A future vision of the cable industry and wireless communications technology

摘要

A Future Vision of the Cable Industry and Wireless Communications Technology - by Tsuneo Nakahara - This paper compares the optical fiber communication and wireless communication systems which have shown such remarkable progress recently, andpresents a possible future scenario for global network and access systems. Global networks are likely to support communication speeds in the tera (i.e., 10{sup}12) bit per second class. Within this network, although wireless communication will play acritical role in rural areas, optical fiber communication will play a major role in urban areas. By 2010, the FTTH (Fiber To The Home) access system will probably be installed in most workplaces and homes. The today's Internet will continue to grow at arapid pace and it will be changed to Super Internet in the future. During this transition period, the optical fiber used in the access system will coexist with a variety of existing media. In the future, wide-band multimedia services will be crucial, sothe proportion of optical fiber used will increase. Despite this, services shall be provided seamlessly, irrespective of the media used. In supplying the key hardware such as optical fiber which is necessary and indispensable for such global networks, the cable industry will be expected to maintain its leadership role in the future. Conversely, wireless is crucial for mobile communications, broadcasting services and access to global networks in rural areas.