DSL Forum Enhances Interoperability Testing

The DSL Forum approved a new report defining the technical criteria for ADSL interoperability and providing the foundation for the DSL Forum's global Interoperability Program in North America, Europe and Asia.



Technical Report, (TR)-067, specifies ADSL bit-rate and distance requirements beyond those previously specified for ADSL recommendations, and reflects the recent improvements in ADSL modem performance at a time when an increasing number of DSL customers are getting service at 3 Mbps and faster. Specifically, TR-067 defines testing using pass/fail criteria, specifies testing laboratory requirements, and establishes the format for conducting all ADSL testing with more extensive testing of upper-layer protocol functions and built in modem diagnostics. It builds on and strengthens the previous TR-048 specification for ADSL testing, establishing higher benchmarks for performance and interoperability. Compared with TR-048, TR-067 requires approximately 10% greater bit-rate on most loops, and approximately 30% greater bit-rate for loops with bridged taps. The much-improved performance with bridged taps helps in providing the same level of service to all DSL customers in a service area. It is notable that the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) made the original TR-048 a part of the requirement in the updated ITU-T ADSL2 (G.992.3, also known as G.dmt.bis) standard.



DSL Forum's President Tom Starr said: "TR-067 represents two years of cooperative effort and demonstrates international industry-wide convergence on interoperability standards. In order to strengthen DSL's global broadband lead, TR-067 raises the performance threshold for ADSL technology higher than ever, therefore enabling products to interoperate across service provider networks. http://www.dslforum.orgIn November 2003, The DSL Forum issued a new technical report (TR-060) that specifies the equipment interoperability testing plan for SHDSL, which supports speeds up to 2.3 Mbps and reach of up to 18,000 ft. SHDSL, which is being positioned as an access technology for small and medium-sized businesses and for remote offices of larger organizations, was ratified by the ITU in February 2001.



TR-060 builds on TR-048, the DSL Forum's testing plan for ADSL equipment interoperability that has become the international industry measure used by independent testing laboratories (ITLs) authorized by the DSL Forum.



Three further DSL Forum TRs published this month update existing core work on interfaces and system configurations for ADSL customer premises (TR-061), auto-configuration (TR-062) and VDSL network element management (TR-063).