France's Cegetal Tests Alcatel's 8 Mbps SHDSL

Cegetel, France’s first alternative national fixed telecommunications operator, has activated an 8 Mbps DSL link between two pilot sites located in Paris and Lyon. The rate is four times the market standard DSL service. The deployment uses Alcatel’s SHDSL technology, aggregating 4 copper pairs (2 Mbps each) into a single 8 Mbps link. The aggregation ability is made possible by the simultaneous use of SHDSL technology and inverse multiplexing ATM. The first 8 Mbps SHDSL link allows Cegetel and Alcatel to confirm high network performance, in particular back and forth data transfer, in less than 20 milliseconds. http://www.alcatel.com