UPD Sckipio Push 1.5Gbps via G.fast Using Dynamic Bandwidth Allocation

Israel-based Sckipio, which is building some of the kit for BT’s hybrid-fibre G.fast broadband trials and pilot, has heralded a big improvement to the technology by developing Dynamic Bandwidth Allocation (DBA) to deliver up to 1.5Gbps in combined upstream and downstream performance.

According to the spin, the technology works by “dynamically allocating the bandwidth in each direction in real time,” although there’s a distinct lack of crucial detail and as such we’re not sure if the 1.5Gbps figure involves line bonding or over what distance (copper line) the 1.5Gbps figure was achieved; it seems likely to have been only a few short metres (assuming no line bonding is involved).

Just to put this in some perspective, one of BT’s very early alpha trials of G.fast delivered upstream speeds of 200Mbps and downstream performance of 696Mbps (total of 896Mbps aggregate speed) at a distance of 66 metres from the distribution point.

By comparison BT’s initial commercial launch will seek to reach more premises and thus they’re working to deliver a more modest top speed of up to 330Mbps [50Mbps upload] (rising to 500Mbps in the future), which we’re suspecting will be over a distance of around 300 metres. However BT has yet to clarify their precise deployment model and so this is open to speculation.

Eddy Barker, AT&T’s Assistant VP of Tech Design & Architecture, said:

“With dynamic bandwidth allocation, we believe AT&T can offer up to 750Mbps in both downstream and upstream performance over coax with today’s chipsets. In the next generation G.fast chipsets, we should be able to double that target, achieving as much as 1.5Gbps in each direction.”

It’s interesting to note that Mr Barker references “coax” cable above, which is the same copper cable as used by operators like Virgin Media and is of an arguably better quality than BT’s typical twisted-pair copper. But this somewhat depends on your application and distance as the cable is just one part of the equation.

Apparently Sckipio will reveal more details about DBA at the G.fast Summit in Paris later this week, where one of the company’s partners (Adtran) will also conduct a live technology demonstration.

UPDATE 18th May 2016

We can confirm that, after speaking to Sckipio about this, the DBA service is not bonded (but it does have the capability) and the performance they announced is over a single pair and/or over a single coax line running point to point. “We would expect to see the 1.5Gbps of aggregate performance over coax at about 100 meters. Moreover, we see 300/300 performance at 300 meters as a very doable goal over twisted pair in the future once the standardization for such use-case is completed in the ITU later this year,” said Sckipio’s VP of marketing Michael Weissman.