Huawei has successfully introduced its Fiber To The Room (FTTR) equipment to two European network operators. On May 14, 2024, at the Anga Com industry fair in Cologne, Huawei Germany spokesperson Patrick Berger stated, “Operators in Portugal and France are already using it commercially.”
This innovative solution involves transparent optical fiber cables that can be adhered directly to walls, making them nearly invisible. The fiber is flexible enough to be routed around corners, enabling the implementation of FTTR.
The product line includes routers offering speeds of up to 10 Gbps, main and sub units with integrated high-speed storage, flexible self-adhesive in-house wiring, and smart home products for lighting and other areas. “This is complemented by the Wi-Fi 7 wireless interface,” explained Michael Lipka, Senior Manager of Technology Strategy at Huawei Germany. The routers feature an integrated optical network terminal (ONT), which Lipka compares to AVM’s Fritzbox, but with more powerful internal storage.
Huawei Splitter Under Rigorous Testing
Huawei is also in discussions with network operators about making the self-adhesive fiber available to Berlin housing associations. This would facilitate the provision of FTTH connections in multi-family dwellings, with ONTs and splitters supporting four fibers. “We test the splitter for outdoor installation by dropping a steel ball from a significant height onto the housing or submerging the device completely in water,” explained Lipka. “It needs to last ten to twenty years.”
Since this involves cable installation, the flexible optical fiber is subject to fire protection regulations for multi-family houses, according to German regulations, which pose bureaucratic challenges. Compared to other countries, this increases the effort required before a wider rollout can begin.
