Neutrik Group Americas will feature its NEUTRIK opticalBAR fiber breakout solution, including its opticalCON ADVANCED line of connector products, during the 2026 NAB Show, April 18-22, at the Las Vegas Convention Center.

Smart fiber distribution allows centralized management of multiple signals across a broadcast facility or between sites. The NEUTRIK opticalBAR is a compact, rugged fiber breakout solution that is IP65-rated when mated or capped. It is designed for professional fiber distribution, including connections to camera systems, audio networks, DMX and intercom systems.

Fully compatible with the opticalCON ADVANCED series, the opticalBAR is available in five different variants for single-mode (SM) and multimode (MM) fiber with a range of connection points, such as opticalCON QUAD SM and MM, opticalCON DUO SM and MM connectors and opticalCON MTP 12 SM and MM.

Neutrik’s opticalCON provides a flexible and reliable solution for network breakout points where space and time is at a premium and fast deployment and breakdown are essential. The company’s opticalBAR also offers various mounting options, such as mounting holes for screws, Velcro straps and pegs and truss clips, which will be available soon.

The complete line of opticalCON ADVANCED solutions will also be shown. These include opticalCON DUO, opticalCON QUAD, opticalCON MTP and opticalCON SPLIT. The ADVANCED line provides all the features and benefits of the original opticalCON but with an even more robust and field-ready design.

See Neutrik at 2026 NAB Show booth C4735,

More information is available on the company’s website.

WASHINGTON D.C.—As consumers demand faster broadband connections for streaming and a host of other applications, the Fiber Broadband Association is reporting that 2023 set a new record for the highest annual growth of Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) deployments, with nine million homes newly passed by network operators this year alone.

The growth comes at a time when the U.S. federal government has been spending heavily to expand the reach of broadband services 

The 2023 North America Fiber Provider Survey, which was carried out by RVA LLC Market Research & Consulting (RVA), highlighted several areas of progress. 

Most notably, the record reach of FTTH. 

FTTH homes passed and being marketed to consumers in the U.S. grew 13% in 2023 to 78 million homes. Fiber broadband now passes nearly 69 million unique U.S. homes (excluding second or third passings of the same home). 

The survey also found that fiber providers in the U.S. are experiencing a 45.4% average take rate versus unique homes passed and some report significant first-year take-rate improvement in 2023.

Overall Canadian passings had 12% growth in 2023 to 12.1 million. Fiber now passes 11.2 million unique Canadian homes and fiber uptake in Canada is estimated at 44.6% (including incumbent providers and CLEC providers utilizing fiber installed by others).

Diversity in fiber provider type is increasing over time too, the survey found. 

One important trend here is the expansion of rural electric fiber broadband providers within the last five years, the group said.

While their overall share of homes passed is currently the smallest at 2.2%, rural electric providers have quickly entered the fiber broadband market and now almost match homes passed by municipalities at 2.7%. 

Incumbent telephone tier 1 & derivative fiber providers still lead with 64.7% of homes passed; incumbent telephone tier 2 & 3 providers have 11.3% of homes passed; private competitive providers/CLECs have 9.9%; and MSO/Cable operators have 9.1%.

Significantly, fiber broadband has now officially passed the half-way point in the quest to provide fiber to all U.S. homes. Fiber now passes 51.5% of primary homes in the United States. 

Fiber broadband also passes a growing percentage of second homes or short-term rentals. RVA estimates the total available market remaining for FTTH may be over 100 million homes including second and third passings in many areas, and there is likely a decade of deployment at or above the current momentum.

However, challenges still remain, especially for small providers, based on this year’s survey of providers, the researchers said. 

The largest perceived challenge is labor availability and quality of contractors, followed by rising construction costs, materials concerns, permitting, BEAD regulations, and more, the survey found. 

“We’ve known for years that the benefits of fiber outweigh any other broadband technology available, but it is always refreshing to have this annual survey validate those facts. Year after year, our research demonstrates the growing preference for fiber and the increased success of the fiber broadband ecosystem in extending the reach of high-quality broadband networks,” said Deborah Kish, Vice President of Research and Workforce Development at the Fiber Broadband Association. “The latest rounds of federal and private investments will serve as huge propellants to the next round of fiber broadband success. We are proud to be a foundational partner to the fiber broadband industry and provide the guidance and resources needed to overcome challenges and connect every community to reliable broadband and the opportunities it delivers.”

CommScope has announced that it plans to invest $60.3 million over the next four years to expand its fiber cable manufacturing facilities based in North Carolina. 

The expanded manufacturing capability and the creation of at least 250 new jobs will bolster CommScope’s ability to meet increased demand in the U.S. for fiber cables in the wake of federal initiatives to bring ‘Internet For All’—including in underserved and rural broadband markets. 

The demand for broadband related technologies is expected to continue to grow as states begin to disburse Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program funding.

“Broadband for everyone is no longer a luxury, but rather a critical necessity to participate in today’s society and economic market,” stated Chuck Treadway, president and CEO, CommScope. “We have long been committed to supplying our partners with the solutions necessary to bring broadband to everyone. Furthering our long-standing relationship with the State of North Carolina is a great next step to bring ‘Internet For All’, and we are thrilled to work with the State on this endeavor. This partnership not only contributes to the economic prosperity of Catawba County but also furthers our commitment to meet the objectives of the BEAD program. This exciting expansion continues to shine a spotlight on Catawba County and North Carolina as the hub that supplies the nation with fiber cable.”

CommScope currently has the capacity to manufacture drop cable at a rate of approximately 2 billion feet per year in its U.S. facilities – a level of production that will allow states and their partners to connect every underserved American as a part of the BEAD program, the company reported. 

The expansion will further allow CommScope to manufacture the necessary cable to enable service providers to deploy broadband across the U.S. 

Capacity increase will focus on loose tube production and additional fiber cable counts and styles needed for rural deployment, including CommScope’s HeliARC fiber-optic cable. First announced in March, the HeliARC fiber-optic cable is specifically designed for rural fiber network architecture, CommScope said. 

“Connecting every household in North Carolina to high-speed internet is going to take a lot of fiber, and with this expansion CommScope is answering the call not only with American jobs, but North Carolina jobs,” stated N.C. Governor Roy Cooper. “We appreciate CommScope’s additional investment in Catawba County and their confidence in our workforce to improve the nation’s fiber-optic infrastructure.”

HICKORY, N.C.—CommScope has launched a new HomeVantage line of fiber gateways and optical network units (ONUs).

The portfolio expansion of fiber gateways provides a cost-effective solution for service providers to deliver the full 2.5Gbps broadband speed of GPON around the home, the company reported. 

“We’re excited to debut our new HomeVantage line of fiber gateways that enable our service provider partners to consistently elevate the connected home experience,” stated Ken Haase, vice president of product management, CommScope Home Networks. “HomeVantage home networking solutions are economically designed to provide cost-effective solutions for service providers with the ability to continually deliver next generation features and advanced consumer services to the home.”

With offerings that include both one device and two-device solutions, the gateways enable reliable, single platform delivery of voice-over-IP (VoIP), data, and broadcast-quality streaming video. This new HomeVantage line of fiber gateways includes:

• HomeVantage NVG578M1 GPON Fiber Gateway with dual-band Wi-Fi 6
• HomeVantage NVG578M2 GPON Fiber Gateway with dual-band Wi-Fi 6, with enhanced Wi-Fi
• HomeVantage NVG568M2 Ethernet Gateway with dual-band Wi-Fi 6, for use with a separate ONU/ONT

CommScope is also launching at the event a range of XGS-PON passive optical network (PON) data ONUs with optional voice services to deliver up to 10Gbps symmetrical broadband services over fiber. Requiring minimal setup and configuration to enable operation, it is designed for off-the-shelf plug and play installation in indoor commercial and residential customer premises. The ONU offerings include:

• HomeVantage N670 XGS-PON Fiber indoor ONU
• HomeVantage N675 XGS-PON Fiber indoor ONU with voice

CommScope home PON solutions are standards compliant and interoperable with leading OLT vendors, including CommScope’s FLX cloud-to-edge next-generation PON solution.

CommScope Home Networks will be showcasing the new HomeVantage line of gateways at ANGA COM, May 23-25, Cologne, Germany.

More information is available here. https://www.commscope.com/.

NORWALK, Conn.—Frontier has opened its Fiber Innovation Labs as part of an effort to Improve the customer experience and accelerate Frontier’s fiber-first strategy, the company said. 

“The work we are doing in our Fiber Innovation Labs will change the way we serve our customers and will ultimately change the industry,” said Veronica Bloodworth, Frontier’s chief network officer. “We have the best team in the business – they live and breathe innovation. They have been awarded several patents and are in the process of bringing those new inventions to life to deliver the best ‘un-cable’ internet experience to our customers. Be prepared to be amazed.”

The company also noted that its teams at the labs will work to invent and test next-generation technology for fiber deployment and connectivity while also looking for more efficient ways to do installation and repairs.

As part of Frontier’s Fiber Innovation Labs, the company has launched its first-ever outside plant facility in Lewisville, Texas. The facility is designed as a miniature suburban neighborhood that mimics the real-life experiences of its techs serving customers every day. It features roads, sidewalks, a state-of-the-art central office, a small house and a reconstructed manhole system. It also simulates weather elements and temperature changes. 

This will allow Frontier to test and learn new methods in real-world environments to install and maintain its fiber-optic network.

Scientists at the Technical University of Denmark (DTU) and Chalmers University of Technology in Gothenburg, Sweden claim to be the first in the world to transmit more than 1 petabit per second (Pbit/s) using only a single laser and a single optical chip.

The researchers transmitted 1.8 Pbit/s, which was carried by the light from one optical source. That corresponds to twice the current global internet traffic.

They used a custom-designed optical chip, which can use the light from a single infrared laser to create a rainbow spectrum of many colors, i.e. many frequencies. The researchers said that one frequency (color) of a single laser can be multiplied into hundreds of frequencies (colors) in a single chip.

Victor Torres Company, professor at Chalmers University of Technology and head of the research group that has developed and manufactured the chip, said: “What is special about this chip is that it produces a frequency comb with ideal characteristics for fibre-optical communications – it has high optical power and covers a broad bandwidth within the spectral region that is interesting for advanced optical communications.”

“In fact, some of the characteristic parameters were achieved by coincidence and not by design,” he added. “However, with efforts in my team, we are now capable to reverse engineer the process and achieve with high reproducibility microcombs for target applications in telecommunications.”

The researchers believe their discovery will help to reduce the future power consumption of the internet – which could have an impact on both video delivery and consumption.

“Our solution provides a potential for replacing hundreds of thousands of the lasers located at internet hubs and data centers, all of which guzzle power and generate heat,” added professor Leif Katsuo Oxenløwe, head of the centre of excellence for silicon photonics for optical communications (SPOC) at DTU. “We have an opportunity to contribute to achieving an Internet that leaves a smaller climate footprint.”

This article originally appeared on TVBEurope.

WASHINGTON D.C.—The Fiber Broadband Association (FBA) has announced the launch of its Optical Telecom Installation Certification (OpTIC) program.

The pilot course of the OpTIC program will start on March 29, 2022, in partnership with Greenlight Community Broadband and Wilson Community College in Wilson, N.C. and expand from there into other states.

The program was designed by leading fiber broadband experts to quickly improve fiber technician skills, fill the existing fiber skills gap and accelerate fiber deployments across North America.

“We are currently engaged with 23 states to roll out this fiber optic technician training program with their community college systems and fiber optic broadband service providers. We look to reach all 50 states and the U.S. territories by the end of the year," said Deborah Kish, vice president of research and workforce development at the Fiber Broadband Association. “We did a limited launch with veterans earlier this month and are phasing our rollout based on training institute readiness.”

The FBA forecasts that more fiber will be deployed in the next five years than has been deployed in the past 20 years, but the need for skilled fiber optic technicians will significantly impact each state’s ability to deploy broadband. The FBA’s OpTIC program teaches the knowledge and skills required to properly install, test and maintain high-speed fiber broadband networks.

“It is the FBA’s mission to accelerate the deployment of fiber-based broadband so that every community can leverage the economic and societal benefits that only fiber can deliver,” said Gary Bolton, president and CEO of the Fiber Broadband Association. “When we saw the need for an expanded fiber workforce in order to keep up with broadband demand and growth opportunities, we began development of this intensive training program to ensure that no state is left behind in the digital equity gap.”

The OpTIC program was inspired by the late Gene Scott, a long-time community broadband advocate, chairman of the FBA’s Education Committee and general manager outside plant of Greenlight Community Broadband in Wilson, N.C., where the first pilot course will be based. The Wilson Community College class will be led by Larry Johnson, FBA Technology Committee member and president at FiberStory, and Jimmi Hendricks of Greenlight Community Broadband.

HAUPPAUGE, N.Y.—With so many fans turning in to watch the NFL playoffs, MultiDyne is helping provide unique coverage of the games for CBS and Fox with its fiber-optic signal transport technology combined with the SkyCam robotic camera rig. SkyCam units will be part of the upcoming coverage of the NFC and AFC Championship games on Sunday, Jan. 24, and for Super Bowl 50 on Sunday, Feb. 7.

SkyCam "WildCat" system

The SkyCam “WildCat” system is made up of a Sony HDC-P1 box style camera tethered to a gryo-stabilized, weatherproof housing that includes an HD-3500 multi-rate HD fiber-optic transport link from MultiDyne Video & Fiber Optic Systems. HD-3500 link converts the SDI video signal from the camera to optical so it can travel across a fiber-optic suspension cable. The MultiDyne HD-3500 RX unit is then located in the control room to receive the optical signal and convert it back to SDI to be used in the live broadcast. Another pair of HD-3500 units is used to send the signal from the control room to the production truck.

The HD-3500 provides a multi-rate HD fiber-optic transport link that supports HD-SDI video signals up to 1080p at 3G/s. It also supports two channels of outbound digital AES Audio or four analog audio channels with two bidirectional auxiliary audio channels for four-wire intercom, as well as two bidirectional RS-232 or RS 422 data channels, 4 GPI, and one tally.

The SkyCam system will be used by CBS for Super Bowl 50 at Levi Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif.