By Brian Kingston
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I HAVE written the last few months about wireless 5G. It is finally due to arrive some time over the coming 12 months and will spearhead the rollout of this next generation network and possibly revolutionise the way we work.
It might surprise you to learn of a new technology called 10G broadband. What is it? Well 10G is a trademark of the NCTA, the USA broadband industries principle trade association. The name might lead you to believe we have skipped from fifth to tenth generation, but that is not the case.
10G in this case refers to the 10 gigabytes per second (Gbps) speeds that the next generation of fully wired broadband will be able to achieve. It is being worked on by a number of cable operators around the world including Vodafone. It is being described as the next big leap forward for traditional broadband meaning that it relies on a wired connection rather than the 5G wireless final mile approach.
5G will eventually manage actual speeds of around 1Gbps but it is now expected to initially offer roughly 100Mbps, about the same as some of us can get from a fast fixed line, although 1Gbps is available in Northampton and Milton Keynes today!
Besides boasting faster speeds 10G will have better all round performance, latency, reliability and security, as does the existing 1Gbps we are lucky enough to have already locally.
That all being said, it seems 10G broadband will be built on existing 1Gbps networks, that we already have. It will involve a combination of technologies that currently exist, alongside steady advancements that will be brought to market by any number of telecoms companies. In other words the 10G standard is something that will be built towards rather than being a single technological leap that will be activated with the flick of a switch.
10G lab trials are already under way but field trials are not set until 2020 and it is therefore unlikely it will be beating 5G broadband to the market. But while 10G is a USA trademark it does not have a monopoly on 10G broadband development. For example, in February 2018, broadband operator Hyperoptic conducted a 10Gbps full fibre test in the London former Olympic village claiming it to be the first time such speeds had been achieved in the UK.
What next we wonder! Well I do. More of the future next month.