It seems impossible, but engineers continue to find ways to squeeze more speed out of traditional copper telephone lines, proving we haven’t reached the bandwidth limit yet. Imagine 1 Gbps speeds on copper lines for businesses!
While this technology isn’t widespread yet, it’s rapidly approaching. Huawei, a Chinese company specializing in networking and telecommunications, has developed a prototype Giga DSL system capable of delivering a combined speed of 1 Gbps within 100 meters of a remote terminal (RT) cabinet. The speed scales down to 500 Mbps at a distance of 200 meters.
This innovation follows Huawei’s SuperMIMO project, which utilizes four twisted copper pairs to achieve speeds of 700 Mbps over 400 meters. MIMO, short for Multiple Input Multiple Output, is the same antenna technology used in WiFi 802.3n to enhance range by employing multiple antennas for both transmission and reception. This technology combats multipath distortion, where radio waves interfere with each other. Using multiple antennas and intelligent system design, wave patterns are deciphered to reconstruct a clear signal.
But what does wireless transmission have to do with underground copper wires? Business telecommunications systems, such as multi-line phones, T1, and Ethernet over Copper, don’t use individual twisted pair lines. Instead, they are bundled together in binder cables containing 50 or more pairs. These twisted conductors effectively eliminate electromagnetic interference in low-speed transmissions like analog phone calls and dial-up internet. However, high-speed signals, such as EoC or T1, can leak into adjacent pairs within the cable, causing crosstalk interference. This is where MIMO technology comes in, mitigating interference between these wired paths, much like it addresses interference in wireless transmissions.
Other telecom equipment manufacturers are also making strides in this area. Alcatel-Lucent has developed DSL Phantom Mode, a technology that delivers 300 Mbps over two copper pairs, and 100 Mbps over distances up to 1 km. With its 1 km reach, this system is ideal for Ethernet over Copper in business districts and industrial parks.
The key to Alcatel-Lucent’s breakthrough is the “phantom circuit.” This technique, used in early wired communication, allowed for the transmission of additional telegraph signals or phone calls. Two phone lines, each using a twisted pair, could carry two separate calls. By connecting a circuit between them, a third call or telegraph signal could be transmitted. Transformers at each end of the lines, with the third circuit connected between their center taps, eliminate interference. This setup allows the “phantom circuit” to share the copper lines without disrupting the balanced lines.
Further enhancing bandwidth capacity, Alcatel-Lucent also employs bonded copper pairs. Additionally, they use VDSL2 vectoring to mitigate crosstalk between lines within a bundle. Similar to MIMO, vectoring utilizes digital signal processing to analyze and counteract interference effects on signals across copper pairs at the symbol level. This level of precision was impossible until recent advancements made high-speed DSP affordable. By applying complex mathematical algorithms to signal waveforms, it’s now possible to make incredibly precise adjustments, maximizing throughput for both wired and wireless transmissions.
But what’s driving this intense research into maximizing the potential of century-old copper connections? The answer lies in the exponential growth of bandwidth demand, driven by the increasing processing and storage requirements of big data. The shift from local data centers to the cloud further fuels the need for faster network lines for both WAN and LAN connections. While fiber optic technology is advancing and offering higher speeds, it’s only accessible to 75% of businesses at most. Plus, installation can be expensive and time-consuming. If existing copper infrastructure can be optimized to meet the growing need for bandwidth, businesses can quickly enhance their MAN and WAN network speeds using their current connections.
If your network is feeling the need for speed, both copper and fiber solutions are available today that were nonexistent just a short time ago. Explore current pricing and options for Ethernet over Copper and Fiber bandwidth to see what’s available in your area.
