Cost Analysis of WDM and TDM Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) Networks: A System-of-Systems Approach

A system-of-systems (SoS) approach for wavelength-division multiplexing (WDM) and time-division multiplexing (TDM) fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) telecommunication networks is presented. Cost evolution curves for individual systems as well for whole FTTH WDM and TDM networks are presented. The analysis can be exploited for a fast and accurate analysis of FTTH deployment costs in dense urban, urban, and suburban areas from the technoeconomic point of view, which is of paramount importance for telecom operators, equipment vendors, regulators, and policy makers. The impact of delaying the deployments or adopting different rollout strategies is also investigated and presented. The SoS emergent behavior is further revealed using exploratory modeling. The results reveal that in all cases, the WDM solution is more expensive than TDM. The total cost for suburban areas is almost six times higher than in dense urban areas and four times than urban areas.