A favourable environment for fibre
“I’m really excited!” says Edgar. “There’s a lot of work to be done, but it’s going to be fun. The FTTH Council Europe strongly believes that Europe needs fibre now! In line with our strategy to accelerate adoption of FTTH in Europe, we’re asking decision makers and other stakeholders to create a favourable environment for fibre rollout. 2015 is a very important year for us, in the light of the European Commission’s Juncker Plan. We’re curious to see to what extent Juncker, the current President of the European Commission, will adopt FTTH as part of the solution to building telecom infrastructure that will support Europe’s Digital Agenda.”
Commission and the FTTH Council Europe, the challenge is to come up with ideas that can work for all of Europe, as well as locally, with a little adaptation. The Council offers excellent solutions, to accommodate transitions as well as more permanent solutions. In all cases, a fibre solution that reaches at least the building, is vital.”
“In the coming years, we aim to work hard at realizing the Digital Agenda targets. Looking at the Juncker’s plan, we see some opportunities and stumbling blocks, but we’re happy with this initiative, as decisions regarding a European regulatory framework for fibre rollout need to be made today. I think more European countries - and Brussels - are now understanding the importance of fibre as a driver.”
“We’ve proven broadband boosts GDP and superfast fibre broadband accelerates this further. The positive societal impact is enormous – on the digital divide! We must ensure everyone in Europe has a broadband connection. The regulatory framework poses real challenges, though. Which areas do you stimulate with funding, for example? We advise countries to first look at rural areas and existing initiatives. Our FTTH market panorama shows countries without a legacy copper network are actually at an advantage. Why bother building a copper network when you can go straight to a fast and future-proof network?”
Need for speed
“Even today, there are still discussions on whether fibre really is a necessity. In many areas that don’t have fast connections, people wonder what they would possibly need 100 Mb/s for. But in the Netherlands and Sweden, for example, nobody asks these questions. Many people would be outraged with anything less than 50 Mb/s.”
“Deciding to roll out fibre is still often seen as a chicken and egg situation: will the applications come if we build the infrastructure? Or do we wait to build until the applications are here, driving demand? The former is true: once the bandwidth is available, it will be filled with useful services in no time at all.”
“Let me share an example of an application I saw recently. In Switzerland, incumbent operator Swisscom has rolled out a fibre network. This has made an exciting new application possible: timeshifted television. You can watch any TV show, on any channel, up to a week after the original broadcast. Unthinkable with any other enabler than fibre.”
Absolute requirement
“An important task for the FTTH Council Europe is showing exactly which kind of services can be realised with higher speeds in the down and up links, using proof points and practical applications. Of course, we’re just scratching the surface of what’s possible with fibre, but this does point people in the right direction. We’re making the benefits tangible with our ‘World of Applications’ demos, and our Smart Cities group is also explaining why fibre is an absolute requirement for collecting and analysing huge data volumes.”
Looking ahead
“Governments, financiers and other stakeholders can’t be expected to have the technological know-how required to find all the answers. Everyone is welcome to approach the FTTH Council Europe with questions. We have access to a huge amount of information and studies, and also have the insights to analyse this information from different angles: regulatory, technological, business… We can combine data from many different sources and interpret the outcome.”
“As President of the FTTH Council Europe, I’m really looking forward to building bridges and venturing into new territories. For me, the fibre networks we’re creating across Europe today are not only improving our own lives, but also they’ll make a huge positive difference to the lives of our children. At the FTTH Council Europe we feel we’re not just building something to exploit for a few years, we’re building the basis for an enduring solution, that should be considered as essential as water or electricity.”
About Edgar Aker
Originally an engineer, Edgar soon gravitated towards fibre and became involved with the business aspects. Previously responsible for Draka’s telecommunications company for the BeNeLux, Edgar has been involved with the company’s broadband activities since the very beginning. He has been a Board Member of the FTTH Council Europe since 2011 and is a member of the Dutch telecom association NETELCOM. In addition to his new position as President of the FTTH Council Europe, he’ll maintain his role as Director of Marketing, Business Development and Strategy for the Prysmian Group. “My engineering background and practical experience ‘in the field’ have certainly given me a broader scope. I’ve always been interested in passive infrastructure, and developing new rollout approaches I started as an engineer and worked in low-voltage cabling solutions, but soon became involved in broadband at Draka Comteq, supplying fibre solutions to incumbent operators who could see the importance and potential of FTTH. Clients wanted a complete working solution so we had to develop our capacities beyond cabling…”
About the FTTH Council Europe
The FTTH Council Europe is an industry organisation with a mission to accelerate the availability of fibre-based, ultrahigh- speed access networks to consumers and businesses. The Council promotes this technology because it will deliver a flow of new services that enhance the quality of life, contribute to a better environment and increase economic competitiveness. The FTTH Council Europe consists of more than 150 member companies. Edgar Aker: “The FTTH Council Europe doesn’t just promote fibre – we advise many different parties about the best solution for their specific challenges. We support fibre to the home (FTTH) and fibre to the building (FTTB), and anything that can stimulate these solutions.”
