Proximus is fully harvesting the potential of its broadband technology
Like many of my colleagues, I have been working from home for more than a year. I cannot go to the gym, but I join online courses and exercise at home. I cannot go to the theatre, but I watch live streams. Not only me, but my whole family relies fully on our broadband connectivity and not only my family, not only my country, but almost everyone all over the world in every home.
Over the past years, Proximus has brought fiber broadband across Belgium, with deep fiber coverage entering almost every village. They are now accelerating full fiber-to-the-home deployments. Definitely, FTTH is the goal of most service providers in broadband access. It is the fastest and most sustainable of all access technologies. This major infrastructure project is planned over the next few years, evolving to a pace of +10% country coverage per year; fiber will not reach everyone immediately. So, Proximus is being extremely diligent to ensure that no citizens are left behind. They are taking a sensible approach to complement fiber with Vplus vectoring so as to maximize digital inclusion.
In their 2020 annual report, Proximus talks about “fully harvesting the potential of technology” and this is exactly right. We can’t leave people waiting. People need—and deserve—broadband connectivity that enables them to work, learn, and live their lives even during a global crisis.
Proximus is using Nokia’s ultra-dense Vplus vectoring technology to double the number of homes that can be connected with speeds up to 250 Mb/s, and all that from existing cabinet locations. This efficient solution enables Proximus to immediately offer advanced speeds to users who are not getting fiber just yet, while avoiding the need to install additional cabinets, and shortening time, effort, and cost.
The ultra-dense Vplus vectoring deployed by Proximus has the world’s highest density and highest processing power enabled by Nokia’s Quillion chipset and ISAM MX-6 access node. It enables vectoring across 384 subscriber lines in a very small form factor, just 4RU. Until fiber arrives all the way to homes, the best option for connecting the underserved with ultra-broadband is to increase the capacity of the rack units inside the existing cabinets. It’s also a sustainable solution for Proximus: by increasing the vectoring capacity of existing cabinets, they’re generating the highest possible bitrates with the lowest possible CO2 emissions, at the same time saving the environment from additional construction works.
Have a look at how Proximus maximizes digital inclusion in the video and blog from Proximus that gives more insight into this landmark achievement. This is just the latest industry-changing collaboration between Proximus and Nokia: I’m sure there will be more to come.
