When planning a fiber broadband rollout, one of the first — and most consequential — decisions is choosing the right fiber access architecture. FTTH, FTTB, and FTTC each represent a different point on the cost-vs-performance spectrum, and the right choice depends heavily on your deployment context, subscriber density, and growth ambitions.

FTTH — Fiber to the Home

In FTTH, fiber runs all the way from the optical line terminal (OLT) to an optical network terminal (ONT) inside each individual subscriber's home or premises. There is no copper or coaxial segment in the last drop.

Performance: The gold standard. Symmetric speeds from 1 Gbps to 10 Gbps per subscriber are achievable. Latency is typically 1–5 ms. No bandwidth degradation as subscriber counts grow on a feeder segment.

Cost: Highest capital expenditure per home passed, primarily driven by the last-drop installation into each building unit and the ONT at each subscriber premise.

Best suited for: Greenfield residential developments, new urban zones, markets where operators intend to monetize high-speed symmetric services, and regulators requiring open-access fiber infrastructure.

📊 Industry data: FTTH subscribers experience on average 40% fewer service incidents and 60% lower churn versus FTTC subscribers, making the higher CapEx partially offset by lower OpEx and better customer lifetime value.

FTTB — Fiber to the Building

In FTTB, fiber terminates at an optical distribution point (ODP) or mini-OLT located in the basement or communications room of an apartment building or office complex. The final connection to individual units is delivered via existing copper (VDSL2/G.fast) or internal LAN wiring.

Performance: Excellent for MDU deployments. Individual units can receive 100–500 Mbps on VDSL2 or up to 1 Gbps on G.fast, depending on copper pair length from the ODP to the unit.

Cost: Significantly lower per-subscriber than FTTH in high-density MDU buildings, since fiber terminates once per building rather than once per unit. Existing internal wiring is reused.

Best suited for: Dense urban areas with large MDU buildings (50+ units), markets where internal riser installation rights are costly or restricted, and operators upgrading from ADSL with limited civil work budget.

FTTC — Fiber to the Curb / Cabinet

In FTTC, fiber runs to a street cabinet or distribution point (DP) typically 200–500 meters from subscriber premises. The final segment uses existing copper infrastructure to deliver VDSL2 or DOCSIS broadband.

Performance: Highly distance-dependent. At 50 meters from the cabinet, VDSL2 delivers ~100 Mbps. At 400 meters, speeds drop to 20–40 Mbps. G.fast can deliver 500 Mbps at short copper lengths but degrades sharply beyond 100 meters.

Cost: Lowest CapEx of the three architectures. Minimal civil work; existing copper plant is reused. Cabinet deployment is straightforward.

Best suited for: Operators with large existing copper infrastructure seeking rapid upgrade paths, suburban and rural areas where digging to every home is cost-prohibitive, and as an intermediate step in a multi-phase fiber deployment roadmap.

Side-by-Side Comparison

How to Choose the Right Architecture

The decision framework should consider four factors:

💡 Hybrid Approach: Many successful operators deploy a mixed FTTx strategy — FTTH in high-density new developments, FTTB in existing MDU stock, and FTTC in rural areas — with a planned migration roadmap toward full FTTH over 5–10 years.

Not sure which architecture fits your rollout?

Our engineers can run a comparative techno-economic analysis for your specific geography and subscriber base.

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