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CenterFuse Broadband Feasibility Report Future expansion of a PON network could utilize several technologies such as course wave division multiplexing (CWDM) or dense wave division multiplexing (DWDM) to increase bandwidth without having to remove, rearrange, and/or replace equipment in the network. The current vendors for PON equipment include Alcatel-Lucent, Adtran, Zhone, Nokia, and Calix. Today passive optical networks use the gigabit passive optical network(GPON) technology primarily, even though more advanced versions do exist and are discussed below. DSL over Copper Wires Consolidated uses DSL (Digital Subscriber Line)to provide a broadband path over a copper network. The copper networks were built between the 1950s and early 1970s. The copper networks were originally expected to have an economic life of perhaps forty years and have now exceeded the economic life of the assets. The copper networks are deteriorating as a natural process of decay due to sitting in the elements. Maybe even more importantly, the copper networks have deteriorated to some extent due to neglect. Telcos started to cut back on maintenance of rural copper in the 1980s as the companies were deregulated from some of their historic obligations. At some point the copper networks will die even though regulators continue to act like they will keep working forever. DSL works by using frequency on the copper that sits just above the frequencies used for telephone service. There are different kinds of DSL standards, each of which has a different characteristic in terms of how much bandwidth they deliver and how far the signal will travel. The most efficient forms of DSL can deliver up to 24 Mbps service over a single telephone wire. It's possible to bond two pairs of telephone wires together and offer speeds up to 48 Mbps. Most of the DSL in the city is of older varieties and delivers slower speeds. The most important characteristic of DSL is that data speed delivered to customers decreases with the distance the signal travels. This means that the DSL speeds differ throughout the city, and even within a neighborhood. The general rule of thumb is that most of the types of DSL can deliver a decent amount of bandwidth for 2 to 3 miles over copper. Hybrid Fiber Coaxial Network Charter is the incumbent cable company in the city. The technology used in the Charter network is referred to as Hybrid Fiber Coaxial (HFC). Hybrid refers to the fact that an HFC network uses a fiber backbone network to bring bandwidth to neighborhoods and a copper network composed of coaxial cable to deliver service to customers. HFC networks are considered lean fiber networks (meaning relatively few fiber strands) since the fiber is only used to deliver bandwidth between the headend core and neighborhood nodes. At each node is a broadband optical receiver that accepts the fiber signal from the headend and converts it into a signal that is sent over coaxial cable to reach homes and businesses. There are four factors that contribute to the broadband speeds available on an HFC network. These include the overall bandwidth of the local network, the amount of network that is dedicated to still delivering cable TV, the standard of the electronics being deployed, and the overall condition of the network. Page 69