Federal Network Agency: Fiber optic modem from provider not mandatory

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The decision of the Bonn-based regulatory authority for the telecommunications market is unambiguous: “The free choice of terminal equipment at the network termination point familiar from VDSL and cable networks also continues to apply to fiber optic networks,” says Federal Network Agency President Klaus Müller. The regulatory authority has thus rejected requests from network operators who wanted to achieve an exception to the freedom to choose terminal equipment.

Dispute over network termination point

With the passive optical fiber connections (PON) commonly used in Germany, 32 or 64 customers are normally supplied with optical fibers from a splitter, the optical line terminal (OLT). The optical signal goes from there to an Optical Network Terminal (ONT) installed at the customer's premises. This is either a stand-alone signal converter, to which a router is then connected, or is already integrated into a PON-capable router.

The decision essentially revolved around the question of where a provider's network ends and the customer's freedom of terminal equipment begins: Is the ONT still part of the operator's network? Or is it part of the home network, where consumers are free to choose their devices?

The network operator associations had argued that “the ONT can be regarded as a passive network termination point because, although it is basically an active device, the LAN output is passive.” In other words, the fiber optic modem is still part of the operator network and only from its LAN socket does the terminal device freedom begin.

“At no time were the associations' concerns aimed at eliminating this freedom of choice,” explains Frederic Ufer, Managing Director of the Association of Alternative Telecommunications and Value-Added Service Providers VATM. Rather, they were concerned about problems caused by connecting devices with faulty firmware or unsuitable end devices.

The German Broadband Association (Breko) also views the Federal Network Agency's decision with regret: “Defining the ONT as part of the public telecommunications network would have made it easier and quicker for the network operator to rectify faults caused by incompatible devices.”

Over-lighting exaggerated?

Typical issues cited by the network operators included the fact that faulty end devices – for example, with defective SFP modules – could cause the splitter (OLT) to switch off automatically due to excessive light signals. In addition, light signals could be overexposed to other customers. End devices that do not adhere to the signal order in the typical time-division multiplexing (TDM) process are also to be expected.

In particular, the associations feared trouble and customer complaints from fiber optic router combinations that might enter the market but are unsuitable for Germany's providers, for which they do not consider themselves responsible – for example if customers connect AON end devices to GPON infrastructure.

The decision announced by the Federal Network Agency on Wednesday clarifies it that this remains a problem for customers: Anyone who operates unsuitable or defective hardware and thus disrupts the fiber optic network must, in the worst case, expect the provider to take recourse against them if the neighborhood goes offline as a result. In practice, however, no such cases are known to date.

The market will sort it out

The Federal Network Agency did not find the arguments put forward to be valid: it doubts that the providers are concerned with user interests –. Although consumers are “interested in an uninterrupted and qualitatively secure supply of telecommunications services”, the “alleged interoperability and security problems caused by access at the passive network termination point have not been substantiated”.

The BNetzA expects that problems will eventually be eliminated by routers with built-in GPON modules. This is the expected development in the end customer market – as was previously the case with cable connections and DSL.

This puts the ball back in the court of fiber optic network operators and end device manufacturers for now: A large part of the problem lies above all in the juxtaposition of standards, operating modes and features that are almost impossible for the average consumer to distinguish.

Anyone who wants to connect a fiber optic router directly must therefore obtain very precise information in advance about the specifications of both their provider and their end device if they want to use their devices.

The Association of Telecommunications Terminal Equipment Manufacturers (VTKE) is satisfied with the Federal Network Agency's decision: The commitment to the free choice of terminal equipment is a “necessary positive signal”. The association's members include “Fritz” manufacturer AVM, Devolo and Lancom.

(wpl)