February 12, 2015 — DURHAM, N.H.– During January 26-30, seven companies implementing chipsets based on the ITU-T’s new G.fast specifications met at the University of New Hampshire InterOperability Laboratory (UNH-IOL) to perform the first interoperability testing of the new technology. The ITU-T’s G.9701 (G.fast) specification was approved this past December, designed to provide broadband connection speeds of up to 1Gbps over a single twisted pair cable, meeting the ever increasing demands of applications in the home and business around the world.
The plugfest marked the first time implementations of the ITU-T specification came together to test with one another, to ensure deployed products will be interoperable from “day one.” Broadcom, HiSilicon, Ikanos, Lantiq, Metanoia, Realtek, and Sckipio all participated in the event with their chipset platforms. Sparnex Instruments also participated in the event, providing a G.fast copper loop simulator.
“This first event marks a critical step forward in the development of the standards and implementations,” commented Chaesub Lee, Director of the ITU Telecommunication Standardization Bureau.
The Broadband Forum has a long- standing history of plugfests around the broadband technologies, including ADSL, SHDSL, ADSL2/2plus, VDSL2, TR-069, GPON, and G.vector. “We see the interoperability of these technologies as one of the major driving forces of our member companies,” said Robin Mersh, Broadband Forum CEO. “The Forum’s interoperability programs also extend beyond plugfest events, to certification programs for TR-069, GPON, and will soon include certification of G.fast interfaces as well. These events are the first step in working with member companies to provide interoperable G.fast solutions to the market.”
This first event serves as a preliminary step in a series of plugfests planned by the Broadband Forum and UNH-IOL to progress the G.fast technology, before launching the certification testing efforts expected to begin in the second half of 2015. The next event is scheduled to take place March 9-13 at the UNH-IOL in Durham, NH, USA. Future events will also include system integrators, developing the actual equipment used in the network, such as DPU and CPE devices.
