New ‘Gigabit Monitor’ launched to track global high-speed network launches

Viavi Solutions has launched a new ‘Gigabit Monitor’ with the aim of tracking when and where very high-speed networks are launched around the world, whether they are cellular, wireless, cable or fixed telecoms networks.

 

The new tracking service is based on publicly available data and excludes those service providers that market “up to 1 Gbps” speeds but do not explicitly advertise 1 Gbps services.

 

According to the database, there are now at least 350 live gigabit deployments globally, with a further 164 announced or under construction, using wireline and wireless technologies including GPON, DOCSIS 3.1, G.fast, LTE-Advanced, 5G and 802.11ac.

 

As things stand, 85% of currently known gigabit deployments are based on optical fibre connectivity. Around 11% are based on hybrid-fiber coax (HFC), which combines optical fibre and coaxial cable and is commonly employed by cable providers. Almost 3% are based on LTE-A, the report said.

 

Furthermore, it found that 37 mobile operators have announced plans for 5G networks and five of them plan to have 5G networks built as early as 2017 – although this would be well ahead of the expected completion date for 5G standardisation.

 

In terms of the geographical distribution, North America has the largest share of announced gigabit deployments, with a 61% share. Europe is second with 24% while Asia, Australasia, the Middle East, Africa and South America share the remaining 15% of deployments.

 

One thing is appears evident: the pace of gigabit deployments has accelerated sharply with over 70% of the tracked gigabit deployments launched since the start of 2015.

 

Sameh Yamany, chief technology officer of Viavi Solutions, noted that the “gigabit revolution” is in full swing and said faster speeds can’t come soon enough to feed an “insatiable appetite” for bandwidth.

 

It should be noted that Viavi Solutions provides network test, monitoring and assurance solutions to communications service providers and enterprises and so has a vested interested in promoting the launch of such high-speed network. However, the Gigabit Monitor certainly represents an interesting tool for those tracking very high-speed network launches around the globe. You can find it here: www.gigabitmonitor.com