Lowly DSL poised for gigabit speed boost

[A Guy]

DSL was one of the first widely adopted technologies for bringing high-speed Internet access to homes and businesses, but it hasn't been the fastest.

That's all changing. At the Broadband World Forum in Amsterdam this week, several companies are announcing and demonstrating products that bring DSL -- or digital subscriber line -- into a future with a speed of 1 gigabit per second. That's about 1,000 times the data-transfer speed the technology offered when it arrived in the late 1990s.

The DSL upgrade comes through a new technology called G.fast. Among those making network equipment chips to enable the technology are industry giant Broadcom, China-based Triductor Technology and Israeli startup Sckipio. The technology itself should arrive in homes starting in 2016.

Source

A Guy

 

[GARoss]

DSL was one of the first widely adopted technologies for bringing high-speed Internet access to homes and businesses, but it hasn't been the fastest.

That's all changing. At the Broadband World Forum in Amsterdam this week, several companies are announcing and demonstrating products that bring DSL -- or digital subscriber line -- into a future with a speed of 1 gigabit per second. That's about 1,000 times the data-transfer speed the technology offered when it arrived in the late 1990s.

The DSL upgrade comes through a new technology called G.fast. Among those making network equipment chips to enable the technology are industry giant Broadcom, China-based Triductor Technology and Israeli startup Sckipio. The technology itself should arrive in homes starting in 2016.

Source

A Guy

This is great news for us schmoes out in rural USA. And, just in time for streaming UHD.

 

[rontom]

DSL was one of the first widely adopted technologies for bringing high-speed Internet access to homes and businesses, but it hasn't been the fastest.

That's all changing. At the Broadband World Forum in Amsterdam this week, several companies are announcing and demonstrating products that bring DSL -- or digital subscriber line -- into a future with a speed of 1 gigabit per second. That's about 1,000 times the data-transfer speed the technology offered when it arrived in the late 1990s.

The DSL upgrade comes through a new technology called G.fast. Among those making network equipment chips to enable the technology are industry giant Broadcom, China-based Triductor Technology and Israeli startup Sckipio. The technology itself should arrive in homes starting in 2016.

Source

A Guy

This is great news for us schmoes out in rural USA. And, just in time for streaming UHD.

Really! I hope CenturyLink takes notice of this!!

 

[andrew129260]

I am looking forward to this. Even though I have cable everyone deserves access to an alternative-and faster speeds.

 

[GARoss]

Where we live (and we live here by choice, not need) there's 1,500 people living in a 36 sq mile area. That's about one block in most cities.

I don't have ill feeling towards cable companies for not venturing out to rural areas. Make no mistake; they're in business to make money. The cost of doing so vastly out weighs the financial rewards. But, older DSL lines have been in place for quite some time. It was just a matter of time before someone came up with something like this. Can't wait to be part of the rest of the world again.

 

[Gornot]

I've been using (A)DSL at home for years now, and it was the best choice I ever made. No cable, wireless and other BS services, just plain simple (A)DSL. 5 down, 1 up and that's it; I have a very stable connection, my ping is always badass for games, I don't have to worry about anything. Why wouldn't someone want to use DSL? I'd pick stability over speed any day.

 

[jimbo45]

Hi there

A few years ago I used to think Satellite TV was the future - now you don't need an ugly dish any more - and with Internet speeds these days streaming even 4K quality video is just fine.

The only problem is that you are swapping a Satellite provider by an ISP - and the ISP's can get much more control by central Govt over downloadable sites etc than the Satellite companies.

I used to think N.Korea was probably the most censored place -- that distinction now seems to belong to the UK.

Record Labels Obtain Order to Block 21 Torrent Sites | TorrentFreak

However anybody can get round this in about 2 secs flat - but it shows that these so called "Free Countries" behave just the same as the other "Nasty" places when there's MONEY involved.

(Interestingly enough it's only EE in the mobile phone companies who have a block - so even HUGE VODAFONE on its 4G network still allows access - so if you don't want to use the get arounds just set up a 4G vodafone connection as your wifi access point - and BINGO !!!).- I'm sure this loophole will soon be blocked too BTW.

These people blocking sites would be better off if things like TV programs were shown AT THE SAME TIME world wide - and things like NETFLIX / HULA etc should accept subscriptions from ANYWHERE instead of having different content available in different countries -- where I am there is about ZERO chance o a lot of stuff being shown on Iceland TV -- I loved the STRAIN for example - and would willingly PAY for a DVD - but no go - so what other choice than to use "The Wild".

In N.Korea though you might have to look for an Electricity supply -- but colleagues of mine in the UK say also that a cold snap this winter combined with lack of sensible energy policies might render THEM also to power outages. !!!!

Cheers
jimbo

 

[GARoss]

I've been using (A)DSL at home for years now, and it was the best choice I ever made. No cable, wireless and other BS services, just plain simple (A)DSL. 5 down, 1 up and that's it; I have a very stable connection, my ping is always badass for games, I don't have to worry about anything. Why wouldn't someone want to use DSL? I'd pick stability over speed any day.

True, but until this new technology is in place, current DSL is far too slow for streaming quality HD & future UHD. I believe streaming is the future of all media, not cable or satilite services. 1Gb speed should be good for a decade or two.

 

[Pendaws]

This is very good news but, I wish in Australia that we could have a MUCH better system than we can have.
Currently, about the BEST one can expect here in Australia is 100mbps and that is ONLY inside Australia.
Australia is about the WORST for internet speeds. The best on Cable here is $115.00 for unlimited and NOT
the 100mbps available that you have to pay $20.00 extra. This also is in conjunction with a home phone.

 

[Gornot]

I've been using (A)DSL at home for years now, and it was the best choice I ever made. No cable, wireless and other BS services, just plain simple (A)DSL. 5 down, 1 up and that's it; I have a very stable connection, my ping is always badass for games, I don't have to worry about anything. Why wouldn't someone want to use DSL? I'd pick stability over speed any day.

True, but until this new technology is in place, current DSL is far too slow for streaming quality HD & future UHD. I believe streaming is the future of all media, not cable or satilite services. 1Gb speed should be good for a decade or two.

With 5 down, I stream 720p with no problems. I could increase my package as far as 100 down and be able to do any kind of streaming regardless of quality. I'm not sure I see how DSL falls behind on this... At least in my country.

 

[GARoss]

Hi there

A few years ago I used to think Satellite TV was the future - now you don't need an ugly dish any more - and with Internet speeds these days streaming even 4K quality video is just fine.

Cheers
jimbo

If I lived in a city I'd agree with you. In the city there's plenty of competition for lightning fast internet service. But, a few miles out of town, there's very little competition.

In our area we have two wireless, one DSL & of course, satellite services. Satellite is by far the fastest - up to 12Mbs, which is plenty fast for HD streaming. The problem is they have data limits & their monthly cost is quite high. Sure, you can increase data caps but you pay through the nose to get it.

The wireless companies, one 3G & one 4G, are both reasonable in price. The 3G company's speeds are too flexible - sometimes 3Mbs & sometimes .25Mbs. The 4G company's tower is 8 miles away but worth looking into once our contract is up. They promise 10Mbs internet, phone & bundle with Dish. But, I suspect their signal might be too weak because of the distance their tower is from us. Whether their signal is strong enough or not, it will cost me $100 to have them "test" their signal at my home. We'll see.

I fought hard with our DSL company to get 7Mbs service, which it isn't really. Sometimes close to 7Mbs but probably averages more like 4Mbs which is too slow for HD streaming. Need 7Mbs constant stream for HD.

I've wondered why the wireless companies haven't upgraded their equipment. Their rep promised years ago they would & now I know why they didn't. With the already in place DSL service having the potential of 1Gbs service, it would be a disastrous financial decision on their part.

There's no guarantee our DSL company will install this new technology but I'm hoping they will.

 

[GeneO]

Welcome competition to the overpriced Comcast monopoly.