Tests carried out over DNA’s broadband cable network have reached an unofficial world record of 1.58 Gbit/s. The tests were made by the Finnish cablenet in the early summer with Cisco and Santa Monica Networks. DNA’s cable network is based on Cisco network devices.
Signals were sent over a distance of between 10 and 20km, using a ‘real life’ network, as opposed to a laboratory simulation.
“Currently we are offering our customers 200 Mbit/s speeds throughout our network, but as the test indicates, our cable networks are able to meet the needs of tomorrow. The network can reach the antenna outlet easily, and currently only devices at consumer end set the limits how well the network capacity can be utilized. At DNA we have seen the opportunities cable TV technology offers and we will develop it further going forward”, says Kari Ruopsa, head of television networks, DNA.
The role of cable broadband could be bigger in Finnish broadband projects. According to FiCom (Finnish Federation for Communications and Teleinformatics), there are a total of 2.7 million broadband connections, of which 1.2 million are xDSL and approximately one million mobile. The remaining 500,000 are broadband cable.