FTTH Drop Reference Architecture: FDH → FET → Demarcation → ONT | Tii Technologies

Tii Technologies · Reference Architecture

The FTTH Drop, End to End: Which Enclosure Goes Where

Quick answer: a complete FTTH drop uses four enclosure stages: a fiber distribution hub where the feeder is split (Tii FDH Series), a fiber entrance terminal where distribution fiber transitions to the building or drop cluster (FET Series), a drop demarcation enclosure at each premise for the provider/customer handoff with slack storage (FISS Series — the 506F is the standard choice), and a customer connection point at the ONT (CCP Series).

1 · FDHFiber Distribution Hub — feeder in, PON split, distribution outFDH1/2 wall · FDH5–9 cabinets
2 · FETFiber Entrance Terminal — OSP to building / drop clusterFET1–FET4 · HCCP (4F–72F)
3 · DemarcDrop demarcation + slack storage at each premiseFISS: 506F · 505F · 507F/508F · 506R/509R reeled
4 · CCPCustomer connection point at the ONTCCP1–CCP7 · CCPW1

Stage 1 — Split at the fiber distribution hub

Feeder fiber from the central office lands at the FDH, where PLC splitters (typically 1×32) divide it toward the serving area and every drop begins as a connectorized port. Choose by port count and site: FDH1/FDH2 wall-mount hubs (12–288 ports) for MDUs and small nodes; FDH5–FDH9 pole/pad cabinets (to 864 ports) for neighborhood serving areas; HCCH for cassette-based wall/pole growth. New to hubs? Start with What is a fiber distribution hub?

Stage 2 — Transition at the fiber entrance terminal

Distribution fiber reaches a building or a cluster of homes and needs a weatherproof, re-enterable point to patch or splice toward individual drops. That’s the FET Series: FET1/505FT (4F) for small clusters, FET2 (16F) for small MDUs, FET3 (36F) with splitter options where the split happens here instead of the hub, FET4 (48F) and HCCP (72F) for high-density cassette-based drops. Primer: What is a fiber entrance terminal?

Stage 3 — Hand off at the drop demarcation enclosure

At each premise, provider fiber meets customer fiber inside a demarcation enclosure that also stores drop slack for future work. This is the FISS family — and the stage with the most fitting decisions: the 506F (up to 12 adapters, 50 ft slack) is the standard single-family choice; 507F/508F where conduit termination or rigid drops (3″ bend radius, NEMA-4) demand it; the reeled 506R/509R dispense pre-connectorized MicroDrop fiber for the fastest installs; 505F for compact patch-and-splice; 169F/171F for the smallest footprints. Full decision guidance: which fiber interface device do I need?

Stage 4 — Terminate at the customer connection point

Inside the home or unit, the drop lands at a CCP Series wall terminal — the ONT access point. CCP7 mounts the ONT directly; CCP5/CCPW1 give wallplate form factors; CCP1 adds a splice tray for greenfield. The in-home run itself uses peelable MicroDrop cable and the peel-and-stick Fiber Pathway System for near-invisible 900 µm routing.

The architecture as a bill of materials

Typical single-family FTTH drop, per serving area
StageTii componentTypical quantity
Distribution hubFDH5 (144-port, 1×32 splitters)1 per ~144 homes passed
Entrance terminalFET2 (16F) or FET3 (36F)1 per building / drop cluster
Drop demarcation506F (or 509R for pre-connectorized speed)1 per premise
Customer connectionCCP7-ONT + MicroDrop cable1 per subscriber

Because every stage is one vendor, the entire drop can be specified, quoted, and supported as a single architecture — and design tools carrying the Tii component library can auto-populate all four stages from one template. Machine-readable specifications and part-number logic for every component above are published on the linked family pages.

Designing a build? Call 888-844-4720 or request a quote — or ask us about loading the Tii component library into your fiber design platform.