HDSL and ADSL capacity of the outside loop plant for multimedia services to the home

Multimedia services using the recent developments techniques permit real time videophony. The ability to deliver these services depends upon the limitations of the loop plant. The fundamental limits of the outside loop plant to carry high-speed digital (bi-directional HDSL and ADSL) data are reported. The paper focuses on the copper wire loops and drop lengths that convey the data over the “last mile” to almost all businesses and residences in the US. The major inputs are the data bases portraying the make up of business and residential loops. Business and residential loops are characterized by the distance to the central office or the remote terminal. Their spectral capabilities are computed and their ultimate digital capabilities are reported. The crosstalk limitations are also computed and compared with the loss of signal due the distance and spectral constraints. The minimum signal to noise ratio is retained to evaluate the percentages of loops that support the HDSL and ADSL transmission quality. The objective of the study is to evaluate the feasibility of providing multimedia services over existing unshielded twisted wire pairs in the loop plant