VDSL interoperability initiative launched

Five vendors including two rival chip vendors have joined forces to put interoperability among their discrete multi-tone VDSL-based products.

The companies--Alcatel Microelectronics, GlobespanVirata, Ikanos Communications, STMicroelectronics and Zarlink Semiconductor--are working toward interoperability based on the ITU’s Plan 998 and Plan 997 standards.

VDSL, which has had limited deployment in the U.S., allows carriers to send data across copper loops at up to 52 Mb/s. Current deployments, which have mostly come from independent telcos and Qwest Communications, use propriety “interpretations” of the VDSL standard, said Rajesh Vashist, president and CEO of Ikanos.

“A lot of interoperability hinges on the last 2% of interpretation,” he said.

Achieving joint interoperability is a necessity for more widescale deployment and will lead to lower-cost equipment, he added.