Networks built around telecom closets and copper cabling are hitting their limits, especially when it comes to supporting remote locations like parking garages, loading docks, and entrances. Copper can only run so far from a telecom room before data-transmission speed and reliability drop off.
This wasn’t a major issue when most data was coming from desktop computers, but it becomes a real constraint when devices are scattered throughout a space.
Fiber to the Edge (FttE) architecture solves this problem by using fiber to carry all data to and from devices at the edge of the network (where everything “sits”). This lets devices, data flows, and users “live” wherever they need to instead of being constricted to a certain location so they can be close to a telecom room. Wireless access points can be placed wherever coverage is needed, IP cameras can be mounted wherever they capture the best views, and sensors can sit wherever conditions need to be monitored.
While FttE is a major step forward in connectivity, it solves only half the problem. Once a device is installed and connected to fiber, it needs one other thing: reliable power. But today’s power architectures aren’t designed for flexibility. Despite what FttE enables, device placement is often determined based on proximity to electrical panels and outlets instead of what’s best for coverage, performance, and safety.
Without Flexible Power, FttE Falls Short
There’s a gap between what FttE enables and what legacy power models can truly support. Connectivity may be able to go wherever you want it, but traditional power systems can’t follow without higher costs, delays, and complexity.
In theory, FttE makes it possible to place devices like industrial PoE (Power over Ethernet) switches and GPON ONTs (optical network terminals) wherever they’re needed because it eliminates the distance and bandwidth penalties that come with long copper runs.
In practice, however, AC power can diminish FttE’s flexibility; it requires device installation to be dictated by the location of the nearest outlet. For instance, a camera that should sit at the far end of a parking lot for ideal coverage might be moved closer to an electrical room, simply because running new AC to that spot is too costly or disruptive.
AC Restricts Design Options
There’s no debating that AC power can deliver high levels of power over long distances. But extending it to edge locations (which are far from electrical rooms and pathways) can be expensive and disruptive to the point where owners and designers scale back or make concessions to stay within budget.
For example, extending AC power to a remote site often involves:
- Installing conduit
- Pulling large‑gauge copper
- Applying for and coordinating permits
- Scheduling and passing inspections
- Scheduling and waiting for linemen and licensed electricians
While FttE can still be used in these situations, pairing it with traditional power approaches puts schedules and budgets at risk.
AC Creates Safety Issues
Traditional AC circuits can be hazardous; they deliver enough current to cause shock, sustain arc faults, and start fires if something goes wrong. That’s why they’re governed by strict codes, require qualified personnel, and rely on rigid conduit, grounding practices, and overcurrent protection.
For FttE, this means every new AC run to support a device brings with it the full weight of electrical safety requirements to satisfy and manage.
AC Makes Scaling Difficult
Moves, adds, and changes are typically straightforward in FttE environments. But AC power can make these seemingly simple expansions much more involved.
Every time you want to add a new device in a location that doesn’t have convenient access to AC, you likely need another conduit run, another breaker, another round of permits and inspections, and another visit from a licensed electrician.
This slows down how quickly you can respond to new requirements or shifts in how spaces are used. A routine network upgrade, like expanding more Wi‑Fi coverage or adding additional cameras, turns into a major project when power can’t be extended as easily as fiber.
Digital Electricity Completes the FttE Story
VoltServer’s patented Digital Electricity® (DE) is a fault‑managed power (FMP) solution that’s just as flexible as FttE.
What Is Digital Electricity?
DE is an intelligent, reliable, and proven power distribution technology that delivers high power over long distances while remaining inherently safe and easy to deploy.
As a fault-managed power solution, it makes FttE projects faster, easier, and more cost-effective to deliver on time in key ways:
- Rapid Deployment: DE is less disruptive to deploy than other power solutions; systems can be ready in weeks instead of months. In many regions, permits aren’t required, further accelerating project timelines.
- Inherently Safe: Hazardous current is stopped within milliseconds when a fault is detected, preventing shock, arc flash, and fire.
- Simplified Infrastructure: DE reduces the need for conduit, panels, utility service upgrades, and copper.
- Resource Optimized: By decreasing the materials, electrical equipment, and labor hours required for installation, DE leads to substantial reductions in capital and operating expenses.
Why DE Is a Great Fit for FttE
Digital Electricity makes it feasible to get reliable power to wherever it’s needed. Switches, ONTs, and other edge devices can be placed so they deliver value instead of worrying about how to get power to them.
DE delivers substantial power across long distances using communications cabling. Installation options deemed too difficult or expensive before are suddenly realistic and repeatable. Wherever you can run fiber, you can realistically deliver power.
DE also centralizes power distribution, creating a single, controlled environment for backup power and monitoring instead of managing disparate UPS units. This simplifies maintenance and improves visibility for the teams supporting these systems.
The bottom line: DE makes it possible to use FttE the way it was intended.
Designing Data and Power Networks as One
FttE is changing how networks are designed, and Digital Electricity helps owners take full advantage of its flexibility and reach.
DE makes it possible to plan data and power networks as a single, integrated system instead of separate initiatives.
When connectivity and power can follow devices and people to wherever they create the most value, rethink how spaces are used, created, and adapted over time. This opens up the possibility of new services, new revenue models, and faster responses to changing needs, without being boxed in by infrastructure.
With FttE and DE, networks can be designed based on what devices, data flows, and users need, instead of worrying about the nearest telecom room or IDF.
