Deutsche Telekom, Nokia achieve 10G speeds over copper in XG-Fast lab trial

Deutsche Telekom and Nokia's (NYSE:NOK) subsidiary Alcatel-Lucent claimed they delivered 10 Gbps over existing copper wiring during a lab trial using XG-Fast technology at the end of 2015. 

Conducted at Deutsche Telekom's cable laboratory in Darmstadt, Germany, XG-Fast is the next stage of technology innovation in the copper plant.

During the trial, Deutsche Telekom demonstrated an aggregated bandwidth exceeding 11 Gbps on two bonded pairs of Category 6 copper cable over 50 meters. Previous tests using standard drop cable illustrated the feasibility of XG-Fast for what's become known as fiber-to-the-front-door applications, achieving aggregate rates exceeding 8 Gbps over 50 meters. All of the trials were performed using prototype equipment from Bell Labs in controlled lab conditions.

XG-Fast can also theoretically deliver 1 Gbps symmetrical services at distances of 70 meters, enabling operators to deliver fiber-like speeds inside buildings using existing telephone lines, eliminating the need to install new Cat-5 or fiber cabling. This allows for faster installation times and less hassle for the end-user in that technicians don't have to drill holes to run cable to connect to a home router or modem. 

XG-Fast fits in well with Deutsche Telekom's current network configuration, which consists of a mix of VDSL2 and vectoring as well as FTTH, allowing it to offer speeds of up to 100 Mbps.

Similar to other Tier 1 telcos, Deutsche Telekom is looking to new technologies like XG-Fast to broaden its higher speed broadband footprint to address areas where it can't immediately make a business case for FTTH. It could use this technology to fulfill the commitment to meeting Germany's national broadband targets.

DT is just one of many service providers looking at XG-Fast technology.

Fellow European telco BT (NYSE: BT) completed a demonstration of G.fast technology during which the service provider was able to deliver more than 5 Gbps over its existing copper pairs in October 2015. At the time of that demonstration, BT said it delivered aggregate speeds of 5.6 Gbps over 35 meters of copper cable.

 For more:
- see the release

Related articles:
BT tests Adtran's G.fast platform at over 2,000 premises
BT, Alcatel-Lucent demo 5 Gbps on existing copper pairs using XG.fast
Broadband Forum readies release of G.fast management model