costs, enhancing network flexibility, and speeding up time to revenue for network owners.

The infrastructure we build today will shape opportunities for decades. By adopting micro cabling, we can ensure that those opportunities extend to everyone no matter where they are in North America and around the world.

You can delve deeper into the specifics of this technology by reading Emtelle’s White Paper.

Beni Blell will also be discussing Why Micro Cabling is Essential for the Future of Digital America in an upcoming Fiber Broadband Association webinar in January.