ASSIA Enables Healthy Competition Among Service Providers Transitioning to 100 Mbps Vectored VDSL

REDWOOD CITY, CA--(Marketwire - Jun 6, 2012) - ASSIA, Inc., the leading provider of high-performance software tools for Dynamic Spectrum Management (DSM) of digital subscriber line (DSL) networks, has just published a white paper that presents a solution for maintaining a competitive environment among DSL service providers as they upgrade their lines from asynchronous digital subscriber lines (ADSLs) to vectored very-high-speed digital subscriber lines (vectored VDSLs). "Methods for Supporting Vectoring when Multiple Service Providers Share the Cabinet Area" is available for download from the ASSIA DSL Knowledge Center on the ASSIA Web site.

With data rates exceeding 100 megabits per second (Mbps) at loop lengths of up to 1,000 meters, vectored VDSL benefits consumers who increasingly rely on mobile devices for accessing rich media content and on high-bandwidth services such as Internet Protocol television (IPTV). Vectored VDSL also can catapult widely installed DSL to new performance standards beyond shared cable and fiber broadband services. However, crosstalk between lines from multiple competitive Internet service providers (ISPs) sharing the same cabinet area may degrade the performance of vectored VDSLs. As government mandates worldwide attempt to promote competition between incumbent local exchange carriers (ILECs) and competitive local exchange carriers (CLECs), some in the industry advocate restrictions that would allow only the ILECs to manage all vectored lines in a single cabinet area to avoid this issue and secure the full benefits of vectoring.

"The misperceptions that vectoring technology requires wholesale replacement of DSL infrastructure and is incompatible with unbundling do a disservice to the operator community, broadband consumers and broadband competition," said Marc Goldburg, chief technology officer of ASSIA and co-author of the white paper. "Properly managed with Dynamic Spectrum Management (DSM) solutions, different DSL technologies operated by different service providers can coexist in the same physical plant, while preserving each provider's ability to deliver advanced, differentiated services."

Informa Senior Analyst Stephen Wilson recently examined the possibility of using DSM to maintain a competitive environment while reducing vectored VDSL crosstalk, and wrote in a blog post that "DSM can control the transmit spectrum of different lines, sometimes in coordinated fashion, using a spectrum management centre (SMC). DSM can dynamically shape the power spectral density of lines or how the power on a line is distributed across different frequencies. By doing this it may even be possible to reduce the power on a line and have higher bit rates because crosstalk has been lessened."

The latest white paper from ASSIA also clarifies the tools operators need to manage the simultaneous presence of vectored and non-vectored lines and also multiple vectoring groups as existing DSL equipment is gradually replaced with vectored DSL. The paper also explains how the rich capabilities of DSM can address the technical requirements of managing various types of DSLs from multiple service providers sharing the same cabinet area, while promoting healthy competition and protecting end users from unhealthy monopolies.

ASSIA is not only addressing the issue on paper; its latest product release, ASSIA DSL Expresse 2.7, is the first product to offer advanced network management software for multi-tenant environments. The multi-tenant architecture facilitates carrier unbundling by enabling multiple service providers' simultaneous use of the same software instance to optimize their lines' interplay and performance.

ASSIA CTO Goldburg also presented these findings and more in his presentation, "Vectoring Coexistence: Unvectored Services and Unbundled Environments," at the recent TNO DSL Seminar 2012 in Leiden, The Netherlands.

About ASSIA, Inc.
ASSIA, Inc. develops high-performance software tools that dramatically improve the speed and reach of DSL networks. Using Dynamic Spectrum Management (DSM), these platform-agnostic tools enable DSL service providers to manage lines in real time and to lower capital and operating expenses, increase revenue, and deliver new multimedia content to the broadband-enabled home. ASSIA has more than 60 million lines under contract with top-tier service providers worldwide and is backed by strategic investors, including AT&T, Mingly China Growth Fund, SFR Development, Sandalwood Partners, Sofinnova Partners, Stanford University, Swisscom Ventures, T-Ventures, and Telefonica. For more information, visit www.assia-inc.com.

ASSIA DSL Expresse is a registered trademark of ASSIA, Inc.