The technology has allowed network operators to speed up the connection to the broadband fiber backbone and relieve congestion in loops with heavy traffic. However, the increasing demand for cable pairs, coupled with increasing call hold times, has created pair exhaustion concerns among the network providers. The ubiquitous copper cable plant is beginning to look like a finite resource. In some urban regions, the cable plant has already approached full utilization. A key dilemma for network providers is how to service this demand for local loop bandwidth while investing in the future generation of network infrastructures.
Providers are reluctant to invest in the copper infrastructure.
The telcos see their long-term future in fiber, and their predicament is how to get the most out of the existing copper network while applying a large percentage of their capital to building a fiber network. This turned out to be a formidable challenge. The local loop is a harsh transmission environment. Mixed cable gauges and bridge taps along the transmission path create impedance mismatches, and these mismatches attenuate the signal and create signal reflections. In addition, mixed crosstalk from a variety of services create a severe noise environment.