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Since its inception, Fibre-To-The-Home (FTTH) has risen from a novice technology to one of the choice for developments in residential estate communities.
It has become so important that the FTTH Council Africa is paying specific attention to what it coins home communities. The FTTH Council Africa arranges various interventions like community workshops where estate management can engage with estate managers in other communities wishing to deploy fibre, studying deployments and ensuring community access is fast by listening to operators to determine what they can do for their community.
The key drivers of the adoption of FTTH are two fold; firstly the convergence of voice and data services benefit estate governing bodies and secondly, inherent features give estate managers the advantage of centralised estate management.
Residents benefit from a plethora of features from FTTH. Increased broadband speeds, more Over-The-Top (OTT) applications, TV streaming, Internet gaming and the “Internet of Things” (IOT) weave their way into the worlds of consumers and affect their behaviours, ultimately enhancing their lifestyles. In addition, global trends indicate that properties enabled with FTTH see an increase of 3 percent to 3.5 percent in property value. The concept of an established smart home, is a very palatable value proposition for prospective buyers.
There is also a multitude of features and benefits that FTTH provides to estate managers and governing bodies of any type of estate. Research shows that managing estate security is becoming more challenging as the methods used by intruders have become increasingly advanced. Fully scalable and real-time security management is no longer optional. Instead it has become a necessity without which an estate’s security can be vulnerable to intrusion.
This is an area where an FTTH deployment in an estate is of immense benefit. As the security solution can be provided on the same estate fibre and overlaid on one network, it not only increases communication and efficiencies but also drives down solution costs. FTTH treats most security solutions transparently, significantly reducing compatibility complications.
Access control is also extremely important, regardless of estate type. From golf to equestrian, from lifestyle to retirement, any estate requires a firm hold on access control and management. An FTTH deployment is fully capable of dealing with the requirements of most access control systems on the market today.
If done properly, an estate FTTH deployment can render a number of other services that make the management of an estate easier. Whether it be public Wi-Fi, advertising boards, Pay TV signal distribution, utilities management or simpler communication to estate residents, an FTTH single network deployment provides the underlying answer on top of which the solutions are built.
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Years of deployment of FTTH networks in estates has its advantages – all those that are involved learn continuously and here are some aspects that estate managers can contemplate.
At the core of a solution is the estate’s management needs to appreciate that no two estates’ requirements are the same. Make sure that you carefully communicate your requirements to your provider by conveying the collective thinking of the estate’s governing body. Few things can delay project timelines but changes in the estate’s requirements whilst implementation is underway is definitely one. Proper management of your project is often the key success factor of an estate’s FTTH network. Make sure that your provider employs experienced, accredited project management.
After-sales support is crucial. Your provider must be capable of fully supporting your FTTH network.
Of all the physical elements in the FTTH network, a functional entry sleeve from the street boundary to the dwelling often is the most challenging. Always make sure that you communicate any relevant information you may have to your provider and ask your provider to communicate specifications to your residents at the start of your estate’s FTTH project.
FTTH is becoming a true salient feature for estates and is widely seen as the next evolution in the extraordinary world of estate management.
Make sure that your estate becomes one of the leading FTTH-enabled communities. Engage with leading industry providers that provide estate-specific customised solutions and discuss your requirements with the eye on a potential solution.
