EFTel to launch VDSL2 service in 2008

Stuart Corner
Friday, 02 November 2007 06:31

Business IT - Networking

EFTel (ASX: EFT) has announced plans for a VDSL2 deployment that it claims will be able to deliver broadband services 100Mbps.

The service, to be called BroadbandNext, will be delivered from multiservice access nodes which EFT says it will roll out from February 2008 at a rate of 15 exchanges per month, with an initial schedule of 70. These will deliver, VDSL2, ADSL2+ ADSL, SHDSL corporate solutions, PSTN voice, IP video, VoIP, and 'naked' DSL.

VDLS2 is Australian public switched telephone network in the first quarter of 2008. It has been standardized as ITU G.993.2, an enhancement to G.993.1 (VDSL). Its performance deteriorates quickly from a theoretical maximum of 250Mbps at 'source' to 100Mbps at 0.5 km and 50 Mbps 1km, but degrades at a much slower rate from there. From 1.6 km its performance is equal to ADSL2+. This long-range performance is its main advantage over VDSL which can be used effectively only on short lines.

EFTel is partnering with Pipe Networks (ASX: PWK) and Huawei Technologies. EFTel's major projects manager, Luke MacKinnon, said: "After dialogue between EFTel and telcos of varying sizes throughout Europe, Asia and the Americas, it is clear to us that VDSL2 is also the technology which will be best suited to a fibre to the node (FTTN) environment in the future. If and when FTTN occurs, the network infrastructure will be redeployable."