However the demand for broadband access is patent at the present time. The popularization of the Internet as one "service" more (like cable TV or phone service) has increased the interest in broadband data access at the home. Electronic commerce and marketing are also driving forces in the search for fast data transmission technologies that can be used now, without waiting for the fiber network to be installed and available at an affordable cost. Technologies like ISDN were introduced as a solution to this problem, but the need to install a new line represents an inconvenient that is not lessened either by the low data rate provided by ISDN.
For this reasons, other technologies were invented to make use of the local loop plain old telephone wire that was already in place in just about every corner of the world. These technologies are also able to provide much higher data rates than ISDN or traditional modems. Data rates in the range of 8 Mbps and 60 Mbps are possible with the new technologies, called Digital Subscriber Lines or DSL. Several types of DSL technologies exist, each suited for a particular purpose. They are all usually referred to as xDSL to include ADSL, HDSL, RADSL and VDSL in a general group.
This project describes the latest of the version of the xDSL series: the Very High Speed Digital Subscriber Lines or VDSL
VDSL can provide data rates between 13 Mbps and 60 Mbps. The data rate that can be achieved depends on the length of the line. VDSL has been developed with the idea in mind that it be used as the transmission method between the home (or business) and the access point to the optical fiber network that may be located in the neighbourhood. That is, VDSL is meant to be used in conjunction with FTTC (Fiber To The Curb) or FTTB (Fiber To The Basement). The local connection to the high speed data backbone is done with fiber. There is an access point in the neighbourhood (FTTC) or in the basement of a building (FTTB) that is owned by the telecommunications operator. This center uses then VDSL to reach to the home or business using the existing local loop of plain old twisted pair.
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