Optical fibre supported cable television with a MM-wave final drop

Cable television (CATV) services are a rapidly growing entertainment industry, with potential for significant revenue generation in the UK due to its high population density. The provision of CATV is currently effected via a coaxial feed into the residence of the customer. This approach is expensive since each customer must have a cable routed individually from a distribution point to their home. The growth of interest in broadband services such as CATV together with video-on-demand, high data rate computer communications and video telephony is leading to a consideration of how these services can best be distributed to the customer. Current thinking is dominated by the concept that optical fibres will be used to provide the connection to a point close to the customer. Opinions differ, however, as to the best method of achieving the final drop into the customer´s home or office. Two leading contenders for the final drop, fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) and a wireless final drop, are compared as to their efficacy for CATV distribution. Arguments based on cost and the time required to achieve significant market penetration will lead to the proposal of a novel fibre/mm-wave system which will be described in some detail. An example is given which illustrates the potential of the proposed system