Alcatel-Lucent Gives DSL Networks a Gigabit Boost

coondoggie writes "Alcatel-Lucent and Telekom Austria have completed the world's first trial of G.fast, new technology enabling gigabit broadband over existing copper networks. The technology is only intended for distances up to 100 meters or 0.06 miles. But at that distance and less it helps copper keep up with fiber." It works, says the linked article, "by continuously analyzing the noise conditions on copper lines, and then creates a new anti-noise signal to cancel it out, much like noise-canceling headphones."

Re:A Cautionary Yay

[smooth wombat]

Exactly. Why try to get the most out of something that's already bought and paid for when you can get something completely new and force people to either pay nearly usurious rates for slow speeds or go without.

Re:neat idea

[adolf]

My VDSL link from AT&T already does noise measurement. Buried inside of the web page for the magic box on my end, I can see a graph of what portions of its spectrum it is actually using.

Seems to work OK: There is a very neat notch which corresponds with a nearby AM broadcast tower.

Meanwhile, it doesn't have to turn off the entire signal all at once. Just parts of it. One end says "Hey, George, we're going to turn off 1.6MHz and look for noise there," and the other end says "OK Bob. Let's do it."

Or at least, that's one way. *shrug*

Re:A Cautionary Yay

[Chuckstar]

Disagree. This is great for apartment buildings/complexes where running fiber to the buildings isn't the problem. It's running fiber within the buildings (to the individual units) that's expensive. Something like a third of Americans live in apartments, so a system that spans the last few hundred feet in apartments without needing to rewire buildings would definitely be a win.

Re:A Cautionary Yay

[bdwebb]

The fact of the matter is that the ancient cables are still there and if the addition of simple noise-cancelling can increase the copper speed to allow existing infrastructure to carry greater amounts of data, why is it a waste of resources? Ultimately it may be BETTER to run fiber, but it is almost never CHEAPER. This is especially the case in old buildings where ripping out concrete walls is not feasible or drilling through them to run fiber is not cost effective.

I doubt you'll ever hear an argument that you shouldn't run modern cabling no matter what decade we live in - the problem is that the money just isn't there most of the time to do so to replace infrastructure that is existing.