Growing popularity of G.fast broadband technology
A Market Update from the Broadband Forum titled “Service Providers Leveraging G.fast to Complement Fibre Optic Infrastructure” found a significant rise in the scope of G.fast deployments.
This rise was attributed largely to operators using G.fast to complement their fibre build-outs as the technology is well-suited for both Fibre-to-the-Cabinet (FTTC) and Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP).
And with network providers upgrading their infrastructure to fulfil rising consumer demand, the Market Update confirms that G.fast technology will continue to be critical, especially where universal fibre deployment may be problematic and costly.
Geoff Burke, Chief Marketing Officer at the Broadband Forum, said: “The adoption of G.fast has come a long way in a short space of time, and the next few months will see further significant advancements, particularly in standardisation and certification as operators start to deploy 212 MHz G.fast technology.
“The deployments referred to in the Market Update show that operators see the technology as a powerful and compelling complement to fibre and a lucrative way to bring high speed broadband networks to areas where it is not cost-effective to deploy Fibre-to-the-Home. The fact that this coincides with the continued growth of our certification program is no coincidence, with the certifications ensuring interoperability that inspires industry confidence and leads to mass deployment.”
An example is BT Openreach, which has committed to deploy 3 million UK premises with FTTP and aim to cover 10 million homes with G.fast by 2021.
The Broadband Forum announced that there are 42 certified-interoperable G.fast solutions for the 106MHz profile.
Kevin Foster, Head of Broadband Technical Standards and Ecosystems Architecture & Strategy at BT, and Chairman of the Broadband Forum commented: “Today’s G.fast offerings and the ongoing standardisation work are ensuring that operators have a viable solution to the portions of their network where it is impractical to install full-fibre.”
Other operators using G.fast include Orange, SandyNet, Frontier, Post Luxembourg, Swisscom, Skywire Networks, and Australia’s National Broadband Network (NBN).
