VDSL's Power, Part II

12:25 PM -- In yesterday's post, I reminded readers that, while today's broadband access technologies are touted as green, they are also big fat power pigs compared to the oldest of the older technologies they are replacing (i.e., Ye Olde Phone Network).

We have to take the claim that FTTH is a greener technology for telcos in the proper context. It is greener for telcos because they install loads of active electronics on the subscriber's house, and thus offload the power burden of tomorrow's technology to today's unsuspecting consumer. That's the price we pay for progress.

Bottom line: FTTH is greener for telcos, not for you. But, depending on how much more often FTTH allows you to work from home, even that point could be debated.

Finally, there's also some debate as to whether VDSL2 does actually use less power than ADSL2. A presentation used by BroadLight Inc. at the most recent FTTH Conference noted that VDSL actually consumes more power, but the point of the comparison was to show that GPON was the best bet (for telcos) overall.

Broadlight's findings (and assumptions) are below:

Table 1: GPON's Green Tint

— Phil Harvey, Editor, Light Reading