Unlocking the Potential of FTTP in Multi-Tenant Commercial Towers
By Edouard Tabet
A recent study by the University of Michigan’s Center for Sustainable Systems calculated that there were 5.9 million commercial buildings in the U.S. in 2018, containing 96 billion ft2 of floor space. By 2050, the study forecasts that the total commercial building floor space in the U.S. will reach 124.6 billion ft2.
The study categorizes a significant portion of those buildings as multi-tenant unit (MTU) commercial towers, typically located in urban business centers throughout the United States and across Canada as well.
For communications service providers (CSPs), MTU commercial towers offer dense concentrations of high revenue business customers, and it’s clear that CSPs cannot afford to bypass these customer-rich buildings when their fiber access networks pass by the MTU’s front door.
Delivering fiber all the way to business customers’ premises in an MTU property can be a real differentiator for CSPs, enabling significant revenue and profit opportunities provided the CSP is prepared for the fiber deployment challenges found in greenfield and brownfield MTU projects.
Green and Brownfield MTUs: Fields of dreams … or deployment nightmares?
Let’s start by differentiating greenfield and brownfield FTTP deployment challenges in MTU towers. Greenfield deployments are comparatively easier, faster and less costly. For example, up-to-date drawings are available; cabling pathways and spaces are free of congestion from legacy infrastructure; pre-occupancy tenant-free spaces simplify on-site activities; and CSPs, their installation crews and their FTTP cabling solution have all been approved and scheduled for the project. Major challenges in greenfield FTTP deployments lie in connecting the property to the CSP’s OSP fiber network and then optimizing the inbuilding network design for low initial cost, rapid/easy initial deployment, and easy/fast connections of new subscribers with low incremental costs.
Not surprisingly, greenfield advantages may be lost in brownfield deployments, and more challenges added. Incomplete or out-of-date drawings; limitations in cabling pathways and spaces; dealing with tenants; negotiating business agreements and work schedules with (sometimes indifferent) building owners/property managers; arranging access to various areas of the occupied property; and ensuring that visible work respects the building’s aesthetics are among the many issues CSPs must prepare for in brownfield MTU projects.
For CSPs, keeping an MTU ‘field of dreams’ from turning into a deployment nightmare lies in developing comprehensive best practices for FTTP deployment in all types of multi-occupant properties, including MTU commercial properties, multi-dwelling unit (MDU) residential properties, and mixed-use commercial/residential developments.
Best practices for best outcomes in MDU, MTU and mixed-use developments
CSPs rely on ‘best practices’ to ensure on-spec, on-time and on-budget deployments in their OSP fiber networks. In MTU/MDU FTTP projects, CSPs cross the threshold from outside plant to premise structured cabling networks and their different standards and technical requirements. CSPs who are most successful in this space have adopted MTU/MDU-specific best practices that abandon the use of general-purpose fiber products cobbled together in ‘parts bin’ networks in favor of new fiber networking systems purpose-built for FTTP deployment in MTU/MDU properties. The better new systems allow CSPs to establish their presence in a new property quickly and economically with a rapid-deployment fiber backbone that extends to connect new subscribers rapidly at low incremental costs.
FTTP in MTU/MDU and mixed-use properties is a growing business opportunity for CSPs. Smart CSPs are evaluating the latest purpose-built fiber systems and updating their best practices to pursue new customers, revenue and profits in this growth segment.
Edouard Tabet,
VP, Engineering
Wirewerks
Edouard Tabet, B.ME, P. Eng., is the VP of Engineering at Wirewerks, a manufacturer of advanced optical fiber and copper structured cabling solutions. He earned his degree in Mechanical Engineering at the Université Polytechnique de Montréal and has over 20 years of industry experience.