Firm sees the light on home fibre

A US firm claims to have solved the single biggest problem preventing the widespread use of fibre-optic networking – by taking a gun to it.

The gun fires a ferrule attached to an optical fibre, which travels along ducting until it reaches a terminator box. The ferrule, which doubles as a plug, slots into the box to provide a network access point.

There is a similar connector at the other end of the fibre, which comes in standard lengths; spare fibre is simply left on the reel, which hooks on to a pole on a gateway box.

Each access point needs its own unshared link, so fibres radiate from the gateway as a star network. The single physical constraint is that, like standard Ethernet cable, ducts should have bends no sharper than the curvature of a soft drink can.

The joy of the system is that it avoids the very tricky business of terminating the optical cable, which requires expensive tools and training, according to Ken Weller, chief operating officer of the UK arm of developers Tenvera, who " got the hang of it after only a couple of days".

The system is currently aimed at enabling builders or refurbishers to future-proof luxury homes and it does not come cheap. Ducting of five-bedroom home would cost around £3,000, which Weller reckons is cheaper than the cost of installing the mains wiring.

But adding fibre will cost around £150 per terminal – and then you have the problem that few electronics devices are designed for optical input. Different Tenvera modules can slot into the access point to offer a choice of gigabit Ethernet, HDMI, composite video or potentially any digital interface.

"Personally, I think HDMI will disappear eventually," Weller said. "It is only there because manufacturers have not got round to implementing optical ports."

He also agrees that prices could drop considerably if the technology comes into widespread use.

The market is potentially huge. Britain is committed to building 200,000 new homes within ten years and has as yet no 'best practice' advice on how to prepare them for future networking demands.

Tenevera UK, which launches officially on 25 January 2007, will act as a distributor for the products.