Copper is not yet out

Fiber currently is a hot topic with operators starting deploying fiber in the access network, it is a fact. But copper is not dead. Following two European projects – Obanet and Gandalf – researchers have developed groundbreaking technology to boost existing DSL data rates a thousand-fold and Wi-Fi by up to a hundredfold. The technology is simple and cheap (say $50K or $60K) to implement it across an entire network. This is good news for incumbent operators, as it could postpone costly public works to lay new fibre optic cable, and impact profitability. A spin-off company, DAS Photonics, has been created to exploit the results and techniques developed in Obanet and Gandalf.