Impulse noise mitigation techniques for xDSL systems in a real environment

The demand for broadband communications for high data-rate applications has pushed towards the development of novel access technologies. Even if wireless access networks have gained more importance in the last years, wired access networks still remain the most common alternative for in-home access. In particular, xDSL technology allows a broadband access in domestic environment by exploiting the already deployed Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN). Within this scenario, one of the most significant drawbacks is the presence of the impulse noise in wired connections. In particular, this is fundamental whenever xDSL is used for carrying high data rate real-time services (e.g., video streaming). Aims of this paper are to present results derived by a measurement campaign over an actual SOHO telephone line and, in addition to this, to propose a suitable detection and mitigation technique for applications in xDSL in-home receivers. Performance comparisons with alternative techniques will be also provided by focusing on real impulses as result of an actual measurement campaign to validate the effectiveness of the proposed solutions.