Why the Multiple Dwelling Unit May Well Be the Next Battleground of Broadband Access

Broadband Breakfast interviews Pierre Trudeau, president and chief technology officer of Positron Access, about reaching multi-tenant units.

Why the Multiple Dwelling Unit May Well Be the Next Battleground of Broadband Access
Photo of FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez at Thursday's event

October 26, 2021– Positron Access President and Chief Technology Office Pierre Trudeau discusses the current “fiber frenzy,” why multiple-dwelling units sometimes suffer because of uncertainty surrounding the costs of building and some of the solutions available to get better broadband to MDUs.

In this interview with Broadband Breakfast Editor and Publisher Drew Clark, Trudeau also explains how Positron Access provides fiber-builders with a solution to serve otherwise costly or difficult to deploy fiber infrastructure, through a device they refer to as “Gigabit Access Multiplexer,” or a “GAM” for short.

Positron Access Solutions manufactures carrier grade products that increase the bandwidth delivered by Tier-1 carriers and over 150 Tier- 2 / 3 Operators. Positron’s G.hn Gigabit Access Multiplexer (GAM) extends fiber or fixed-wireless Gigabit services over the existing in-building wiring in MDU and Multi-Tenant Units, as well as and over the outdoor existing wiring from the curb to the gateway in rural areas.

Don’t miss Broadband Breakfast Live Online on Wednesday, October 27, 2021, 12 Noon ET — “When Greenfield Fiber Meets Brownfield Multiple Dwelling Units

Indeed, bringing fiber to the premises is sometimes only half the battle. For example, bringing fiber to an MDU may not mean that every tenant will get better-quality broadband. In the case of multiple dwelling units or multi-tenant housing, it isn’t easy to completely rewire an existing building with fiber-to-the-unit. Further, the Biden Administration and the Federal Communications Commission are pushing real estate owners to eliminate or minimize exclusive MDU broadband contacts.

In the interview between Trudeau and Clark, the two discuss Positron Access and its role in solving the problem.

Positron Access delivers managed real-time non-blocking virtually symmetrical Gigabit speeds to each subscriber without the cost and construction disruption of installing fiber to each door (up to 800 feet over existing telephone pairs or 2,800 feet over existing RG6 coaxial cable and splitters). The GAM is auto-configured and supports user self-installation, eliminating the need to enter the premises. It is installed and activated in hours. Developed, manufactured and supported in North America.

Positron has adapted existing G.hn technology to function over telephone pairs and coaxial cables by developing proprietary software that effectively eliminates line born noise between cable pairs. In conjunction with this software, they developed a GAM device no bigger than a deck of playing cards known that can convert gigabit input to G.hn. Through this device consumers can receive gigabit services at a fraction of the cost of fiber.

This Broadband Breakfast interview is sponsored by: