Huawei unveils G.fast over coax multi-user prototype

Huawei Technologies Co Ltd. has unveiled what it claims is the world's first G.fast over coax multi-user access prototype, capable of providing an ultrafast broadband access rate of 1 Gbps over coaxial cables. This technology will enable coaxial network users to experience superfast broadband speeds, the company says.

The G.fast over coax multi-user access technology is compatible with cable-TV signals on existing coaxial networks, which serve as a ubiquitous access medium for home networks. By flexibly allocating unoccupied frequency bands (1 GHz maximally) for G.fast access, the technology provides a 1-Gbps downstream shared bandwidth to serve up to 32 users over coaxial cables, Huawei says.

As an emerging technology for which specifications are now in the development stage within ITU-T, G.fast has been targeted at short-distance twisted copper pairs (see “Will FTTN advances delay FTTH?”). While the ITU-T standards are expected to provide 500 Mbps over 100 m, some vendors – including Huawei – want to provide higher speeds over shorter distances (see, for example, “Alcatel-Lucent demos 1-Gbps G.fast with Telekom Austria”). Huawei conducted a G.fast over copper trial with a European telecom operator that focused on 1-Gbps access. In addition, Huawei has incorporated G.fast technology into its fiber to the door (FTTD) offering, which takes fiber very close to the consumer and then delivers ultrafast broadband access via existing access media such as copper or coaxial cables (see “Huawei introduces fiber-to-the-door”).

“Huawei continuously invests in technological innovations that address the needs of operators and solve their problems in network rollouts,” said You Yiyong, president of Huawei’s access network product line. “The G.fast over coax multi-user access prototype is a perfect combination of our latest G.fast technology and coaxial network innovations. Huawei will promote G.fast standardization and commercialization to accelerate the build-out of ultrafast broadband networks.”

As an ardent advocate of G.fast standards, Huawei says it has contributed a majority of core G.fast technologies in its papers submitted to the ITU-T’s G.fast standards body.

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