FTTN tops 100 Mbps in NBN Co speed test

The first in-premise trial of NBN delivery over fibre-to-the-node (FTTN) technology achieved raw download speeds of 105 Mbps and raw upload speeds of 45 Mbps, NBN Co announced.

The company's engineers conducted a technology trial of FTTN in Umina on NSW's central coast. They used a VDSL modem installed in a shopfront to connect the existing copper line to a node cabinet on the street.

The node cabinet is designed to convert electrical signals transmitted over copper into light pulses that can travel over fibre.

NBN Co stressed that the test upload and download speeds do not necessarily translate to real-world speeds over a retail NBN service. Factors including the age of the copper infrastructure as well as the quality and design of an end-user service provider's network would impact the end-user speed.

But new NBN Co CEO Bill Morrow said the trial "demonstrates that existing technologies such as the copper network are capable of playing a vital role in delivering high-speed broadband to Australians".

The company is trialling FTTN in Umina and in Epping in Melbourne. Once the initial tests are complete, NBN Co plans to invite retail service providers to participate in an FTTN end-user trial in a small number of premises at each location.

These tests form part of NBN Co's transition to a multitechnology mix for the NBN rollout.

Image courtesy of Mohammed Mustafa under CC