ISP Review - The Future of Broadband

ISP Review looks at the possible future of broadband technologies

The Future of Broadband
By Mark 'Winter' Jackson : Dec 12th-2003 : Page 3 of 6

"The current market would probably have to settle down before a need for ADSL2 arises"


Thankfully there’s a promising new standard on the way, which is imaginatively named ADSL2. The new specification claims to deliver faster connection times, higher speeds, better power management and improved diagnostic and testing modes. Note the following comparison:

Maximum Speed Over One Mile:
ADSL = 8Mbps
ADSL2 = 12Mbps
ADSL2+ = 20Mbps

You’ll notice ADSL2+ at the bottom, which is also under development as an obviously enhanced version of ADSL2. But by far and away the most important aspect of ADSL2\+ is its backwards compatibility with existing (legacy) ADSL hardware – the quality of which has yet to be fully tested.

The timescale for introducing ADSL2\+ remains unclear. While the standards are technically complete and have begun testing, one operator we spoke to – Telefonica, “views these new technologies as being in the research phase and not ready to commercialise

On the other hand, Bulldog Communications states that “ADSL2 and ADSL2+ technologies [are] coming next year.”. In a very recent press release they became one of the first UK ISPs (that we’re aware of) to openly promote it:

Next generation DSL technologies, ADSL2 and ADSL2+, will use enhancements to the modulation scheme to offer more efficient transmission as well as operating and maintenance procedures. ADSL2 (ITU G.992.3 / G.992.4) provides new features and functionality targeted at improving performance and interoperability.

These include enhanced data rate, reach performance, rate adaptation, diagnostics and stand-by mode features. ADSL2+ (ITU G.992.5) doubles the bandwidth used for downstream data transmission, effectively doubling the maximum downstream user rates, with performance of up to 20 Mbps on phone lines as long as 16.5 km.”

Sadly no further UK ADSL operators (BT) were willing to talk to us about future developments, although the current market would probably have to settle down before a need for ADSL2 arises. Either way, different operators clearly have different perceptions of ADSL2’s future and timescale.

Cable Modems

Cable operators have long since based their networks off coax / fibre (optical) lines, which are expensive to install, yet can easily be enhanced for the future. One possible enhancement for existing coax networks is a fast IP-based Internet technology known as 'Ethernet To The Home' (ETTH), which would offer speeds of up to 50Mbps (symmetrical).

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