Industry 4.0 is driving enterprise fiber access

Industry 4.0 has brought with it a wave of value-added applications that rely on high-speed connectivity. Inventory management, video surveillance and security, machine automation, and robotics are just a few of the areas that require high bandwidth and low latency.

Gigabit and multi-gigabit broadband for businesses is becoming more common in the market, driving the demand for fiber-optic network connections.

Within the enterprise – whether it is an office, factory, warehouse, or dispersed buildings on a campus like a university or airport – connectivity is also critical, and the benefits are indisputable: efficiency, productivity, cost, security are just a few of the business areas that are enhanced when connectivity is enhanced. To achieve this, optical LANs based on fiber are also increasingly being adopted by enterprises.

Not only does fiber optics provide future-proof capacity, mission-critical security and reliability, it is also the most energy-efficient technology. Whether it is used for fiber LAN or broadband networks.

However, the corporate sector is actually many sectors: an agricultural environment is very different from an office, which is very different from a hospital. An industrial site will have a mix of mobile machinery and fixed equipment such as cameras and printers.

A variety of technologies are needed to meet the various needs: private LTE or 5G mobile, Wi-Fi or fiber fixed connections. But even with wireless technology, you still need fiber behind it to connect everything together and provide capacity for the multitude of devices and services.

Traditionally, bringing Gigabit and multi-Gigabit broadband to the enterprise required dedicated point-to-point fiber connections. This is no longer the case, as 10G and now 25G PON technology allows broadband operators to deliver the quality of service that enterprises require over their existing fiber-to-the-home networks. This is much more efficient for operators.

A single network can support residential, business and even mobile backhaul services, reducing costs and increasing ROI by 15-20%. New technologies, such as cloud-based network slicing, enable more efficient operations in converged networks. Enterprise traffic can be delivered via dedicated slices, with independent management and quality of service.

Fiber access networks are on the rise. Analysys Mason predicts that fiber-connected businesses will grow by 30% in the next four years, bringing benefits to businesses and network providers. In the future, the ultra-large capacity of fiber can be easily enhanced on the same fiber infrastructure.

Today 10 Gb/s and 25 Gb/s are a reality, and work on 50 Gb/s has already begun. In addition, fiber has a long physical shelf life without degradation and is the most environmentally friendly broadband technology. The evolution of fiber technology, new technologies and applications, and dedicated solutions help enterprises and operators achieve their goals more easily and efficiently.