Special Issue of the 8th FOAN (Fiber Optics in Access Network) Workshop Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, September 2019

Abstract

As in previous years, FOAN 2019 was the event where representatives from industry, academia, and regulatory organizations met with the primary goal of bringing and presenting their latest researches, challenges, and ideas. Emphasis was on applications in telecom services, in order to improve Quality of Service and accelerate the achievement of business goals. FOAN 2019 was a friendly and exciting event in the city of Sarajevo that covered three full days. Attendees came from 22 countries in Europe, Asia, India, and America. In these three days the attendees discussed a wide range of topics in relation to Access Networks. We had representatives from regional telecom leader companies, such as Telecom Slovenia, A1 Croatia, and BH Telecom. Duško Žutić from A1 Croatia, as a member of the A1 Telecom Austria Group, explained that A1 started their business in Croatia 20 years ago as a mobile provider. In the meantime, they recognized a need for their own fiber network and after two acquisitions evolved from a mobile into a converged operator, and now are building a fixed network. The new goal is 5G (Fifth Generation Wireless Cellular). The easiest and most costeffective way to reach this goal is to build one fiber network for two targets: Connecting the end customer via FTTH, and inter-connecting base transceiver stations (BTS) and microwave hubs. Matjaž Pogačnik from Telecom Slovenia presented their imposing regional optical network in the Western Balkan region and SEE (South East Europe). They believe it is the key strategic advantage of the Telekom Slovenia Group. The FTTH program of Telecom Slovenia is one of the first big rollouts in Europe. This project was in a crisis until 2016 when they changed their strategy from P2P to GPON. Matajaž also presented their Smart City pilot project in the small town of Novo Mesto and explained that Telekom Slovenia provides a whole Smart City solutions portfolio including Smart Parking, Smart Lighting, eMobility, Traffic Control, and Mobile air quality sensors. Elma Adanalić form BH Telecom presented the latest happenings in BH Telecom and explained that mixed technologies (P2P, GPON, and xDSL) are very desired features for telecom customers in Bosnia. In parallel, local and regional experts had very interesting discussions about telecom infrastructure in the Western Balkan region. Their focus was on how infrastructure regulations can accelerate investment and improve customer experience in the region. The regulations have to be devised quicker and issued in much more detail in areas with intensive construction of residential and business buildings. The pipes, fiber, or pair, then cable, and finely bitstream have to be further regulated and described in more details in order to help investors to ensure infrastructures for high-quality internet and other telecommunication services.