No More Crosstalk in the Vectoring Conversation
posted by George Ginis
Vice President of Managed Systems Engineering, ASSIA, Inc.
March 8th, 2012
In my last post I wrote that vectoring enables VDSL to achieve its highest potential data rates, in excess of 100 megabits per second (Mbps). However, the full potential of vectoring cannot be realized without a vectored DSL management system that applies the dynamic spectrum management (DSM) methodology to DSL networks. ASSIA is pioneering this technology through its unique flagship product, DSL Expresse®.
Vectoring creates side effects that only a DSM-based vectored DSL management system can manage effectively. Side effects include the exposure of certain types of noise, such as impulse noise and non-static background noise, which is normally masked by crosstalk.
ASSIA DSL Expresse can also detect faults in cables – such as faults in insulation, shorts, or crosses between lines – based on the enhanced reporting capabilities of vectoring.
A DSM-based vectored DSL management system should also help minimize the crosstalk that results from mixing vectored VDSLs and non-vectored VDSLs in the same binder. This inevitably occurs as service providers gradually upgrade from ADSL to VDSL and to vectored VDSL.
The crosstalk from non-vectored lines cannot be eliminated, but a management system can identify the sources of crosstalk and smartly reduce the power of non-vectored lines without sacrificing the speeds of these non-vectored lines.
By doing so it reduces the negative impact of non-vectored lines on vectored lines in the same binder. A management system should also compensate for external noise from home appliances and other sources, such as AM noise and various types of radio-frequency interference (RFI).
Finally, a DSM-based vectored DSL management system should be able to use performance data to identify lines and nodes that are the best candidates for upgrades to VDSL and to vectored VDSL.
Only then can VDSL truly help customers enjoy the benefits of modern high-bandwidth services on existing copper lines, and help service providers increase their bottom line.
Vectoring, combined with ASSIA DSL Expresse, ensures previously unachievable high data rates and service quality for DSL service providers and their customers, and ushers in a new “golden age” of copper.
At ASSIA we’re delighted to see our pioneering work in vectoring transform from theory to practice, and to support our worldwide customers in their transition to the next generation of DSL. With the widespread implementation of vectored VDSL, 2012 will indeed be a great year for broadband and for the future of DSL.
For more detailed information about vectoring and its implications for operations and management practices, see my article published in the April 2010 issue of OSP magazine: http://www.assia-inc.com/DSL-technology/DSL-knowledge-center/industry-articles/VDSL2Rescue_print_web.pdf.