The Past, Present, and Future of Copper Access

Abstract

Digital Subscriber Line technology has democratized broadband access, and over the past several decades, telecommunications providers have evolved from providing plain old telephone service (POTS) over a copper loop plant to providing broadband access and high-definition video over hybrid fiber-copper networks. This article focuses on three revolutionary copper technologies in different stages of development that will enable hybrid networks to continue to increase data rates over orders of magnitude for many years to come. The first of the three, vectoring, is a mature technology with massive ongoing rollout that provides end user speeds above 100 Mb/s across typical distances of 500m. The second, G.fast, is the first ultrabroadband technology offering 1 Gb/s speeds, across typical distances of 100m. It has recently gained approval in the standards bodies and is currently undergoing trials both in research labs and in the field by numerous telecom operators. Finally, we discuss Bell Labs' XG-FAST technology, now in proof of concept, which can deliver 10 Gb/s across a 30 meter copper drop cable. XG-FAST paves the way for a homes-passed fiber network, leveraging high speed copper to the premises to increase its homes-connected.