Britain has a reputation as a backwater when it comes to fibre-optic broadband connections that reach directly into consumer’s homes. Currently, only two per cent of households in the country have access to full fibre connections. But that looks set to change. This summer, some £500 million of equity and new debt have been invested in alternative network providers in the UK.
The UK Government has described how it plans to spend the £400 million investment aimed at bringing bring ‘full fibre’ connections – installing fibre-optic cables to individual properties – to two million more homes across the country.
Oleg Khaykin, CEO of Viavi Solutions, speaks candidly to Fibre Systems about how to compete in the challenging world of communications test and measurement
Hao Dong describes how innovative optical fibres and cabling could provide substantial benefits for connecting data centres across a wide range of distances
Collaborative initiatives are seeking to bridge the gap between small- and large-scale production of photonic integrated circuits, finds Andy Extance
Optical networks are playing an increasingly important role in the distribution of precise timing signals and synchronisation with sub-microsecond accuracy. Michael Ritter explains