Celtic-Plus, a research initiative supported by the pan-European EUREKA network, has announced the launch of a EUR 4.4 million project to explore multiple-gigabit copper access based on the new G.fast standard. The Gigabits Over the Legacy Drop (GOLD) project will initiate the planned second version of the G.fast standard and boost its usability in dense city areas, said Celtic-Plus. The ultimate goal is to develop alternative backhauling options based on copper instead of fibre, which could in turn lead to significant cost reductions in the network, particularly within dense urban areas in Europe.
The new GOLD initiative intends to build on the success of the recently completed HFCC/G.fast project, during which lab trials were performed by BT, Orange, Telefonica and TNO that demonstrated throughput of nearly 1Gbps per copper pair at 100 meters, and up to 170Mbps per copper pair at 480 meters, on a 16 pair standard cable. GOLD will push G.fast even further to multiple-gigabit copper access rates by exploring a second version of the G.fast standard working at higher frequencies and preparing the ground for fifth generation fixed broadband.
As part of the project, BT will this summer start G.fast pilots in two UK cities, Huntingdon and Gosforth. The company’s head of Access Network Research, Trevor Linney, described G.fast as a key technology for European operators. "During our lab evaluations, it has outperformed our expectations in terms of bitrate and reach for fixed line subscribers. Now, we have formed the GOLD project to drive further improvements in the capabilities of this exciting technology, working closely with vendors and other global operators," he said.
The GOLD consortium is coordinated by Sweden’s Lund University and is made up of 12 companies from 8 countries, including service providers BT and Orange, equipment vendors Adtran, Alcatel-Lucent, Ericsson, Sagemcom and Telnet Redes Inteligentes, chip vendors Marvell Semiconductors and Sckipio Technologies, and researchers at Lund University and TNO in the Netherlands.
