high-definition television High-definition television (HD or HDTV) describes a television system which provides a substantially higher image resolution than the previous generation of technologies. The term has been used since 1936; in more recent times, it refers to the g ...

IPTV Internet Protocol television (IPTV) is the delivery of television content over Internet Protocol (IP) networks. This is in contrast to delivery through traditional terrestrial, satellite, and cable television formats. Unlike downloaded med ...

AT&T AT&T Inc. is an American multinational telecommunications holding company headquartered at Whitacre Tower in Downtown Dallas, Texas. It is the world's largest telecommunications company by revenue and the third largest provider of mobile te ...

U-verse U-verse TV is a DirecTV brand of IPTV service. Launched on June 26, 2006, U-verse included broadband Internet (now AT&T Internet or AT&T Fiber), IP telephone (now AT&T Phone), and IPTV (U-verse TV) services in 48 states.Bell Canada's Bell Fibe TV,

Claro Puerto Rico Claro Puerto Rico is one of the largest telecommunications services company in Puerto Rico. It is headquartered in Guaynabo, Puerto Rico, and has operated for almost a century offering voice, data, long distance, broadband, directory publishing ...

's

Claro TV Claro TV+ is a Latin American operator of Pay television. The service is supplied by Embratel and Claro companies and operates in Star One C4 satellite. Its transmission system is DTH (Direct to Home) in Ku Band, and the channels are encrypted ...

, and

Telus Telus Communications Inc. (TCI) is the wholly owned principal subsidiary of Telus Corporation, a Telecommunications in Canada, Canadian national telecommunications company that provides a wide range of telecommunications products and services ...

's

Optik TV Telus Optik TV is a product of Telus Communications, a subsidiary of Telus Corporation, that provides IPTV service in the Canadian provinces of British Columbia, Alberta, and Quebec. The service offers over 630 digital channels, including more t ...

. VRAD equipment manufactured by

Alcatel-Lucent Alcatel–Lucent S.A. () was a French–American global telecommunications equipment company, headquartered in Boulogne-Billancourt, France. It was formed in 2006 by the merger of France-based Alcatel and U.S.-based Lucent, the latter being a s ...

can be configured to support between 48 and 864 lines per box. The VRAD boxes are composed of circuit boards providing service, fed by

fiber-optic An optical fiber, or optical fibre in Commonwealth English, is a flexible, transparent fiber made by drawing glass (silica) or plastic to a diameter slightly thicker than that of a human hair. Optical fibers are used most often as a means t ...

cable.

AT&T VRADs

There are 2 types of VRAD systems currently used by AT&T:

FTTN Fiber to the ''x'' (FTTX; also spelled "fibre") or fiber in the loop is a generic term for any broadband network architecture using optical fiber to provide all or part of the local loop used for last mile telecommunications. As fiber optic ...

(fiber to the node), and

FTTP Fiber to the ''x'' (FTTX; also spelled "fibre") or fiber in the loop is a generic term for any broadband network architecture using optical fiber to provide all or part of the local loop used for last mile telecommunications. As fiber optic ...

(fiber to the premises). FTTN, widely used where copper facilities exist in established neighborhoods, uses an

Alcatel-Lucent Alcatel–Lucent S.A. () was a French–American global telecommunications equipment company, headquartered in Boulogne-Billancourt, France. It was formed in 2006 by the merger of France-based Alcatel and U.S.-based Lucent, the latter being a s ...

7330 Intelligent Services Access Manager (ISAM) shelf,Post Alexander, Atlanta, Ga.
p. 24. which uses the existing copper wiring to customers' homes, leading to distance limitations from the VRAD cabinet to the customer's home. The 7330 ISAM is an internet protocol DSL access multiplexer that supports

VDSL Very high-speed digital subscriber line (VDSL) and very high-speed digital subscriber line 2 (VDSL2) are digital subscriber line (DSL) technologies providing data transmission faster than the earlier standards of asymmetric digital subscriber li ...

and

ADSL Asymmetric digital subscriber line (ADSL) is a type of digital subscriber line (DSL) technology, a data communications technology that enables faster data transmission over copper telephone lines than a conventional voiceband modem can provide. ...

protocols.Alcatel-Lucent 7330 ISAM FTTN ANSI
/ref> The FTTP system uses an Alcatel-Lucent 7340 ISAM shelf, which is mostly used in areas such as new neighborhoods or large-scale developments where fiber can be run to the household, removing the distance limitations of copper. The 7340 then connects to a Primary Flexibility Point, which distributes service to homes in the neighborhood, via a dual strand fiber, which is then split into 32 customer fiber pairs. In FTTP systems, the fiber pairs are typically led into a customer's residence at the

network interface device upTwo simple NIDs, carrying six lines each, on the outside of a building upA German copper phone line termination box called '' Abschlusspunkt LinienTechnik'' (APL, " Demarcation point") In telecommunications, a network interface device (NID; ...

. In FTTD (fiber to the desk) systems, the fiber can continue to an equipment room or garage, then to a decoder box or

residential gateway A residential gateway is a small consumer-grade gateway which bridges network access between connected local area network (LAN) hosts to a wide area network (WAN) (such as the Internet) via a modem, or directly connects to a WAN (as in EttH), wh ...

, then to the customer's TV, computer, and phone lines. The VRAD typically connects upstream to an Alcatel-Lucent 7450 Ethernet service switch in the central office hub, then to the headend video hub office. VRADs required for U-verse are around wide, tall, and deep. Size and graffiti risk have drawn complaints from homeowners. AT&T has sued competitor Comcast for Chicago ads against AT&T's "large and unsightly" VRADs. Four VRADs have exploded due to faulty lithium-ion batteries manufactured by Avestor (now bankrupt), at least one explosion sending parts "fifty feet throughout the neighborhood." AT&T replaced all 17,000 Avestor batteries used in its VRADs with safer

Alcatel-Lucent Alcatel–Lucent S.A. () was a French–American global telecommunications equipment company, headquartered in Boulogne-Billancourt, France. It was formed in 2006 by the merger of France-based Alcatel and U.S.-based Lucent, the latter being a s ...

-designed SAFT NiCad batteries, which have a 10-year life.

Other VRADs

Bell Canada's Bell Fibe TV and

Telus Telus Communications Inc. (TCI) is the wholly owned principal subsidiary of Telus Corporation, a Telecommunications in Canada, Canadian national telecommunications company that provides a wide range of telecommunications products and services ...

's

Optik TV Telus Optik TV is a product of Telus Communications, a subsidiary of Telus Corporation, that provides IPTV service in the Canadian provinces of British Columbia, Alberta, and Quebec. The service offers over 630 digital channels, including more t ...

also use VRADs in their networks. Bell Canada uses the Alcatel-Lucent 7330 and

Ikanos Communications Ikanos Communications, Incorporated, was a provider of semiconductor and software products for use in homes. It was headquartered in Fremont, California. The company’s digital subscriber line, communications processors and other products wer ...

IKNS ISAMs, and provides Internet service via either

FTTN Fiber to the ''x'' (FTTX; also spelled "fibre") or fiber in the loop is a generic term for any broadband network architecture using optical fiber to provide all or part of the local loop used for last mile telecommunications. As fiber optic ...

to 50 Mbit/s, or

FTTH Fiber to the ''x'' (FTTX; also spelled "fibre") or fiber in the loop is a generic term for any broadband network architecture using optical fiber to provide all or part of the local loop used for last mile telecommunications. As fiber op ...

(fibre to the home) to 1.5 Gbit/s.Bell Internet Packages
/ref>

Claro Puerto Rico Claro Puerto Rico is one of the largest telecommunications services company in Puerto Rico. It is headquartered in Guaynabo, Puerto Rico, and has operated for almost a century offering voice, data, long distance, broadband, directory publishing ...

is currently deploying VRADs to offer their

IPTV Internet Protocol television (IPTV) is the delivery of television content over Internet Protocol (IP) networks. This is in contrast to delivery through traditional terrestrial, satellite, and cable television formats. Unlike downloaded med ...

and

VDSL Very high-speed digital subscriber line (VDSL) and very high-speed digital subscriber line 2 (VDSL2) are digital subscriber line (DSL) technologies providing data transmission faster than the earlier standards of asymmetric digital subscriber li ...

Internet service up to 50Mbit/s. There are 2 types of VRAD systems currently used by Claro:

FTTN Fiber to the ''x'' (FTTX; also spelled "fibre") or fiber in the loop is a generic term for any broadband network architecture using optical fiber to provide all or part of the local loop used for last mile telecommunications. As fiber optic ...

(fiber to the node), and

FTTP Fiber to the ''x'' (FTTX; also spelled "fibre") or fiber in the loop is a generic term for any broadband network architecture using optical fiber to provide all or part of the local loop used for last mile telecommunications. As fiber optic ...

(fiber to the premises). It is unknown the equipment they are using.

References

{{reflist Telephony

AT&T VRADs

Other VRADs

See also

References