Broadcom drives G.fast into the mainstream with new DSL infrastructure device family

Second-generation G.fast chipset delivers the most comprehensive G.fast solution, with industry-leading density, functionality, and power efficiency

San José, Calif. and SINGAPORE - Oct. 12, 2016: Broadcom Limited (NASDAQ:AVGO) today announced the availability of the industry’s most scalable platform for G.fast DSL service provider infrastructure. With a 4X reduction in device count and improvement in power dissipation of up to 40%, the Broadcom® BCM65400 family of devices enables the creation of a complete portfolio of G.fast systems with simultaneous VDSL and G.vector capability, from reverse-powered DPUs to high-capacity DSLAMs.

Improving on Broadcom’s production-deployed previous architectures, the BCM65400 incorporates eighth-generation FirePath® DSPs, a new vectoring core, and a complete set of 1G-to-10G datapath interfaces. These new resources allow the family to offer the industry’s lowest power dissipation, scale to the highest line densities, and provide the benefits promised by recent G.fast amendments, including support for the new 212MHz profile, with aggregate speeds of up to 2Gbps, and dynamic time allocation (DTA).

Broadcom’s G.fast solutions offer the unique ability to fall back to VDSL2/ADSL standards, in addition to G.fast, with simultaneous, independent vectoring domains, enabling the operator to update central office equipment independently from the customer premise. Building upon this, the 65400 expands the addressable market for G.fast to point-to-point coaxial cable, often installed in multi-dwelling units (MDUs), apartment buildings and other high-density housing.

“With our second generation G.fast infrastructure chipset, we set out to deliver a scalable platform that system vendors could use for the full range of G.fast system densities,” said Greg Fischer, senior vice president and general manager of Broadband Carrier Access, Broadcom. “Aligning this new configuration with our ongoing commitment to build comprehensive, industry-leading support for the new capabilities of the G.fast standard, we believe the BCM65400 offers a uniquely competitive solution for our DSL system vendor partners and the operators they serve.”

“As we move from G.fast field trials to an expanded pilot, Openreach requires a flexible silicon platform that covers the full range of line densities in our diverse infrastructure and maximizes rate and reach performance,” said Peter Bell, director network portfolio, Openreach, British Telecom’s local network business. “We are encouraged that Broadcom has developed a scalable G.fast solution that is aligned with our roadmap.”

“Gigabit services for consumer households have become the gold standard for connectivity, and service providers have focused investment on deploying PON further into their networks,” said John Kendall, principal analyst, Connected Home at IHS Markit Technology. “Even as providers provision their networks for next generation bandwidth speeds, DSL is still a very important market segment. G.fast provides a powerful tool for providers seeking to deploy fiber to the most financially sensible point, in order to maximize return on capital investment.”

The Broadcom BCM65400 family of devices is sampling today and available through distributors worldwide.