Yesterday I reported about my buddy, but the fiber optic does not have and then a few questions came up, so here again today in detail for everyone who stumbles over the individual abbreviations.
The abbreviations FTTX (Fiber to the X) describe how close the super-fast fiber line actually gets to your router. And as you will soon see: The difference between ‘near’ and ‘really close’ determines the true gigabit hell or lame copper paradise.
FTTC: Fiber to the Curb
FTTC is the standard upgrade for those who are still VDSL use. It is the Minimal solution and the most common way in Germany to ‘almost’ fiber optic.
- The Path of Light: The fiber optic cable is only used up to the famous, gray Distribution box Moved to the roadside (Curb). I'm sure you've seen him before.
- The bottleneck: From this box to your house, the signal uses the good old copper pipe (the original telephone line). The data is converted from light to electricity in the box (thanks to the DSLAM!).
- The speed: Thanks to VDSL and vectoring are here maximum 100 Mbit/s inside, with Super vectoring also up to 250 Mbit/s. But beware: The longer and worse your copper line is, the less it gets. It's like a Fast food fiber optic connection: Quickly built, but in the end you don't get what was on the advertising poster.
- Conclusion: Better than pure ancient DSL, but technically still Pure copper on the last mile.
FTTB: Fiber to the Building
FTTB is the reasonable compromise that is often used as a basis, especially in multi-family houses. Interim solution used. It is what your buddy got, who now has ‘fibre-free glass fibre’.
- The Path of Light: The fiber optic cable actually goes through your house wall and ends at the Completion point Line Technology (APL), usually in the basement or in the house connection room (Building).
- The bottleneck: The light signal is converted into an electrical signal in the basement. From there it goes over the Existing house cabling (often copper or coax) in your apartment.
- The speed: Here are theoretical up to 1 Gbit/s possible, because the copper susceptible to failure only the short distance within The building needs to be bridged.
- Conclusion: Much better than FTTC, but the quality of the old copper pipes in the house determines how much of the promised speeds really arrive at you in the end. Your connection is only as fast as yours oldest wire in the wall.
FTTH: Fiber to the Home (Fiber to the Home)
This is the Holy Grail The German expansion. Only those who have FTTH can really ‘real fibreglass’ Speaking.
- The Path of Light: The fiber optic cable goes Completely by – from the central distributor to your home router (Home). The data flows exclusively as Light signal From A to Z.
- The bottleneck: There is none! The signal is not slowed by old copper cables or slow converters.
- The speed: Here we talk about Real future security with speeds from today to 10 Gbit/s (currently mostly 1 Gbit/s or 2.5 Gbit/s are marketed) – stable, with extremely low latency and symmetrical (upload almost as fast as download).
- Conclusion: The Nonplusultra connection. Whoever has this option has it. New territorysarcasm for himself. However, it is the most complex and thus the slowest to install.
In summary: The fiberglass distance pyramid
| variant | End of fiber optic cable | Last mile to the apartment | Max. speed (typical) |
| FTTC | Distribution box on the road (Curb) | Copper Cable (VDSL) | $\approx 100-250 \text{ Mbit/s}$ |
| FTTB | House connection room/basement (building) | Existing copper/coax cables | $\approx 1 \text{ Gbit/s}$ (depending on in-house cabling) |
| FTTH | Fiberglass can in the apartment (Home) | No copper – glass fibre only | $\approx 1-10 \text{ Gbit/s}$ |
So next time you hear that in your place ‘Fibreglass fibres removed’ Ask for the last letter immediately. Only this H It really saves you from the digital stone age.
A YouTube video about the differences between FTTH, FTTB and FTTC can be found here: FTTC, FTTH & Co. - Fiber optics explained.
And now we come to the expansion variations that still exist:
HFC: The mixture does’s! Or not?
You've already come from Fiber optic expansion We have heard and perhaps already had some painful experiences with half-solutions (see the Neuland deluxe). One of these solutions, which often promises high speeds, but is not the pure fiber-optic grail, is called HFC - Hybrid Fiber Coax.
HFC is the backbone of modern Cable network and exactly what many households in Germany use today, if they Cable internet (via the TV cable connection). It is a clever, but also technically compromised bridge between yesterday and tomorrow.
What's behind HFC? The technical details
HFC literally means:Hybrid fiber coax“ – i.e. a mixture of Fiber (fiber) and Coaxial cable (coax).
- The strength: Fiber in the backbone (fiber): The high-speed data lines that transport large amounts of data are usually fibreglass. They lead from the central hub of the provider (headend) to the districts or residential areas. Technically, this is often a FTTN (Fiber to the Node)– or FTTC (Fiber to the Curb)-architecture. The signal is transmitted optically.
- The vulnerability: Coaxial cable to the apartment (Coax): On the so-called Fibre node (a distribution box in the residential area) the optical signal is converted into an electrical signal. From this point to your house or apartment, the network uses the proven Coaxial cable, It was originally used for cable television.
- The technology: DOCSIS: To send Internet over these cables, the standard comes DOCSIS (Data Over Cable Service Interface Specification) for use. Modern versions such as DOCSIS 3.1 allow impressive speeds of up to 1 Gbit/s or more to be achieved on the coaxial cable.
The reason for the hybrid solution: Clever or lazy?
Why this mixture when pure FTTH (Fiber to the Home) is the best solution? The main reason is a mix of economics and Historical infrastructure:
- Prefabricated net: The cable network (coaxial cable) has been in many houses for decades – laid for TV reception. The cable providers only had to connect the distribution boxes with fiber optic and upgrade the technology in the boxes (DOCSIS). This is much cheaper and faster as the laying of completely new fiber optic cables in every single house.
- Quick upgrade: HFC enabled a rapid upgrade of broadband speed compared to the old copper DSL infrastructure, without major construction activities in the residential areas.
In short: HFC is an evolution the existing infrastructure, while FTTH is a revolution represents.
Benefits of HFC
| advantage | description |
| High speeds | With DOCSIS 3.1 Gigabit speeds (1,000 Mbps) Easily possible. This is often faster than VDSL (FTTC). |
| Low cost | The deployment is more favourable for the network operator, as the ‘last mile’ is already in place. |
| Fast availability | Where cable television is available, cable internet can often be switched to very quickly. |
Disadvantages of HFC
| disadvantage | description |
| Shared bandwidth | Coaxial cables use a Shared medium (Shared medium). This means that you share the bandwidth with your neighbors in your segment. At peak times (evenings) the performance can drop noticeably. |
| Upload speed | The upload speed is often asymmetrical (significantly lower than the download), since the bandwidth in the cable network is traditionally designed more for downstream (TV). |
| Susceptibility to interference | Coaxial cables are more sensitive to external electrical interference and have lower power over longer distances than fiber optics. |
| Not future-proof | While HFC today delivers gigabit speeds, the physical limit of the coaxial cable is soon reached. Pure FTTH On the other hand, it offers almost unlimited potential for future bandwidth jumps. |
Conclusion: A necessary compromise, but no final state
HFC was and is an important technology for quickly freeing Germany from 16 Mbps hell. It allowed many households to access real high-speed internet without having to tear open the streets.
But it remains an compromise. The shared bandwidth and the limitation in uploading show that it's not the ultimate solution. Your buddy, who has a fiber in the house but is limited to cables, is the best example of this: He has the Fiberglass base (FTTB), but the HFC logic The provider is forcing him to Cable usage.
In the ‘new country’, the next stage must therefore be: The coaxial cable has to go out, the fiber optic has to go all the way to the socket. Only FTTH This is the true path to the digital future.
EN 
DE 
ES 
FR 
IT