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A report from Ovum projects that by 2021 roughly 29 million premises will be connected using G.fast-enabled fixed-line broadband. This emerging technology combines fiber with existing copper lines to deliver substantially higher speeds with relatively low additional deployment cost, making it an attractive option for operators.
G.fast leverages fiber to the distribution point and the final copper connection into homes to deliver download speeds of up to 500 Mbps. Because it reuses existing copper infrastructure for the last stretch, operators can roll out faster services without the full cost and disruption of replacing every line with fiber.
Ovum’s analysis—commissioned by Australia’s National Broadband Network (NBN) and BT—finds that Europe is likely to lead G.fast adoption. Major European operators have already expressed interest and are running trials. For example, BT began field trials at multiple locations earlier in the year. Joe Garner, CEO of Openreach, described BT’s program as “the largest trial of G.fast technology in the world,” highlighting the company’s R&D efforts in advancing the technology.
Early commercial deployments are expected to offer typical speeds around 300 Mbps, with upgrades to 500 Mbps possible as deployments and optimization progress. Those speeds are considerably faster than what many consumers currently experience on traditional broadband connections.
NBN, the other commissioner of the report, has moved into its second phase of G.fast adoption after completing laboratory testing and small-scale field trials. Interest and trials are not limited to Europe: operators such as CenturyLink in the United States, Chunghwa Telecom in Taiwan, and Bezeq in Israel are conducting larger field trials, demonstrating global competition to bring G.fast to market.
Ovum points out that the European Commission’s target—to have 50 percent of premises connected at speeds of 100 Mbps or higher by 2020—creates pressure for more aggressive G.fast deployment across Europe. That policy push, combined with operator activity, is expected to make Western Europe the region with the broadest G.fast availability.
By contrast, Ovum forecasts that other regions will be less aggressive in adopting G.fast, estimating that only about 1–4 percent of fixed broadband subscribers in those markets will migrate to the platform in the near term.
Results from existing trials are encouraging. BT’s field trials have reported average speeds of around 330 Mbps. Chunghwa Telecom in Taiwan has demonstrated G.fast over single-port units with line lengths under 200 meters, achieving downstream speeds up to 500 Mbps.
Beyond G.fast, research continues into even faster copper-based systems. Bell Labs is developing the next generation, known as XG-FAST, and has demonstrated speeds reaching 10 Gbps in test environments. Marcus Weldon, President of Bell Labs, said the work aims to “push the limits of what is possible” so operators can explore delivering gigabit-class services over existing networks as cost-effectively and widely as possible.
Both G.fast and XG-FAST highlight a practical path for accelerating broadband upgrades by reusing copper infrastructure for the final connection, allowing lower-cost and faster rollouts compared with full fiber deployments. For consumers, that translates to a shorter wait to experience much higher speeds. Given these benefits, it is unsurprising that G.fast is generating strong global interest among network operators and policymakers.
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