Bell Labs achieves over 10Gbps using traditional copper phone lines

Bell LAbs, which is a division of Alcatel-Lucent, is claiming to have "set a new broadband speed record of 10Gbps using traditional copper telephone lines". This was achieved in a research project that could see gigabit broadband speeds delivered to normal broadband networks with copper, by combining fiber.

These 10Gbps speeds can only be achieved at 30 meters (or 100 feet), and at 70m (or 230 feet) the top speeds drop to 1Gbps. Alcatel-Lucent has said that bidirectional 1Gbps speeds can be achieved in the real-world over networks that deliver fiber to the curbside, and rely on copper for the final few feet of the connection.

Alcatel-Lucent said: "When it becomes commercially available in 2015, G.fast will use a frequency range for data transmission of 106MHz, giving broadband speeds up to 500Mbps over a distance of 100 meters. In contrast, XG-FAST uses an increased frequency range up to 500MHz to achieve higher speeds but over shorter distances. Bell Labs achieved 1Gbps symmetrical over 70 meters on a single copper pair. 10Gbps was achieved over a distance of 30 meters by using two pairs of lines (a technique known as 'bonding'). Both tests used standard copper cable provided by a European operator".