The data over the FIOS service is delivered through the use of passive optical network technology. A passive optical network is a method of using a single optical fiber to service multiple premises. Single-mode optical fiber is extended from the carrier’s network hub into the customer’s neighborhood where it is split using an optical splitter into up to 32 separate fibers, each serving a single premise. At the premise an optical network terminal (ONT) is installed and sends the data received along the network into the household wiring for telephone, video, and Internet access.
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Communication over a fiber-optic cable is done through light emission along the glass fibers. The light creates an electromagnetic carrier wave which is then modulated to carry data along a signal. A transmitter creates an electrical signal into an optical signal which is relayed along the line to a receiver which converts the optical signal back into an electrical signal readable by the equipment at the other end. During the signal progress, the signal is often amplified to prevent degradation, or relayed through a series of repeaters.
The data is carried over three wavelength bands. One devoted to television channels, and two devoted to data, the first for inbound traffic, second for outbound traffic. FIOS television is broadcast from the master television facility, to a local video hub office, then on to the subscriber’s premise where the optical network terminal converts the signals into a form compatible with cable television systems. Telephone over FIOS is usually an analog offering, often referred as plain old telephone service (POTS), and is the basic telephone service offered in most parts of the world. The ONT typically houses 2 to 4 telephone jacks but unlike copper wire based telephone service, fiber optics carry no power, so power outages will knock out phone service as well as everything else. Internet connectivity is provided by the ONT via an RJ45 connector, with speeds offered of up to 50Mbps down/ 20Mbps up.
