Simultaneously, the UK operator has also unveiled a lab at its Adastral Park R&D centre in Ipswich, specifically tailored towards these ultra-fast broadband services.
Named G-Fast, the technology was developed around the idea of fibre-to-the-distribution point (FTTdp), where fibre is rolled out to telephone poles or boxes located near to homes and businesses.
The remaining distance is then reached by a much shorter length of copper, and during the trials combined downstream and upstream speeds totalled 1Gbps over 19m of copper.
G.Fast technology is essentially used to maximise data capacity over this copper link using much higher frequencies, as well as advanced crosstalk cancellation.
“We see G.Fast as a very promising technology with significant potential – that’s why we’re putting some of our best minds on the case to assess it fully in a purpose-built facility,” said Dr Tim Whitley, MD of research and innovation at BT Group.
“BT has a long history of pushing the boundaries in telecoms, from the earliest days of the electric telegraph to today’s global fibre networks, and it’s crucial that we stay ahead of the curve for the benefit of our customers and shareholders.”
Whitley spoke of the trials and the lab launch at Huawei’s Ultra-Broadband Forum in The Savoy Hotel in London this morning; with the Chinese vendor being one such company that BT looks to partner with for further testing of the technology.
Although only in its infancy, the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) is accelerating its efforts to standardise commercial G.Fast equipment, and approval is expected in December.
