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Economic aspects of free space optics as an alternative broadband network connection for the last mile

In order to provide a powerful and fast communications infrastructure to end customers and private households, optical fiber connections are on the increase to close the last mile gap. However, this infrastructure expansion is slow and expensive. In contrast to optical fiber, Free Space Optics (FSO) has nowadays become a well-established technology for the last mile access. This contribution gives an overview of commercial FSO systems and investigates their integration into existing optical fiber networks from an economic point of view. Different optical fiber projects for the last mile, including fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) projects and business park connections, were investigated and compared with FSO systems. The results of the study show, that FSO is a viable and cost-effective alternative to fiber optics. Furthermore, a concept of a point-to-multipoint (P2MP) Optical Wireless (OW) system for a flexible broadband network connection in a settlement area is proposed.