As small telcos and policymakers continue to debate the optimum target speed for broadband deployments, equipment manufacturers continue to work on enhancements to existing copper infrastructure with the goal of minimizing the need for fiber in the network. Nokia Siemens Networks today claimed it has set a world record for copper DSL speeds, obtaining data rates of 825 Mb/s over 400 meters of copper phone wiring.
In the test, NSN used phantom DSL—an approach that bonds two physical wires together to create a virtual, or “phantom” channel. The manufacturer also said it obtained a speed of 750 Mb/s over 500 meters. This is a significant gain over the 300 Mb/s over 400 meters that Alcatel-Lucent demonstrated several months ago, also using phantom DSL.
At that time, Alcatel-Lucent said the technology also could support 100 MB/s over distances of up to 1 kilometer. But NSN’s announcement today did not address speeds over distances greater than 500 meters.
Copper access lines deployed by U.S. telcos often are considerably longer than 400 or 500 meters (1,312 to 1,640 feet)—or even 1 kilometer–which means that to use the phantom DSL technology, many service providers would still need to deploy fiber in local networks to support the new technology, just not as much fiber.
Neither NSN nor Alcatel-Lucent has provided an estimate of when phantom DSL might be available—although NSN appears a bit more certain about making it available some day. “Nokia Siemens Networks’ Phantom DSL will become an integral part of the company’s DSLAM products hiX 562x/3x,” the company said in today’s announcement.
The company made a point of positioning phantom DSL as an interim solution, however. “Laying down new optical fiber to the home remains costly, though it is capable of delivering very high speeds and is a definite solution for long-term bandwidth requirements,” said Eduard Scheiterer, head of broaband access for NSN, in the announcement.. “However, the innovative use of technologies such as phantom circuits helps operators provide an efficient last mile connectivity with existing copper wires.”
Hey vendors – less press releases promising the world, more affordable real world networking options. Just sayin.
No one ever reports how fast these new DSL technologies trail off. If you can get 800 meg at 1,500 ft. What can you get at 8,000 ft – nothing? I mean does it trail off so rapidly after 1,500 ft, that it's not usable beyond it? Or can you get say 50 meg at 8,000 ft?
Great question Tony. Part of the problem is these super fast DSL claims are only in a lab environment, so its difficult to predict what's going to take place in the real world. We're all going to have to wait and see if these lab result claims translate into actual solutions for service providers and to what degree. My guess is it's a couple years off at best before we see any solution based on these claims, if at all.
Phantom BS is more like it.
Enough of the FUD. Why waste my time and any money laying anything but Fiber…all the way to the home…FTTH is the ONLY SOULTION.
Its been long enough providers. You should have provided the fiber our taxes, fees and grants were given to you to provide. Wasting money on 3G, 4G … 10G etc…give us fiber.
My next home will have fiber, FTTH, or I will NOT buy it. And I am sick and tired of the BS scarcity myth and excuses. We should have had 100Mb/100Mb bi-synchronous Internet bandwidth by 2000. Its 2010 and you guys can not even provide un-throttled, un-limited, net neutral 768Kbps (way too low) upstream MINIMUM bandwidth. HUGE FAILE!
Many Americans, me included, will never forgive the telco/cable company/wireless/wireline/cellular monopoly, duopoly greedily hobbling our bandwidth to prop up your failed tiered pricing. There is a reason you are losing hundreds of thousands of customers every quarter. Fiber is the ONLY solution…and not just to our neighborhood, but all the way into our homes…no more excuses.
Where's the Fiber?
Today in America, only Utopia(Utah), Greenlight(N.C.), EPB (TN), LUS (LA) and Google are providing bi-synchronous bandwidth via fiber. Here is a map a friend of mine put together that shows the only place in the USA where a residential customer can get decent bandwidth via Fiber ( http://sn.im/1axal4 map) Soon, hopefully this year, Google will add their 5 Go Big for a Gig cities and many of us are planning to move! You have to go where the jobs and opportunities are. Companies will flock to these cities, no thanks to the telcos/cable companies/ etc… In every case the telcos refuse to provide the fiber and when the politicians bring in another company to do what they refuse to do, how do they respond, by bribing elected officials and attempting to put laws on the books in the state to prevent their growth and more competition. Supposedly the jerks have put laws on the books in 34 states to prevent competition via Fiber specifically. PATHETIC
Why should American ever forgive you? You have been screwing us over since the 1990s, when you were given money (estimated at over $200 Billion) to provide one thing, fiber. WHERE'S the FIBER?
Oh and I will have a side order of net neutrality with no throttling of service, fantastic Quality of Service (QoS) and a MINIMUM BANDWIDTH GUARANTEE or its NO DEAL!
Your days are numbered, you deserve all the animosity you have been sowing for the last two decades. Your excuses, we see through them…and I never wanted a combined bill anyway, so stuff it!
Once I have an option without you, based on your anti-American, anti-job growth, stagflation activities preventing our children from having a future, shame on you all!
If you are using DD-WRT, OpenWRT or Tomato firmware on a supported firewall/router in your home you will see your real bandwidth 24X7…any other test is simply NOT ACCURATE.
At least give us 768Kbps MINIMUM UPSTREAM BANDWIDTH, please! Not some throttled 40Kbps with a promise of 2Mbps…I am reminded daily of your failure to provide service, I see in my firewall/router logs thanks to DD-WRT, you fail!
A constant reminder over multiple days, multiple weeks, multiple months, multiple years has left suc a negative taste in our mouths, that in the future, when we have options (and we will everywhere one day) you could give your services away and we would say HECK NO!
You made your bed over the last two decades and it ain't pretty!