Alcatel-Lucent has revealed NBN Co is one of the customers for its VDSL2 vectoring products used for fibre to the node (FTTN).
The networking vendor said that it’s deploying the technology, including line cards and system-level processors, with service providers around the world, including NBN Co.
In 2010, when the original fibre to the premise (FTTP) approach was still on the table for the National Broadband Network, NBN Co signed a $70 million contract with Alcatel-Lucent for gigabit passive optical network (GPON) and Ethernet aggregation equipment.
But last month, the Coalition government formally announced the death of the FTTP plan in favour of a multi-technology model including FTTN.
"The arrangement is facilitated under our existing contract, which followed a competitive tender in 2010," an Alcatel-Lucent spokesman told Computerworld Australia.
According to Alcatel-Lucent, VDSL2 vectoring provides 100Mbps speeds over existing copper telephone networks, making it ideal for FTTN. Vectoring is a noise cancellation software that boosts data throughput of VDSL.
“The time-to-market advantage of VDSL2 vectoring also allows operators to meet regulatory targets for broadband coverage, and provides an alternative to competing cable, fiber or LTE services,” Alcatel-Lucent said.
“Operators immediately benefit from increased revenues which in turn help fund longer-term FTTH projects.”
NBN Co has been approached for comment.
Adam Bender covers telco and enterprise tech issues for Computerworld and is the author of dystopian sci-fi novels We, The Watched and Divided We Fall. Follow him on Twitter: @WatchAdam
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