Whatever happened to the combination ONT-home router?

Some say uncertainty surrounding the future direction of wireless technologies in the home may have slowed the development of the BHR/ONT.

“To me that has been the issue that has stalled some of this,” Keith said. “Do I have to wait for 802.11n to be ready for prime time? Does everything stall waiting for femto[cells]?”
Verizon’s spokesperson dismissed that notion. “As for femtocells, we are committed to the fiber build out through 2010, meeting the broadband and TV objectives we set for ourselves,” he said. “Alternate technologies have not taken us off that path.”

Interest in femtocell technology may have cooled lately, Keith said, providing more market clarity for equipment makers. But it is not going away entirely, so if carriers with a preference for femtocells in the home end up being a minority, they may well pay a premium for it. “If I make a strong BHR today with 10/100/1-gig routing as well as the latest 802.11 technology, if I’m just missing femto, then maybe the market moves forward, and femto [remains] an option for people who decide to take it,” Keith said. “But that will add significant cost. When you start to throw in the femto component, that’s going to be more expensive.”

FIBER TO THE DESK

One of the key characteristics of the ONT/BHR is exactly where it goes in the home. Assuming it includes wireless technology (whether WiFi or femto), it will likely need to sit on the user’s desk rather than in a garage or basement, where wireless transmission would be inhibited. (And the more visible the device becomes to end users, the more important its aesthetics become, and the more the device will need to adhere to the design sensibilities of the consumer electronics industry rather than the outside plant equipment sector.)

That location then would require FTTP providers to run fiber all the way through the home to the desk, as opposed to the garage or basement (as some do today with so-called “just-inside ONTs”), which could significantly impact installation time and expense and argue for keeping the ONT and BHR separate.

The question might be different in multidwelling units (MDUs), however. If carriers have already made the decision to deploy ONTs in each apartment closet, a combination ONT/BHR with embedded wireless functions may suffice because apartments are generally smaller than houses, so a wireless gateway in the closet could provide effective coverage throughout the apartment. However, many FTTP providers don’t put ONTs in each closet; rather, they terminate the optical signal in the basement and use existing cable to run service the rest of the way. In that case, the ONT is likely to remain a separate box.

Motorola’s Keith believes Verizon will probably find a place for ONT/BHRs somewhere, if even in niche applications. “It could be in MDUs. It could be in certain types of environments where they’re going to bring an ONT indoors and it makes sense to combine these units. It could be something that leverages additional capabilities in the set-top box. If you start to add wireless connectivity into a set-top box so you can broaden the wireless network in the home, a combination ONT/BHR starts to make sense.” 

Next: How the superhome gateway upstages the ONT/BHR