Developers that want to provide their homebuyers with sexy fiber-optic benefits — like triple-play TV, phone and high-speed Internet services — must first provide a very non-sexy hub for that infrastructure.
Usually called a headend, although sometimes called a central office, the hub hosts the electrical components necessary to process and encode the video, data and voice streams entering the development. The electronics within the headend, in turn, distribute the information throughout the development.
Sounds simple, but since fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) technology is a relatively new concept, how to build a headend isn't exactly common knowledge. We talked to some of the few folks with extensive headend building experience and asked them what developers need to know.
Bob Saylor, CEO of Sky Cable Inc., is a consultant and content provider working in conjunction with a company that designs and installs FTTH networks. Kent Brown is director of access solutions at AFL Telecommunications, a provider of fiber-optic products, engineering expertise and integrated services to the telecommunications industry. Ben Wright is director of FTTH design engineering for Connexion Technologies, a company that designs, installs and operates fiber optic networks for developers. And Diane Kruse is the CEO and founder of Zoomy Communications, a design, engineering, consulting and construction company for FTTH implementations. These folks have offered to TecHome Builder readers some of the basics of building a headend.
It's important to note, they all say, that each development and each FTTH deployment is different. Nevertheless, based on their experiences, the experts offer insightful advice.
Sizing It Up
The wide range of size suggestions from our expert panel — from 100 to 480 square feet — is reflective of there not being an established formula for building a headend. The size also varies due to the scale of the development — a critical determining factor, according to Kruse. For instance, when working on a 3,000-unit project, she says Zoomy's typical headend buildings range from 300 to 400 square feet.
Brown agrees that it varies greatly based on the size of the development, but offers a "generic answer" of 200 square feet for a 300 to 500 home community. Saylor recommends a smaller scale of 100 to 300 square feet. Wright, meanwhile, says Connexion's buildings are 21 feet by 25 feet, or "480 square feet inside to work with."
Brown points out another variable: "Some folks use the headend to help market technology aspects of the community, so they include a sales lobby, rest room and other work space."
Raiding the Headend
We know that this hub of technology hosts the components necessary to process and encode the video, voice and data streams entering the development. To explain what that physically entails, however, Brown runs down the list:
Video — "Typically, this equipment is the largest part of the headend. For RF video, equipment would include receivers, modulators, satellite uplinks and digital headend equipment, but exact configuration can vary widely. You are looking at six to eight racks of equipment for a 'full service' headend with 80 channels for basic services and full 250-plus channel digital. A basic video headend could be one to two racks."
Voice — "This includes the voice handoff from the local provider (ILEC [incumbent local exchange carrier], CLEC [competitive local exchange carrier], VoIP [voice over Internet protocol]). It would typically include a gateway and other service provider equipment. In some cases, the voice equipment will include a community IP PBX [private branch exchange] to support local call routing and advanced features. The voice services would then be routed into the community network (PON or point to point, see sidebar on page 41). The community network equipment will consist of a core router, aggregation switches and/or equipment chassis. It will likely be a half to one rack for voice equipment and one to three racks for community network equipment."
Data — "This includes the data handoff from a local provider. Data services can include a wide variety of things, like Internet access, security services/monitoring, etc. Data services are then routed into the community network. A half rack is likely needed for data handoff equipment."
Brown also adds a few external items to the list, including satellite dishes (between one and seven dishes per headend, with diameters of between 1 and 5 meters), a generator (although some use DC power equipment and have batteries) and HVAC.
Straw, Wood or Brick?
Typical building architecture can be used to build a headend, according to Saylor. The caveat, of course, is that it depends on what a particular developer's typical building architecture is.
The headend needs to be sturdy and element-proof. Zoomy prefers "prefab concrete buildings or poured-in-place concrete structures," according to Kruse. She adds that having a concrete structure protects from flooding, high winds, tornados, fire and such.
Connexion has many properties in Florida and around the Gulf of Mexico — hurricane country. In an effort to provide more stability against bad weather, Wright says the company typically builds headends with concrete blocks or 8-inch poured concrete walls "so they are solid vaults." He adds that Connexion takes it a step further. "We try to match the exterior of the headend building with the development so it doesn't stick out as an eye sore. We have buildings with stucco finishes, stamped brick, Hardie plank, rock columns and even some fake doors and windows."
Location, Location, Location
Headends can go anywhere. In a way, the location is inconsequential, explains Saylor. "Fiber can transport signal for miles before appreciable signal loss is experienced." There are locations, however, that are more advantageous than others.
To minimize the cost of the design and length of cables to be run, a centralized location is preferred. However, not all developments have a central location, per se, because many are sprawled out. The headend doesn't even have to be on the development's property (e.g., a headend in one development could also serve another of the builder's nearby developments). The potential problem in that case — and in the case of sprawled out developments in which city roads or state highways run through — is that laws vary from town to town. In some jurisdictions, for example, significant fees are required to run cable under or over public roads.
These limitations have been an issue for Connexion, according to Wright. "We build on every property we provide infrastructure to because we are a private company and not a service provider," he says. "We can't transport video content across public [roads], so we stay on the private property in the neighborhood."
As for central locations, Wright says Connexion simply works with the developer to pick a location that works for both parties. Sometimes they have to compromise because "the developer wants to hide the headend, but we need to have a clear path to the southern, eastern and western skies for satellite dishes to pull down video content." He adds that it's good to be close to the entrance facility's fiber, which connects back to outside world. "The closer we are, the shorter and cheaper the path to get the fiber connection into the building."
Putting a Price on It
Calculating costs of building a headend is inexact, since just about every factor is variable. For instance, there aren't a lot of developments that have the exact same number of units. Nevertheless, we asked our panel to answer the question of headend cost.
"We typically pay around $80,000 for each headend building we build and that doesn't include equipment," Wright says. "The size of the community doesn't matter because we try to provide the same services at all of our sites."
He points out that since the size of the community doesn't change the $80,000 figure, it's beneficial for Connexion to work on larger communities. It will work on the smaller ones, but tends to keep above 250 lots, he explains.
In Zoomy's evaluation, it does factor in the price of equipment. It cites the cost of constructing a headend for 500 units at between $190,000 and $240,000.
Keeping a Cool Headend
Logic dictates that a room full of constantly running technology needs to be kept cool to avoid overheating. In fact, says Brown, "cooling is the biggest issue." He explains that calculating heat load, which varies with equipment type, and cooling requirements are key and affect performance — not to mention the comfort of technicians.
The building experts we spoke to keep headend temperatures between 69 and 72 degrees. To do that, Wright says Connexion uses two 2-ton A/C units that work on a rotating basis "so they're not running at the same time."
Multi-Dwelling Equals Multi-Headends
When working on multi-dwelling units (MDUs), the entire headend approach can change. The reason, Brown says, is that many MDUs are built with equipment rooms which can accommodate the technology that in a sprawled development would have to live in a headend.
"Also, MDUs provide the ability to design systems that are distributed between a main distribution frame (MDF) and intermediate distribution frame (IDF)," he adds. "This means that typical headend components can split among several locations. This can reduce cost per door."
Cashing In on Headends
The return on investment varies on a case by case basis, says Kruse. Determining factors include the number of lots passed, the time it takes to sell those lots, whether the developer intends to bundle the triple-play fees with the association dues and how the developer pays for infrastructure construction.