(Image Credit: Joe Lewis)
Nokia appears poised to complete its acquisition of Alcatel‑Lucent following approval from China’s Ministry of Commerce. The move highlights why Nokia values Alcatel‑Lucent’s talent and research: the company continues to produce notable innovations from its labs that address the growing demand for ultra‑broadband connectivity.
At this year’s Broadband World Forum, Alcatel‑Lucent introduced a set of leading fiber and copper access technologies designed to help operators meet current and future ultra‑broadband requirements, while also supporting the performance and capacity needs tied to 5G deployments.
The company showcased three principal advancements: a new G.fast solution, the first commercial Vplus products, and an expanded TWDM‑PON (Time and Wavelength Division Multiplexed Passive Optical Networks) portfolio.
Federico Guillén, president of Alcatel‑Lucent’s Fixed Access business line, summarized the market dynamic: “Today’s world is going wireless, but wireless is going fixed. As customer demand for ultra‑broadband access continues to increase, operators need a wide range of technology options to effectively meet evolving demands spanning residential, business and mobile backhaul services.”
G.fast is a major development because it enables gigabit‑class speeds over existing copper infrastructure, which remains widespread in many regions. That capability can reduce costs and accelerate rollout timetables when paired with the proper outside‑plant equipment.
Alcatel‑Lucent demonstrated a multi‑port G.fast micronode and advanced Vectoring 2.0 features that simplify and speed deployments. These micronodes are intended for outside‑plant installation close to homes (typically within 300 meters) or in fiber‑to‑the‑building scenarios where multiple subscribers are served from a single location.
Vplus addresses the performance gap between G.fast and VDSL2 Vectoring. With this launch, Alcatel‑Lucent became the first vendor to offer commercial Vplus products. Vplus is designed to be integrated into existing VDSL2 vectoring networks without degrading performance, enabling operators to deliver aggregate speeds of 200 Mbps or more over traditional copper lines up to 500 meters, and up to 300 Mbps on loops shorter than 250 meters.
Marcus Grausam, CTO of A1, noted: “We were the first to trial and launch G.fast using vectoring technology and are one of the first to connect live customers using Vplus as part of a committed effort to more effectively serve our subscribers’ needs.”
Alcatel‑Lucent also expanded its TWDM‑PON portfolio with a new optical network unit for residential deployment and enhancements to its fiber‑to‑the‑home platform. These upgrades increase switching and uplink capacity—features that are critical for large‑scale, multi‑gigabit services. In addition, Alcatel‑Lucent will add new capabilities to its Network Management System to simplify provisioning and management of GPON and TWDM technologies over the same fiber infrastructure.
Collectively, these innovations aim to help operators satisfy both immediate and future ultra‑broadband access demands and to meet the performance and capacity requirements associated with 5G rollouts.
Field trials and early deployments are already underway for these technologies. Notable examples include the world’s first commercial TWDM‑PON deployment by EPB in Chattanooga, Tennessee; the first commercial G.fast deployment with Chunghwa Telecom in Taiwan; introduction of Vplus with launch customer A1 in Austria; and a large trial of G.fast with BT in the UK.
Are you impressed with these ultra‑broadband solutions from Alcatel‑Lucent? Share your thoughts in the comments.