Swiss incumbent Swisscom claims to be the first in the country to trial Fiber to the Street (FTTS), as it continues a push to deploy fiber throughout Switzerland.
The operator claims its FTTS trial will deliver high speed data to consumers living outside major urban areas faster than if it relies on its FTTH rollout, which the firm has invested 1.7 billion (€1.4 billion) Swiss Francs in throughout 2012. The new technology will initially offer rates up to 50-Mbps, though the carrier plans to double that in 2013.
Fiber optic cables are being run to cabinets within 200 meters of homes covered by the trial, with existing copper cables being used to link the cabinet to consumer’s houses. Swisscom claims the approach is faster than deploying VDSL upgrade.
The operator plans to start deploying FTTS throughout Switzerland in the back half of 2013.