Plans for the Bishops Stortford (UK) fibre to the home trials

Plans for a British trial of novel topologies for fiber to the home are now at an advanced stage. The reasons and objectives for the trial, the technologies to be deployed, and the proposed layout and timing of the trial are outlined. The following objectives were set for the trial: (1) to demonstrate the technical feasibility of using optical fibers in the local loop for small business and single-line telephony customers: (2) to provide experience in practical operational aspects of the optical local network, including installation, moving of customers, reliability, maintenance, and network control; (3) to allow comparison of active and passive architectures with regard to cost, technical performance, and ease of operation and customer response; (4) to provide experience that will allow projection of procurement and operational cost with greater confidence than at present; and (5) to provide the first-hand knowledge that will permit its full participation in the world debate on topologies, technologies, and standards for optical local networks