eircom taps Huawei for VDSL vectoring rollout

Following the news that it has switched on vectoring on its fiber to the cabinet (FTTC) network, Irish incumbent eircom has revealed that the supplier is Huawei Technologies Co Ltd.

eircom is among the first telecommunications companies in the world to deploy VDSL2 vectoring technology in its next-generation access network (see “eircom turns on vectoring to support 100-Mbps broadband speeds”). Vectoring on VDSL2 technology uses noise cancelling technology to boost broadband speeds to homes and businesses.

eircom says vectoring had been deployed to the vast majority of its 3000 fiber-optic broadband cabinets by the end of March 2014. The operator estimates that at least 70% of the approximately 700,000 homes and businesses currently passed by its FTTC network will be able to achieve speeds of between 70 Mbps and 100 Mbps.

"Leading telecoms analysts such as Analysys Mason estimate that by 2020 European homes and small businesses will need download speeds of 100 Mbps. With the deployment of vectoring we’re making those speeds available to homes and businesses within our existing national fiber footprint now, and the 1.4 million homes and businesses we intend to reach by 2016. Once completed, the broadband speeds available over our national next-generation fiber access network are now faster than most fixed line operators across Europe,” said Carolan Lennon, managing director of eircom Wholesale.

She added, “We continue to work closely with our global vendors, such as Huawei, to explore further hugely exciting technological developments in this area such as G.Fast, which offers the potential of future step changes in both upload and download broadband speeds by driving fiber further out into our network."

For more information on FTTx/access systems and suppliers, visit the Lightwave Buyer’s Guide.