reate the subscriber-to-subscriber, end-to-end, digital voice and data network known as the Integrated Systems Digital Network (ISDN) in 1988 [2, 3]. Initial computer-terminal communications were carried out using telephony lines and in- band transmissions in the order of 300 baud (symbol) rates. These in-band (4 kHz) modulator/ demodulators (modems) were further enhanced to support up to 56 kbps over two pairs of copper wires. Data communications from subscriber premises remained at these transmission rates until the turn of the 21st century, when digital subscriber line (DSL) standards provided multi megabit per second rates on twisted pair copper wires. Coaxial cables invented in the 19th century were first used to connect telephone exchanges in the 20th century. This includes the first underwater telephony cable to connect Tasmania and mainland Australia, and a long-distance telephone cable between New York and Philadelphia in 1936. Cable TVs using coaxial cables were introduced soon after in the late 1940s as televi- sions became popular to provide reception to underserved areas. Coaxial cables were also used as a medium for local area networks data communications in the 1980s. As the popularity of the internet and data connectivity at home grew, cable TV operators started to move into inter- net service provision using data over cable service interface specification (DOCSIS) standards in the late 1990s. The invention of optical fibres dates to the late 1960s. However, their very high capacity ensured that they were soon being rolled out in most inter-exchange links, with the first links being rolled out in the early 1980s. Optical fibres were initially used for international tele- phony links replacing coaxial undersea cables: for example the first transatlantic cable TAT-8 was laid in 1988. Optical fibre cable applications were soon extended to long-distance tele- phone and later on to data communications aimed at business subscribers. The usage of optical fibres to connect subscriber premises to the inter