You will all probably remember G.fast . This standard was approved in 2014 by the ITU, and in a few months the first equipment that used it began to arrive. In 2016, the first deployments began to take place. With this technology, speeds of up to 1 Gbps could be achieved using ADSL or cable . However, it was deprecated, but now the ITU has a new standard that offers even more speed.
With G.Fast, it was possible to use 106 or 212 MHz profiles, instead of the 8.5, 17.664, or even 35 MHz profiles used with VDSL2 . Thanks to this, it is possible to reach speeds of up to 1 Gbps in distances of less than 100 meters. With 100 meters, 900 Mbps is guaranteed; with 200 meters, 600 Mbps; with 300 meters, 300 Mbps; with 500 meters, 100 Mbps. Upload speed is limited to 50 Mbps.
Gfast “only” reaches 1 Gbps
The Broadband Forum recommended making G.Fast deployments using FTTdp ( Fiber to the Distribution Point ), similar to FTTN, where the fiber reaches a specific point, and the last section uses copper facilities. Thus, despite the fact that in Spain everything will be fiber optics within four years, in the rest of the world the deployment of fiber optics leaves much to be desired. For this reason, copper-based technologies continue to be developed, such as the new MGfast standard.
This new ITU standard is capable of using ADSL or cable to reach speeds of 8 Gbps in Full Duplex (FDX) mode , and 4 Gbps in Time Division Duplexing (TDD) mode . This standard, whose technical name is ITU G.9711, promises not only high speeds, but also low latency and the possibility of offering a QoS that meets today’s Internet needs. With this, you can stream content in 4K and 8K, and even play in the cloud thanks to the low latency.
MGfast: double the frequency and up to 8 Gbps
While G.fast could reach frequencies of 106 and 212 MHz , with MGfast it is possible to reach frequencies of up to 424 MHz as long as the distance to the node is shorter. In the following image we can see the scope.
MGfast is therefore the technology that replaces G.Fast , although both can be used at the same time. The advantage they offer is that it is not necessary to replace the current wiring in a building . With this, it is possible to offer better Internet connections in a building using the entire existing copper installation without having to replace it with fiber.
In the long term it is better to replace everything with fiber, but if there are cost problems, this can be a good temporary solution. Thus, users only have to change the router, as there is no need to install rosettes or use ONT. Thanks to this, deployments can be carried out with greater speed, while ADSL centrals are closed, reducing energy consumption and space used.