ADTRAN (NASDAQ: ADTN) announced that nbn, which oversees the deployment of Australia's National Broadband Network (NBN), will use the company's Gfast technology on the nationwide broadband access network in 2018. Use of Gfast will enable the operator to deliver fast internet speeds over existing copper lines.
According to ADTRAN, nbn will be able to deliver ultra-fast speeds on fiber-to-the-curb (FTTC) and fiber-to-the-building (FTTB) networks by incorporating its Gfast technology into the operator's Multi-Technology Mix (MTM) broadband rollout approach. As the name implies, MTM combines a variety of broadband access technologies, including the fiber to the home (FTTH) approach upon which the NBN was founded (see "Australian PM: We'll do broadband build ourselves" and "NBN Co revises Australian national broadband deployment plans").
"Using Gfast means we will be able to deliver ultra-fast internet capability to our fiber-to-the-curb (FTTC) and fiber-to-the-building (FTTB) customers, giving them access to transformative, ultra-fast services more rapidly and cost-effectively than over a fiber-to-the-premises connection," said JB Rousselot, chief strategy officer at nbn.
In July, ADTRAN signed a supply agreement to support nbn's FTTC roll out in Australia (see "ADTRAN chosen for nbn's fiber-to-the-curb deployment in Australia"). nbn trialed G.fast technology in October 2015, attaining speeds of 600 Mbps on a 20-year-old stretch of 100-meter copper cabling, says ADTRAN. nbn will test services further before the launch in 2018.
"nbn is advancing the rapid deployment of sustainable ultra-fast and Gigabit broadband services in Australia. In applying Gfast, it is ensuring its users will more quickly realize the benefit of these services without sole dependence on FTTP," said Jay Wilson, ADTRAN's senior vice president, technology, and strategy. "Since demonstrating the industry's first fully sealed FTTdp solution in early 2010, ADTRAN Gfast solutions now support open SDN principles ensuring rapid plug and play deployment capability within multi-vendor networks."
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