ADSL 2+ needed for IPTV

Johannesburg, 10 May 2006

A minimum broadband standard of ADSL 2+ will need to be deployed for Internet Protocol TV (IPTV) to be rolled out, according to Tim Nicholas, solutions architect at Alcatel, who is working with Telkom to bring the technology to SA.

The DSL Forum says ADSL 2+ doubles the bandwidth used for downstream data transmission, effectively doubling the maximum downstream data rates, and achieving rates of 20Mbps on phone lines as long as 1 524m.

ADSL 2+ will enable service providers to evolve their networks to support advanced services such as video in a flexible way, with a singular solution for both short-loop and long-loop applications, the DSL Forum says.

Speaking yesterday on the sidelines of the VOIP World Africa Conference in Sandton, Nicholas said: "In theory, ADSL 2+ could offer downlink connection speed of up to 10Mbps."

In reality, however, the speed would be dependent on the length of the local loop, he said.

Nicholas was unwilling to comment on the progress of the Alcatel-Telkom-Microsoft partnership and the IPTV trials taking place. In a panel discussion on triple play, however, he said bringing video into a carrier or service provider network necessitates great alterations to network design.

More flexibility

"It really changes the quality of service requirements - for video you need 100 times the network bandwidth than for voice and data speeds," he said.

Nicholas outlined some of the advantages of the technology: "With IPTV one sees more flexibility, greater levels of interactivity, and a blending of services - such as programming guide interaction."

Cliff Chandler, UK-based business manager for communications company Intertel, added during the discussion that the most practical use of video over Internet Protocol can be found in video conferencing.

"Rather than spending lots of money on flying employees around, our customers are increasingly making use of video conferencing," he explained.