Rationale for polymer optical fibres in-building cabling

1 mm Step-Index PMMA Polymer Optical Fibres are currently well deployed in the automotive sector, with an estimated 10 millions of high-level cars employing them for infotainment purposes. The rationale for this adoption is related to lower cost and higher capacity with respect to copper, as well as to overall weight reduction. We hereby examine the use of these fibres in home and enterprise networks and in the telecommunications at large, starting from telecom operators specifications in terms of performances and cost: what are the applications where Polymer Optical Fibres can represent a disruptive innovation, what are the target prices, what measures have to be taken to enforce their adoption, what market segment could they address? We will then mention other niche markets in the ICT field that would take advantage of Polymer Fibres.