Alcatel-Lucent brings power of G.fast to more operators with launch of versatile new multi-port micro-node

Broadband World Forum, London, United Kingdom, October 20, 2015

Alcatel-Lucent (Euronext Paris and NYSE: ALU) has launched a new G.fast multi-port Distribution Point Unit with advanced vectoring 2.0 technology that will help operators accelerate Fiber-to-the-home deployments and extend fiber-like speeds to multiple users over existing copper infrastructure.

G.fast provides an effective way to quickly provide ultra-fast data speeds, enabling service providers to reuse existing copper infrastructure and extend ultra-broadband access over short distances to locations where deploying fiber-optic connectivity is difficult or uneconomical. Deployed in conjunction with fiber rollouts, it is increasingly being utilized as a way to help quickly address customer needs for ultra-broadband access without the cost required to install fiber into the home.

Alcatel-Lucent’s new 16 port G.fast DPU helps operators extend the benefits of G.fast to multiple users. With integrated vectoring 2.0 technology developed by Alcatel-Lucent’s Bell Labs research arm, operators eliminate the otherwise severe performance impacted from cross-talk interference that can result from serving multiple users over a copper cable.

Operators can also extend up to 1 Gigabit per second (Gbps) of aggregate broadband speed to customers with G.fast. The technology can easily be installed in an outside plant location in close proximity to a home (typically less than 300m) or in fiber-to-the-building scenarios where multiple subscribers are served from the same location.

Extending the company’s growing portfolio of G.fast-enabled access devices, the new technology also provides an additional G.fast Customer Premise Equipment (CPE) which supports vectored G.fast, Vplus (35b) and VDSL2 (17a) allowing operators to easily migrate to new DSL technologies without having to upgrade the CPE.

The commercial launch of the new G.fast multiport DPU follows 34 G.fast trials with operators, including recent trials announced with BT along with the first G.fast commercial deployment with Chunghwa Telecom.

About Alcatel-Lucent’s extended G.fast portfolio

The extended G.fast portfolio of products will allow service providers to more easily and quickly offer enhanced ultra-broadband access and services to customers over greater distances with G.fast. Increasing the number of options available to operators, the new extended portfolio of G.fast products from Alcatel-Lucent now includes:

• The all new 7367 ISAM SX-16F micro-node supports 16 vectored G.fast ports in a rugged, sealed, passively cooled enclosure.
• The 7368 ISAM CPE F-010G-P provides operators with added flexibility to deploy a bridged CPE with non-blocking gigabit Ethernet connections to home appliances.
• These products build on Alcatel-Lucent’s portfolio of G.fast products which already include G.fast ONTs for Fiber-to-the-front-door (FTTfd) and G.fast CPE with integrated residential gateway, WiFi and reverse power feed.

Quotes :

Teresa Mastrangelo, senior analyst at Heavy Reading said : “G.fast is emerging as an ideal technology for delivering near gigabit speeds over the short copper loops to customers living in areas that may logistically or economically be challenging to reach with fiber. With the emergence of multi-port DPUs and vectoring technology operators can now effectively address a larger segment and quickly turn on new ultra-broadband services that previously may have been too difficult or complex to deliver on a larger scale.”

Federico Guillén, president of Alcatel-Lucent’s Fixed Access Business Line said : “Less than one year after standardization, G.fast has had tremendous momentum with operators globally and is now playing a critical role in ultra-broadband strategies. This is evident in the growing number of customer G.fast trials and commercial deployments we’ve supported. Leveraging our market-leading expertise and experience in VDSL2 Vectoring, we’re now able to bring a multi-port G.fast solution with vectoring to operators.”