Alcatel-Lucent announces Zero Touch Vectoring for VDSL2 broadband

In a move that may forestall a move to fiber to the home (FTTH) in some carrier networks, Alcatel-Lucent (Euronext Paris and NYSE: ALU) has announced Zero Touch Vectoring, a way to enable carriers to deploy vectoring on VDSL2 networks without having to upgrade DSL modems in subscribers’ homes.

Vectoring (sometimes called “node vectoring”) is a noise cancellation technology that improves the use of bonded VDSL2 pairs to support high-speed broadband connections – for example, 100 Mbps. Alcatel-Lucent began offering vectored VDSL2 last fall (see “Alcatel-Lucent offers VSDL2 vectoring to support 100-Mbps services”). The company says it is the only systems provider to support both live trials and roll outs of the technology (see, for example, "Belgacom Alcatel-Lucent’s first VDSL2 vectoring customer").

The Zero Touch Vectoring technology enables VDSL2 modems in customers’ homes to run at full speed without degrading the service quality of customers subscribing to vectored VDSL2 connections. In other words, carriers can add VDSL2 vectoring to their networks on a selective basis without having to update the firmware on all modems on the network as was previously required.

“For a service provider, the ability to deliver higher-speed broadband over existing infrastructure provides a time-to-market edge over the competition,” said Teresa Mastrangelo, principal analyst at Broadbandtrends. “Over the past year, service provider interest in VDSL2 vectoring has accelerated. Innovations like Zero Touch Vectoring remove the final hurdles to mass-market adoption of VDSL2 vectoring technology. It is good to see Alcatel-Lucent’s extensive field trial experience translates into features that will benefit every operator.”

Dave Geary, head of Alcatel-Lucent’s Wireline activities, added, “Trials with leading service providers have shown that VDSL2 vectoring can effectively deliver the kinds of speeds it promised, and we are now starting to engage in mass-market deployments. With our Zero-Touch Vectoring and other innovations we are eliminating the final barriers that service providers around the world have faced – enabling them to deliver higher bandwidths to more subscribers, now.”

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