Belgacom (Brussels: BELG.BR), like many incumbent telcos with existing copper infrastructure, believes that there's still plenty of broadband gold left in those lines, and its work with Alcatel-Lucent's (NYSE: ALU) VDSL2 vectoring gear is an illustration of that trend.
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Click here for details on Alcatel-Lucent's VDSL2 vectoring technology |
By leveraging the Franco-American company's recently announced VDSL2 vectoring equipment, Belgacom believes it can offer 50 Mbps speeds and higher in a hybrid fiber/copper-based Fiber to the Node (FTTC)-based network.
Set to be ready to deliver service beginning in 2014, the adoption of VDSL2 vectoring builds on its "Broadway" broadband strategy that's set on maximizing the use of its existing fiber network infrastructure.
Seeing a future in broadband, Belgacom built out a country-wide 16,500 km network in Belgium part of which extended fiber to 19,000 remote terminal (RT) cabinets to backhaul ADSL and later ADSL2+ and VDSL2 traffic.
Although Belgacom's VDSL2 vectoring plan is still new, the impending deployment provides Alcatel-Lucent with an obvious proof point that large carriers are willing to take a chance on their technology at a time when competitors like ASSIA and Huawei are also offering similar platforms.
Already, Alcatel-Lucent is conducting VDSL2 trials with a number of other European-based incumbent carriers, including PTCL, STC, Swisscom, Telekom Austria and Türk Telekom. Of particular note is Telekom Austria, which is in the process of implementing the vendor's VDSL2 vectoring, bonding and "Phantom Mode" techniques as part of the Fiber to the Curb (FTTC) piece of its GigaNet initiative.
For more:
- see the release
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