G.fast
2013-12-12 23:59:10.598966+01 by Dan Lyke 0 comments
ITU standardizes G.fast for up to 1gbps over copper pairs, coming circa 2015. Assuming that there are actually still any ISPs around at that point, or whether the duopoly will have killed off any actual Internet and replaced it all with cable TV. Unfortunately:
The drawback with G.fast is that it will only work over short distances, so 1Gbps will only be possible at distances of up to about 100 meters. The technology is being designed to work at distances up to 250 meters, though transmission speed is slower at that distance.
which means we're back to exactly the problem with fiber: Most of us are out at a mile or two from the CO; we still need to run boxes out into the neighborhoods, which is where Comcast and AT&T are using their entrenched monopoly status to keep us constrained to uVerse or Xfinity.