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Currently, the fastest DSL broadband technology in use, ADSL2+, for which Be is the best known provider, can provide speeds up to 22Mb/sec and the imminent VDSL2 promises more than twice that. But the benefits of both are restricted to users located close to their local exchange. For the majority that are more than 2km away, the benefits are negligible, at best.

But if the ISP’s moved their hardware from the exchange to the street cabinet, the situation would

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be radically different. Since almost 100% of households are within 2km, most could — theoretically — expect speeds of up to 50Mb/sec.

Ofcom stresses that this is a theoretical outcome. Data rates experienced by end users depend not only on the distance between the customer premises and the exchange but also on home wiring and interference at the exchange, cabinet and in the home.

“In the real world there are different providers with different equipment sharing the exchange, and perhaps the cabinet, and therefore impacting performance,” the regulator notes. “Nevertheless the real value of this study is to suggest an upper limit, given all technical progress possible, of 50Mbit/s, with fibre to the cabinet.”

Ofcom has published its findings as Assessment of the theoretical limits of copper in the last mile [PDF].