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 Televes, as the leading firm in the development and manufacture of telecommunications solutions, endorses the development of the Digital Home, and for this purpose it aims to lead the deployment of Polymer Optical Fibre (POF) technology. And given the regulatory context and the current state of the technique, it considers it to be the ideal solution for the diffusion of the services in this field.
The development of the Digital Home in Spain has received an important boost with the Regulations on Common Telecommunications Infrastructures (CTI) approved by the Council of Ministers on 11th March. This standard (which is an update of the previous regulations, which dated back to 2003) includes optical fibre and coaxial cable, as well as traditional pair cable, among the telecommunications equipment that must be included in new constructions. This way, it favours the access of homes and businesses to telephone, broadband and television services, as well as a wide variety of advanced applications. All of this will be possible due to the introduction of ultra-rapid access networks, capable of providing speeds of over 100 Mbits per second.
In addition, the new CTI defines the contents of the Digital Home for the first time, with various levels of integration and a functional focus based on a series of services: Security, environment control, energy efficiency, leisure and entertainment, communications and interactive access to multimedia contents. To these we would have to add the Teleassistance services, due to their great economic and social value, which are understood to be the combination of Telemedicine and Telecare.
Given the contents of the new CTI, the current state of the technique and the lines of research underway, Televes endorses polymer optical fibre (POF) technology for the diffusion of services in the Digital Home. The Company’s R&D Department is working on this line of work.
Advantages for the Installer and for the user
Compared to other solutions, such as WiFi, CAT or PLC, POF technology presents unquestionable advantages for the telecommunications installer and the end user:

•    Economical and easy to install. Polymer optical fibre is compatible with the mains electrical ducts, which allows less costly and intrusive cabling, in new homes and home renovations.
•    Capacity and efficiency. In a context of growing demand for bandwidth, POF technology guarantees a capacity in accordance with present and future needs, as it can support transmission speeds of up to 1 Gbps at distances of 200 metres.
•    Robustness and security. Unlike wireless systems, POF is immune to interferences and intrinsically secure: It cannot be intercepted and the communication cannot be easily interrupted, and, in addition to this it does not emit radiation. By using wavelength in the visible spectrum, it provides additional security, as the user can see if the communication is operative by checking whether there is light present. This is particularly important in applications or services which involve health, such as Teleassistance, and it is not within the reach of other infrastructures, such as wireless or structured cabling (CAT), which could be inoperative without the user being able to detect it.
•    Experience. Polymer optical fibre has already demonstrated its capacities in industrial use and in automobile engineering, and therefore, the next step towards the supply of telecommunications solutions in homes is imminent.

All of this endorses Televes’ decision to work on developing solutions for the Digital Home based on POF technology. Solutions in which the company will work based on the commitment to quality, close relations with customers and a respect for the environment, values which distinguish a leading multinational company in its sector.