• Fiber Techzone digital library provides insight and best practices into deploying and operating fiber-to-the-home broadband networks
• Resource is aimed at educating broadband builders and wider community stakeholders

 Nokia has launched the Fiber Techzone knowledge hub. The free resource, aimed at newcomers to the fiber broadband space, gives comprehensive guidance about how to plan, fund, build, operate, and monetize a broadband network.

According to Omdia, fiber broadband today reaches 850 million homes, or 65% of the global population, and will grow to 70% by 2025. A diverse ecosystem of operators includes major communication service providers, utility companies, investment companies building open networks which are wholesaled to virtual operators, start-ups and even cable operators.

In many countries, newcomer, community-based operators are leading the drive to connect the harder to reach homes. Whilst fiber deployments will last many generations, the initial investment in digging up the roads is high. Governments around the world are providing significant investment to support new builds, but completing grant applications requires deep domain understanding.

Erik Keith, Senior Research Analyst for Broadband Infrastructure at S&P Global, said: “As evidenced by $65 billion being pledged in the US and £5 billion in the UK for broadband network deployment grants, supporting Alternative Network Operators, or ‘Altnets’ will be crucial to bridging the digital divide . Providing Altnets with dedicated educational resources will be of huge value in facilitating their continued growth.”

Fiber Techzone will provide broadband builders with much needed insight, from high level explanations of how fiber-to-the-home networks work, to how they can improve in-home Wi-Fi experience for their customers, to recommendations how to monetize their fiber investment.

Sandy Motley, President, Fixed Networks at Nokia, said: “I am personally passionate about the role of fixed broadband in improving people’s lives and our capabilities to help accelerate deployments. Having a long history in fiber broadband, Nokia has seen many of the challenges that our customers have had to deal with and helped in solving them. Fiber Techzone is intended to bring up to speed everyone who is starting with fiber and will be a must-bookmark site giving new builders a head-start in their planning and operation.”

According to Dell’Oro, Nokia was the 2021 market share leader for XGS-PON equipment, today’s gold standard for fiber networks. Fiber Techzone draws on Nokia’s 20+ years of building fiber networks and its leadership in all aspects, from network equipment to operational software to home Wi-Fi beacons.

Melissa Schoeb, Chief Corporate Affairs Officer at Nokia, said: “High speed broadband is no longer a nice to have but is essential for access to education, healthcare and new, innovative services coming to the digital marketplace. As laid out in our People and Planet Report, bridging the digital divide is a key goal for Nokia and our Fiber Techzone will play a pivotal educational role.”

* Omdia: Fixed Broadband Subscriptions and Revenue Forecast Report: 2021–26