Optical fibre local loops
These statistics include the optical fibre local loops of telecommunications operators that are currently in the operators’ own use or the use of other operators, divided into FTTB and FTTH local loops. The data are collected from telecommunications operators twice a year. The information is produced by the Finnish Transport and Communications Agency Traficom.
Explanations
A local loop means the part of a telecommunications network that a telecommunications operator uses to provide broadband, television and telephone subscriptions to household and business customers. A local loop is a physical connection implemented by means of optical fibres or metallic conductors between the telecommunications operator’s data centre, network hub or other comparable facility and the end customer’s premises. In this context, the end customer’s premises include the building-specific distribution point or comparable connection point of a single-family house, attached house, block of flats or commercial building.
A telecommunications operator that does not own local loops in a specific area can lease a local loop from an operator in the area that does, thus enabling the provision of broadband, television and telephone services to end customers in the area. The wholesale leasing of local loops can be either market-driven or regulated.
Optical fibre local loops currently in use are local loops used to provide retail services to household and business customers at the time of submission of the data. Optical fibre local loops currently in use do not include optical fibre local loops kept in reserve. Optical fibre local loops kept in reserve mean optical fibre local loops owned by telecommunications operators that have already been built and can be easily deployed, but were not in use at the time of submission of the data.
FTTB (Fibre to the Building) local loops are optical fibre local loops extending from the data centre or other comparable facility of the telecommunications operator that owns the local loop to a distribution point or other comparable facility of a block of flats or commercial building. A single FTTB local loop can be used to provide services to dozens of different end customers in blocks of flats or commercial buildings, for example.
FTTH (Fibre to the Home) local loops are optical fibre local loops extending from the data centre or other similar facility of the telecommunications operator that owns the local loop to a connection point or other similar facility in the end customer’s home or commercial building. A single FTTH local loop can be used to provide services only to one end customer in a single-family home or commercial building, for example.