Surf's up with super fast Internet access over TV networks
A Dutch-Finnish partnership with funding from EUREKA has developed technology to provide high-speed Internet access through existing copper coaxial cable TV connections without the need for a modem. Whilst today users can choose between asynchronous digital subscriber line (ADSL) services over the phone or broadband connections over cable TV networks, the VIRTUAL FIBRE project opted for developing baseband technology. In this way, it has been able to boost Internet speeds over the existing copper-based coaxial TV cable connections and remove the need for a modem on the side of consumers. 'Previously we used high-frequency solutions to handle Internet connections over our cable network. But here we chose to use baseband technology to achieve the high bandwidth required,' said Jelle Cnossen of @Home, one of the partners in the project. So users need only plug their personal computers (PCs) into a standard connector on the wall and play with the new services that the technology makes possible. These could include high bandwidth services ranging from video-on-demand to teleworking and e-government. A 12-month pilot trial in the Netherlands offered a community of 12,000 residents the choice of TV, telephony and Internet services at speeds ranging from 10 to 50 megabit/second (MB/s), where previously it had not been possible to access the Internet over the cable network. The results proved so successful that the technology has already been sold to South Korea and the partners in the project are confident that the technology has global potential.
Countries
Finland, Netherlands