iSMART Consortium Tests High-speed DSL Range and Speed-multiplying Technology

ECI Telecom and Actelis Networks, founding members of the iSMART Consortium, said they have completed the first successful customer tests of the consortium's Dynamic Spectrum Management Level 3 (DSM L3) technology.

According to the companies, testing conducted by three Tier-1 operators has proven that the iSMART Consortium's DSM L3 technology practically eliminates crosstalk interference between twisted copper pairs so that the highest-speed DSL services can be more efficiently provided over longer distances in existing copper access loops.

Most of the world's existing access wire-line infrastructure is still copper-based. Using existing copper wire, VDSL2 technology enables operators to offer service exceeding 100Mb/s. But without DSM L3, VDSL2 is limited in its practical reach. Testing shows that iSMART DSM L3 technology can increase the reach of high-speed, high-value VDSL2 services, effectively multiplying the coverage area of VDSL2 equipment by a factor of 10 in some cases.

"For years, the high cost of FTTH implementation has hindered widespread adoption of GPON or point-to-point fiber access networks, making it extremely expensive - even for leading operators - to deliver advanced service bundles increasingly demanded by customers. But iSMART's successful leveraging of DSM L3 technology makes VDSL a far more viable and cost effective choice for operators who are still not ready to migrate their access networks to full-fiber end-to-end FTTH systems," said Erik M. Keith, Principal Analyst for Broadband Infrastructure at Current Analysis.

According to the 2Q09 'Broadband Aggregation Hardware and Subscribers' report from Infonetics, between 2009 and 2013 the number of worldwide VDSL subscribers will increase by 45 percent. Although the growth of PON FTTH subscribers will continue to grow, VDSL will unquestionably play an important role in the future strategy of high-speed broadband providers through the next decade.

DSM L3 technology could lead to a change in the economics of high volume DSL traffic. By enabling operators to multiply the range and speed of VDSL2 equipment, DSM can translate into savings in capital investment. Taking advantage of existing infrastructure, operators who implement DSM technology can profitably provision more valuable high-speed broadband services to residential and business customers.

"Today, we have truly revolutionized DSL with the world's first demonstration of the iSMART Consortium's DSM L3 technology. We are addressing operators' needs for increased competitiveness and cost-effectiveness in today's challenging marketplace," said Ido Shargil, chairman of the iSMART Consortium and head of system engineering at ECI Telecom.

"DSM L3 technology virtually eliminates the most significant source of crosstalk in VDSL2-based networks, enabling cost-effective wide-scale deployment of high-speed, high-value services over existing copper pairs," said Ioannis Kanellakopoulos, PhD, chief technology officer at Actelis Networks. "Actelis is delighted to leverage our extensive crosstalk cancellation experience in the iSMART Consortium, where the technology we and our consortium partners are developing is expected to result in products that deliver an unprecedented combination of rate, reach, and reliability over copper."

The iSMART Consortium was launched at Broadband World Forum 2006 with the goal of developing and commercializing DSM technology. In addition to operators in Israel and Europe, iSMART combines the expertise of NGN telecom vendors and academic researchers in algorithm science, digital signal processing and telecommunications. iSMART is backed by the Magnet Program of Israel's Office of the Chief Scientist.

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