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Algorithmic PON/P2P FTTH access network design for CAPEX minimization

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 21st Telecommunications forum TELFOR 2013
Algorithmic PON/P2P FTTH Access Network
Design for CAPEX Minimization
Konstantinos Papaefthimiou
Department of Electronic Systems Department of Electronic Systems
Aalborg University, Denmark Aalborg University, Denmark
Email: kostas.papaefthimiou@gmail.com Email: yonasyehualaeshet@yahoo.com
Jose M. Gutierrez
Department of Electronic Systems
Aalborg University, Denmark
Email: jgl@es.aau.dk
September 2013
Abstract—Due to the emergence of high bandwidth-requiring
services, telecommunication operators (telcos) are called to up-
grade their fixed access network. In order to keep up with the
competition, they must consider different optical access network
solutions with Fiber To The Home (FTTH) as the prevailing one.
It provides an obvious advantage for the end users in terms of
high achievable data rates. On the other hand, the high initial
deployment cost required exists as the heaviest impediment.
The main goal of this paper is to study different approaches
when designing a fiber access network. More concretely, two
different optimizations are alternatively evaluated, fiber and
trenching minimization, over two of the most typical fiber access
architectures, Point-to-Point (P2P) and Passive Optical Network
(PON). These are applied to a real geographical scenario and
the best returned output in terms of minimum trenching and
fiber length is highlighted. Finally, a physical topology that fits
best in one of these architectures will be chosen with regards to
minimum total capital expenditure (CAPEX).
I. I NTRODUCTION
In the last decade bandwidth requirements have grown
tremendously worldwide. Bandwidth hungry services such as
file sharing, video streaming, on-line gaming, High Definition
Television (HDTV) and cloud-based services are becoming
immensely popular and are putting pressure on the existing
legacy network infrastructure [1]. Copper-based access net-
works continue their inevitable decline in deployment [2].
Telcos are trying to integrate new technologies to increase the
data rates of the copper cables, such as G.Vector or Phantom,
but these are only efficient in a very short range (≤ 1km), so it
cannot be regarded as a global future broadband solution [3].
The distance limitation is also a prohibitive factor for hybrid
fiber/copper access technologies, such as VDSL or VDSL2
[4]. On the other hand, fiber access networks are regarded as
a future proof technology, that can fully cover the expected
rise in users’ traffic demands in the upcoming years.
Even though many telcos are accepting the need to deploy
FTTH networks, some are reluctant to join in due to the
incurred high investment costs that are typically dominated by
digging works and ducts [5]. Therefore, when considering the
deployment of FTTH networks the minimization of the total
978-1-4799-1420-3/13/$31.00 ©2013 IEEE
Serbia, Belgrade, November 26-28, 2013.
Yonas Tefera Dimitar Mihaylov
Department of Electronic Systems
Aalborg University, Denmark
Email: aaulife@yahoo.com
Michael Jensen
Department of Electronic Systems
Aalborg University, Denmark
Email: mj@es.aau.dk
CAPEX should be given a high priority. In case of a full-buried
fiber network, the largest share in the initial expenses comes
from trenching works [6]. Considering this fact, applying the
best-fit topology is of great importance.
In this paper, we are comparing two different minimizations,
trenching and fiber, using SMT and A* algorithms within a
green-field FTTH network deployment in Lolland municipal-
ity. The two algorithms are implemented for two architec-
tures, namely P2P and PON. The design utilizes Geographic
Information System (GIS) data of the selected service area,
i.e. digital maps with road segments and subscriber locations.
Digging, duct and fiber costs are calculated, which can be used
as an input to a cost effective and reliable network design.
The rest of the document is structured as follows, starting
with a brief discussion on the access network architectures
presented in section II. Section III discusses literature work
related to this paper and what is new in here. The methodology
behind the total trenching, fiber length and CAPEX calculation
is discussed in section IV. Section V discusses extensively the
design procedure and the results obtained for the case study
region. Finally, a conclusion is given on the results obtained
and what is learned from this work.
II. FTTH A RCHITECTURES
Optical fiber networks have a number of deployment
architectures [7], with FTTH as an all fiber access architecture.
There are basically two main kinds of FTTH topological
structures: Point-to-Point (P2P) and Passive Optical Network
(PON). In this section, we briefly present a comprehensive
summary for these two mostly deployed access architectures.
A. Passive Optical Network
In PON topology a single strand of fiber runs from the CO
to a passive optical splitter(s), which is further separated into n
strands of fiber to serve up to n end users. No active equipment
is used within the access network. The maximum coverage
distance between the CO and the end user (ONT) should be
in range between 10 and 20 km, which also depends on the
number of splits [8].
168
B. Point-to-Point Optical Network possible cable paths (road segments) and nodes V representing
In P2P topology a direct and dedicated link exists between the COs, the NTs, the road segment points (SPs), the splitters
the CO and the end users [9]. This architecture is highly and PCPs.
scalable, upgradeable and service transparent. In a P2P net- In order to create the trenched traces for the fiber to pass, SMT
work deployment, N number of fibers (this number depends on and A* have been used in both architectures. SMT describes
how many subscribers are connected to the network) and 2xN the way to connect a set of nodes (segment points - SPs)
number of transceivers are needed to provide certain service to using the smallest amount of trenching, resulted from picking
N number of end-users [10]. In order to reduce the CAPEX, the shortest edges (road segments) to interconnect these nodes
a number of fibers can be bundled together. To achieve the in a tree-formation [24]. A* is a greedy graph traversal and
expected throughput, the maximum distance separating the CO path finding algorithm which lies on the principle of breadth
from the end users should not exceed 10km [11]. first search algorithms [25].
The design of the access network using A* and SMT algo-
III. R ELATED W ORK rithms is implemented in two phases. In the first phase, a
Optical access network design has been the subject of connection is established between the CO and splitters/PCPs.
many research works dealing with different versions of the In the second phase, the remaining connections between the
problem depending on the topologies and the particular issues splitters/PCPs and Terminal SPs (TSP)1 are established. The
addressed. A number of papers deal with optimizing the result in both cases is a spanning tree representing the trenched
network planning in PON and P2P architectures, particularly fiber network.
in finding the best possible positions of splitters and routing 3) Parameters calculation: After forming the minimum
of the ducts and fiber [12][13][14]. In addition, most of the trees using the two algorithms, the final trenching length,
published literature related to optimization in the network fiber length and cost in every architecture are calculated, as
design are based on meta-heuristic approaches such as genetic shown in equations 1, 2, 3 and 4.
algorithms and simulated annealing [15][16][17]. Some other Trenching length calculation in PON/P2P Design
papers use a mixed integer linear programming (MILP) [18]
J I  K !
or game theory [19] approach to automate the FTTH designs. X X X
TTL = L(COj , CPji ) + L(CPji , T SPk )
Various papers also exist that deal with the economic expen- j=1 i=1 k=1
diture of a FTTH rollout from CAPEX and OPEX perspective ∀ (COj , CPji ) and (CPji , T SPk ) ∈
/ P (1)
[20][21][22]. This paper differs from other literature because
it focuses at the green-field rollout of FTTH network using Fiber length calculation in PON/P2P Design
GIS data of an existing geographical scenario as an input.
J X
I I X
K 
The optimization problem studied here compares both A* and TFL =
X
L(COj , CPji ) +
X
L(CPji , T SPk ) (2)
SMT algorithm to find out the least expensive one in terms j=1 i=1 i=1 k=1
of CAPEX. To the best of our knowledge, such a comparison | {z
TFL 1
} | {z
TFL 2
}

with exact calculation of the final overall trenching and fiber
length needed to connect a certain number of end users to the
network is not considered in another optimization literature.
IV. M ETHODOLOGY
The main step to perform this analysis is to construct
the trees for each of the studied minimization techniques.
However, there are a few intermediate steps that must be
explained to fully understand the procedure followed:
1) Forming groups of NTs: In PON architecture design,
a 1:32 splitter is assumed to be used. In P2P architecture
deployment case, instead of splitters primary connection points
(PCPs) are used where the bundle of fiber (96 cables for
uplink/downlink) is divided between the users connected to the
same PCP. The NTs which are closer to each other are served
by the same splitter/PCP. In turn, this leads to a reduction in
the fiber needed to connect them to the network. This grouping
formation of NTs is performed using the k-means clustering
algorithm [23].
2) Tree formation: Typically, network links cannot be built
wherever desired but must follow some existing cable paths,
the road network and other infrastructure. A network graph
G = (V, E) is used, consisting of edges E representing the
CAPEX calculation in PON/P2P Design
CAP EXP ON = T T L · (T cost + D cost) + T F L · Single strand
(3)
CAP EXP 2P = T T L · (T cost + D cost) + T F L 1 · Bundle+
+T F L 2 · Single strand
(4)
where:
• T cost and D cost are trenching and duct cost respec-
tively, which values can be obtained from Table I
• TTL and TFL are Total Trenching Length and Total Fiber
Length, respectively
• CP (Connection Point) denotes a PCP and a splitter in
P2P and PON cases respectively
• i, j, k represents the number of CPs, COs and TSPs
respectively
• L(x,y) is the length of the path between node x and y
• P is the set of unique trenched paths (x,y) or (y,x)
1 TSP: is a segment point available to establish connectivity to a number of
NTs

169
 V. C ASE S TUDY
In this section, the described methodology is applied to a
real geographical scenario to find the best cost-wise solution
for trenching and deploying fiber in both P2P and PON
access architectures comparing SMT and A* algorithms in
the municipality of Lolland, Denmark. The total area coverage
amounts for 889 km2 [4] while its population reaches 44
635 inhabitants, based on the latest statistical data for the 1st
quarter of 2013, obtained from Denmark Statistics [26]. The
total number of households (GIS available data) is 29 175.
Out of the total number of available NT locations, trenching
and fiber reached almost 90% coverage, due to the CO-NT
Figure 3: Total PON trench length
distance limitation in P2P architecture as described in section
II.

Figure 4: Total P2P fiber length

Figure 1: Digital representation of Lolland commune with its

corresponding 14 COs and NTs
Figure 1 presents the test case area. The x-symbols depict
the NT locations and the stars represent the 14 CO locations.
The CO locations are selected looking at the density of the
NTs in the region. The continuous lines that form the digital
road network are used for applying the graph algorithms
and calculating the total trenching and fiber length. It is
assumed that the fiber is buried, following the existing road
infrastructure. Figures 2, 3, 4 and 5 present the final trenching
and fiber lengths returned in P2P and PON architecture by Figure 5: Total PON fiber length
applying both SMT and A* algorithms, respectively.

The results clearly prove that SMT algorithm reduces the

total trenching length in expense of increased total fiber length
needed to connect the NTs to the network, while A* algorithm
follows the reverse pattern. In addition, the total trenching
length is much smaller than the total fiber length in each CO
area due to the reuse of trenches by a number of NTs which
need separate strands of fiber to be connected to the network.
To show the difference from cost perspective, the final
CAPEX based on trenching, ducts and fiber cables needed
for the whole area, is calculated. Cost assumptions are taken
for the different parameters used in the CAPEX calculation as
shown in table I on the following page.
Figure 2: Total P2P trench length

170
 Cost(e/m)
Trenching (T cost) 20
Duct (D cost) 2 The Overview of Existing Technologies
Fiber cable (Bundle) 0.6
Fiber cable (Single Strand) 0.05
Table I: Sample Cost Values
By substituting the values from Table I into equations 3
and 4, the total CAPEX is calculated. The cost results are
presented in table II.
P2P PON
Steiner 26 188 927 24 510 654
A* 27 027 705 26 148 842
Table II: Total costs
As shown in table II, the initial capital expenditure for P2P
architecture, irrespective of the algorithmic design approach
used, is higher compared to PON architecture. This high initial
rollout expenditure tips the balance in PON implementation
direction. However, a fiber access infrastructure planning is a
much more complex process that should not be based solely
on the economic factor. Various aspects can affect the pref-
erence towards a specific architecture, such as geographical
scenario, customer prioritization, scalability, upgradability and
energy efficiency issues. Looking at the rollout cost difference
between the two architectures and clear clarification of the
current as well as the future demands and commercial targets
set, P2P architecture can prove to be an overall better solution.
VI. C ONCLUSION
This work compares fiber and trenching minimization pro-
cess, using two different algorithmic approaches in P2P and
PON fiber access architectures. Based on the calculations
together with assumed realistic costs for trenching works,
ducts and fiber cabling, which occupy the biggest share in the
initial rollout, the preferable topology in terms of least CAPEX
is highlighted. The case study presented covers the Danish
municipality of Lolland. Real GIS data for the households
locations and the road network is used to produce the final
output.
Results prove that minimum spanning tree algorithms are
always preferable over shortest path algorithms in terms of
least trenching while for the fiber minimization the vice
versa is true, irrespective of the architecture picked. This
behavior is attributed to the different principle underlying
both approaches. Shortest path algorithms always return the
minimum weight path connecting two nodes (fiber), regardless
of the rest nodes that need to be connected. On the other
hand, minimum spanning trees produce an overall minimum
weight solution for all the nodes that need to be connected
(trenching). Out of the four cases presented, applying SMT in
PON architecture returns the least deployment cost. This fact
indicates a preference for PON topology from implementation
point of view, when minimization of the total CAPEX is
prioritized.
171
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