Alcatel-Lucent Demonstrates 300 Mbps DSL

When it comes to Internet connections, the future is bright. As in, it’s made of light, fiber optics, to be exact. But fiber optics is still pretty expensive and if there’s one thing that telecommunications companies hate, it is spending any of their hard earned money. Why fix it if it’s not broken is the motto, which is why a lot of people are still investing in developing technologies based on the tried and tested copper wire. DSL is about to get a new lease on life as Alcatel-Lucent has announced that its research arm, Bell Labs, has managed to squeeze 300 Megabits a second over a pair of regular copper wires.

Granted, the speed was only attained over a distance of 400 meters, but the technology could sustain speeds of 100 Mbps over 1,000 meters. Current DSL technologies are only as fast as 50 Mbps over 1,000 meters with speed deteriorating with distance.

The company has dubbed the technology DSL Phantom Mode, alluding to the way it manages to attain these speeds. Put simply, the technology relies on a third virtual or ‘phantom’ channel used to supplement the existing copper wires. It uses several other means of providing more bandwidth like bonding, which bundles up several lines to create a unified connection. It also uses a method known as vectoring to eliminate any crosstalk or interference between the wires.

While the results sound promising on paper, it may be at least a couple of years until the technology could hit the market. Outside of lab conditions, those speeds may not be attainable and the landscape may change considerably in that time. Still, it’s a promising development for telcos wanting to squeeze a few more years out of their aging copper wire lines.

“We often think of the role innovation plays in generating technologies of the future, but DSL Phantom Mode is a prime example of the role innovation can play in creating a future for existing solutions and injecting them with a new source of value,” said Gee Rittenhouse, head of Research for Bell Labs. “What makes DSL Phantom Mode such an important breakthrough is that it combines cutting edge technology with an attractive business model that will open up entirely new commercial opportunities for service providers, enabling them in particular, to offer the latest broadband IP-based services using existing network infrastructure.”