Optical Distribution Network

An access network is a type of telecommunications network which connects subscribers to their immediate service provider. It is contrasted with the core network, which connects local providers to one another. The access network may be further divided between feeder plant or distribution network, and drop plant or edge network. An access network, also referred to as an outside plant, refers to the series of wires, cables and equipment lying between a consumer/business telephone termination point (the point at which a telephone connection reaches the customer) and the local telephone exchange. The local exchange contains banks of automated switching equipment which direct a call or connection to the consumer. The access network is perhaps one of the oldest assets a telecoms operator would own. In 2007–2008 many telecommunication operators experienced increasing problems maintaining the quality of the records which describe the network. In 2006, according to an independent Yankee Group report, globally operators experience profit leakage in excess of $17 billion each year. The access network is also perhaps the most valuable asset an operator owns since this is what physically allows them to offer a service. Access networks consist largely of pairs of copper wires, each traveling in a direct path between the exchange and the customer. In some instances, these wires may even consist of aluminum, which was commonly used in the 1960s and 1970s following a massive increase in the cost of copper. The price increase was temporary, but the effects of this decision are still felt today as electromigration within the aluminum wires can cause an increase in on-state resistance. This resistance causes degradation which can eventually lead to the complete failure of the wire to transport data. Access is essential to the future profitability of operators who are experiencing massive reductions in revenue from plain old telephone services, due in part to the opening of historically nationalized companies to competition, and in part to increased use of mobile phones and voice over IP (VoIP) services.