Alcatel-Lucent has launched a range of new broadband products that it said would turn operators’ fixed networks into an “essential asset”.
The new technologies also allow operators to offer services and applications requiring access speeds of one gigabit per second “and beyond”, the company claimed.
The additions to A-L’s portfolio include a G.fast multi-port micronode, which has a 16-port Distribution Point Unit (DPU) that allows operators to extend G.fast to multiple users over copper wires while leaning on “advanced” vectoring 2.0 technology that reduces cross-talk interference.
Installed within 300m of the target premises, the unit can deliver aggregate speeds up up to 1GBps, A-L said.
The company has also made its Vplus FTTC product commercially available.
Vplus, a DSL technology initially introduced by A-L and now being standardised as the VDSL2 35b profile by the ITU-T, is aimed at filling the gap between G.fast and VDSL2 vectoring.
According to the vendor, the technology enables speeds of 200MBps via copper infrastructure at distances up to 500m, and 300MBps at less than 250m.
It said Vplus provided a “simple and cost-effective means of delivering ultra-broadband access at higher speeds over longer distances to more customers.”
In addition, A-L has expanded its Time and Wavelength Division Multiplexed Passive Optical Networks (TWDM-PON) portfolio.
This includes a new optical network unit for residential users enabling 1GBps and 10GBps services in the home and enhancements to the company’s FTTH platform, including additional switching and uplink capacity.
New features for A-L’s Network Management System have also been introduced to help operators simplify the management and provisioning of GPON and TWDM technologies over the same fibre networks.
Federico Guillén, President of Fixed Access at Alcatel-Lucent, said: “Today’s world is going wireless, but wireless is going fixed.
“As customer demand for ultra-broadband access continues to increase, operators need a wide range of technology options to effectively meet evolving demands spanning residential, business and mobile backhaul services.
“Collectively these technologies will play a critical role in helping operators turn their fixed networks into an essential asset that will make 5G possible.”