The standard is viewed as a complement to FTTH technologies, and is said to combine the best aspects of fibre and DSL.
G.fast is said to provide speeds similar to fibre within 400m of a distribution point, resulting in cost savings for service providers and improved customer experience.
“The time from G.fast’s approval to its implementation looks set to be the fastest of any access technology in recent memory. A range of vendors has begun shipping G.fast silicon and equipment, and service providers’ lab and field trials are well underway,” said Dr Hamadoun Touré, secretary-general, ITU.
The final approval of the physical-layer protocol aspects of G.fast, follows an earlier approval in April of ITU-T G.9700; a companion text specifying methods to ensure that G.fast equipment will not interfere with broadcast services such as FM radio.
It is hoped G.fast will increase the feasibility of implementing bandwidth-intensive services such as Ultra-HD ‘4K’ or ‘8K’ streaming and next-generation IPTV, advanced cloud-based storage, and communication via HD video.
The ITU also hopes the standard will serve the broadband access needs of small-to-medium enterprises.
