Telekom Austria Group’s A1 domestic subsidiary, together with its technology partner Alcatel-Lucent, has demonstrated G.fast running a several hundred megabits per second. Currently, G.fast is still in a testing phase at A1 and the launch of commercial operations is expected in 2016.
Hannes Ametsreiter, CEO Telekom Austria Group and A1 said: “We’re proud to have succeeded in connecting the first customer in the world to our domestic A1 network with G.fast. This technology will enable us to offer urban areas data rates ten, even up to twenty, times higher than ever before. Fiber to the home remains our long term vision, but we consider G.fast as an intelligent interim solution until fiber will have a similar coverage as we have with copper now”.
“With G.fast, fiber is deployed all the way to the basement of a building, with the final connection to the single living spaces being made with existing copper lines. This allows for a considerable reduction of expenses, as no costly rewiring at the customer premises is required. The data rates reached with G.fast will meet the needs of even the most demanding households over the next 10-20 years. If, in the meantime, extensive renovation works for the staircase of the buildings are planned, it will be up to the tenants to decide whether to install a fiber connection all the way to their living spaces”, Ametsreiter continued.
A1 said it sees the potential for G.fast in roughly 400,000. Households in Vienna alone.
- In July 2014, Bell Labs, the research arm of Alcatel-Lucent, demonstrated the ability to carry 10Gbps over traditional copper telephone lines over a distance of 30 meters. Bell Labs also announced a prototype technology that can achieve 1Gbps symmetrical over existing copper access networks.
- The Bell Labs tests used a prototype technology called XG-FAST, which is an extension of the G.fast standard being finalized by the ITU. When it becomes commercially available in 2015, G.fast will use a frequency range for data transmission of 106 MHz, giving broadband speeds up to 500 Mbps over a distance of 100 meters.
- Bell Labs said XG-FAST uses an increased frequency range up to 500 MHz to achieve higher speeds but over shorter distances. Bell Labs achieved 1 Gbps symmetrical over 70 meters on a single copper pair. 10 Gbps was achieved over a distance of 30 meters by using two pairs of lines (bonding). Both tests used standard copper cable provided by a European operator.
Marcus Weldon, President of Bell Labs: “Our constant aim is to push the limits of what is possible to ‘invent the future’, with breakthroughs that are 10 times better than are possible today. Our demonstration of 10 Gbps over copper is a prime example: by pushing broadband technology to its limits, operators can determine how they could deliver gigabit services over their existing networks, ensuring the availability of ultra-broadband access as widely and as economically as possible.”
