Bell Labs demos 300 M/bits transmission speeds

LONDON: Bell Labs has developed transmission speeds of 300-Mbit/s over distances up to 400 meters and speeds of 100-Mbit/s at 1 kilometer of some digital subscriber line pairs. The Bell Labs is the research arm of the Alcatel-Lucent.

The new development avails the Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) to transmit digital information at frequencies above the voice band. Bell Labs conducted a test in which two copper pairs are linked and data is transmitted over an inferred third line named "DSL Phantom Mode." The DSL Phantom Mode has created a virtual channel that enhances the two physical wires, which are the standard configuration for copper transmission lines.

The Bell Labs have made use of ‘vectoring’ and ‘bonding’ to eliminate crosstalk between copper wires and to aggregate traffic on individual wires respectively. Alcatel-Lucent has not said whether trials are planned on publicly deployed copper lines or when it expects Phantom Mode to be ready for deployment. They have not also said what gauge wire was used for the research tests.

The company is conducting research to refine deployment models and to determine the requirements for customer premises equipment that would be compatible with the DSL Phantom Mode technology. Gee Rittenhouse, research head at Bell Labs said that the DSL Phantom Mode combines cutting edge technology with an attractive business model, making the DSL an important breakthrough.

This will give way to new commercial opportunities for service providers that would enable them to offer the latest broadband IP-based services using existing network infrastructure. The Alcatel-Lucent is ready to serve one out of three fixed broadband subscribers around the world through its access network technology. The company claims to have shipped its 200 million DSL lines.