Auguring the potential deployment of gigabit DSL on standard phone wires, Sckipio Technologies introduced a pair of G.fast chip sets.
Sckipio’s introduction was accompanied by announcements of G.fast network equipment and reference designs from Suttle, XAVi, Zinwell, VTech and Lantiq.
G.fast networks place distribution point units (DPU) in phone network distribution points. By using G.fast, a phone company would not have to string fiber all the way to the home to provide gigabit service, said Sckipio vice president of markting Michael Weissman. It could leave its twisted copper pair (TCP) wiring in place for the last few hundred feet from distribution point to the customer. This means a telco could provision the service without having to enter customer premises (especially pertinent in MDUs where the telco might be prohibited from entering), and then simply mail the customer a modem that can be self-installed. The approach might save as much as $1,000 to $1,500 comparied to a fiber to the home (FTTH) approach.
G.fast uses time division duplexing, which leads to a system that can be turned off when not in use. The contrast is to frequency division duplexing, which is always on, constantly drawing power. That’s a problem for distribution points, which unlike central offices central offices (COs) in general or DSLAMs in a DSL network are not powered. DPUs places in distribution points therefore rely on reverse power, drawing power not from the network but from the residences connected to them. DPUs typically draw less than the power required to run a light bulb, said Weissman.
Sckipio is an Israeli semiconductor startup founded to build G.fast chipsets. These products are designed from scratch, and are not a re-spin of previous VDSL solutions, the company said. Sckipio’s DP1000 chipset is for use in customer premise equipment (CPE). DP3000 G.fast DPU Chipsets simultaneously supports four 1 Gbps G.fast ports, up to 10Gbps of aggregated backhaul and full built-in vectoring support for as many as 64 subscribers.
Sckipio is providing reference designs for both. The DP3016-EVM is a 16-port G.fast DPU reference design for use in FTTdp (fiber to the distribution point) architectures. The CP1000-EVM is a CPE bridge design for integration into residential gateways or for creation of stand-alone bridges.
Other companies simultaneously announced G.fast products and reference designs based on Sckipio products. Suttle, XAVi and Zinwell will all supply both DPUs and CPE devices. VTech will supply a DPU, a residential gateway and a bridge device.
Lantiq providing a residential gateway reference design built around G.fast. The company’s Easy330, integrating Sckipio chip sets, supports G.fast networking, and includes an embedded 11n offloading engine, 802.11ac Wi-Fi networking, Gigabit Ethernet switch and PHYs, carrier grade VoIP.
Competition from cable and government broadband initiatives motivate DSL providers to offer higher data rate services and these leading telcos are clamoring for smarter ways to offer the highest data rates to their customers, Lantiq explained. Getting fiber all the way into the home can be costly. Proponents of the new G.fast standard claim the technology will deliver 1Gbps connectivity for phone companies at the lowest cost per megabit, especially when compared to FTTH.
[The technical description of G.fast has been edited. -ed.]
