BT’s infrastructure arm Openreach has published new technical details related to the ongoing trials of fixed line ‘Long Reach VDSL’ (LR-VDSL) broadband technology, ISPreview reports. The operator has undertaken a technical Proof of Concept Trial with up to 200 lines in the rural village of Isfield in East Sussex, and is now aiming to begin an expanded trial ‘across a number of exchange areas’ this month.
According to the report, LR-VDSL could be used to deliver the UK’s proposed 10Mbps Universal Service Obligation (USO), while also possibly allowing for the expansion of 24Mbps+ coverage; with the technology working in a narrower frequency band and at a higher power than existing VDSL2 connections, lab tests have reportedly seen that a 2km long copper line delivering 9Mbps via normal VDSL2 could delivery speeds in excess of 24Mbps+ using LR-VDSL. Indeed, according to the trial documentation Openreach has indicated that customers taking part could benefit from downlink rates of up to 40Mbps and upstream speeds of 10Mbps, though in many instances speeds are likely to be slower than these theoretical maximums.