ITU pushes G.fast speeds to 2Gbps

ITU standards experts have doubled the access speeds achievable with the G.fast standard, achieving the capability of enabling data rates of up to 2Gbps over traditional copper telephone last mile connections.

The new standard has achieved first-stage approval, and is expected to see final approval by the end of the year, the ITU said.

The third amendment of the G.fast standard doubles the aggregate net data rate achievable to 2Gbps using spectrum up to 212 MHz.

According to the ITU, the update tot he standard maintains spectral compatibility with VDSL2, offering operators the ability to switch customers between the connection technologies as their demand fluctuates.

“The amendment extends G.fast’s application to coaxial cable, enabling the coexistence of G.fast and satellite signals in coaxial cable infrastructure,” the ITU said in its announcement.

“The amendment also specifies a mechanism for dynamic time assessment, functionality that enables upstream or downstream transmission to exploit G.fast’s full aggregate net data rate.”

In addition, the ITU has completed and achieved first-stage approval for standards detailing commonalties in SDN and automatically switched optical networks, tools to meet the expected synchronization demands of 5G systems, and the characteristics of next-generation optical fiber.