New developments in the broadband industry

In meetings at the Federal Communications Commission, the Broadband Forum (BBF) -- a group made up of telephone companies and other Internet service providers -- discussed the capabilities of fiber and Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) technologies in regards to the relationship between capacity (rate) and line length (reach), and how this can be factored into calculations for coverage of a population and geography. BBF discussed Dynamic Spectrum Management (DSM) and bonding for DSL technologies and when the capabilities of these technologies will impact deployments. BBF discussed the background, experience, work and procedures of the BBF, and how the Forum can potentially help the development of the National Broadband Plan. BBF concluded with the FCC Task Force identifying several issues in which they would like further information from the Broadband Forum, specifically: detailed tables and discussion of downstream and upstream capacity for VDSL2 (both with and without vectoring) and ADSL2plus, and how that impacts coverage. The Broadband Forum has submitted specific feedback to these points in: Broadband Forum response to FCC National Broadband Task Force request for information regarding broadband access technology capabilities