Swisscom trialing FTTS technology

Swiss telco Swisscom is testing fibre-to-the-street (FTTS) technology for the first time in the municipality of Grandfontaine.

The telco said FTTS would enable it to roll out fibre networks outside major urban centres much sooner.

Swisscom is connecting nearly all households and commercial properties in Grandfontaine to the FTTS network, giving its customers access to up to 100Mbps broadband and HD TV services from the first quarter of 2013. Fibre-optic cables will be laid from the exchange in Rocourt to a neighbourhood distribution cabinet situated approximately 200 metres from the houses. The remaining distance to homes will be covered by copper cables.

By the end of 2020, Swisscom is planning to provide around 80% of Swiss households with ultra-fast broadband using a mix of technologies.