Australia's NBN Co, the company rolling out the National Broadband Network, has completed the deployment of the first G.fast capable DPUs onto the network.
The company is using G.fast to provide last-mile connectivity for customers on the fiber-to-the-curb (FTTC) component of the national network.
NBN Co is using a Nokia DPU solution specifically designed for Australian conditions and the network's requirements. The dual-mode units are currently providing VDSL2 services, but have the ability to be remotely activated to 212Mhz G.fast as demand dictates.
With the deployment, NBN Co will be he first operator in the world to deliver 212Mhz G.fast via in-ground DPUs, typically around 40 meters from customer premises.
Using the technology, NBN Co expects to be able to achieve close to 2Gbps aggregate upstream and downstream speeds, effectively doubling the capacity of conventional G.fast.
Under the agreement, Nokia is also providing software-defined access network management capabilities to help improve customer experiences over the multi-vendor FTTC network.
“Nokia is a long-standing strategic partner for nbn and has played a key role helping nbn meet our deployment goals and understand our options for network evolution,” NBN Co chief network engineering officer Peter Ryan said.
“I am very pleased that we are taking this next step together on our journey of delivering cutting-edge technology to Australians with our first deployment of G.fast copper acceleration technology onto the nbn FTTC network. Having this technology in the ground today gives us additional flexibility to meet end-user demand as it evolves."