Broadband Forum develops new VDSL2, G.fast FTTdp specifications

As more service providers look to take advantage of new technologies like G.fast and VDSL2, the Broadband Forum has devised a new specification for a new Fiber to the Distribution Point (FTTdp) architecture and a set of associated requirements.

With the debut of its Technical Report 301 (TR-301) specification, the Broadband Forum said it is providing a new set of architectural and technical requirements with a new node type, the distribution point unit (DPU).

Broadband Forum said one of the key elements of the new node type is that it can reverse power fed from the customer premises via one or more existing copper pairs.

Among the other benefits of the new specification is that service providers won't need to install new wiring into and around the home, providing a foundation for customers to self-install new services. As a result a service provider can reduce having to roll a truck to a premise while reducing service fulfillment times.

Interest in G.fast amongst large service providers continues to grow.

BT (NYSE: BT), which has been conducting a G.fast trial with about 4,000 premises in Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire and Gosforth, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, said it will present its findings at the Broadband World Forum in October, for example.

For the trial, BT is leveraging equipment from Adtran, Alcatel-Lucent (NYSE: ALU) and Huawei, while working with silicon vendors and various standards bodies to drive awareness of G.fast technology.

The telco said that if the trial is successful and if Ofcom regulation is favorable towards new investments it will deploy the technology over the next two years to complement its fiber-to-the-cabinet (FTTC) and fiber-to-the-premises (FTTP) services.

For more:
- see the release

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