How to Maximize Broadband Access Outside your Service Areas and Maintain Quality
If your users live in rural areas where typical internet speeds aren’t fast (especially if they’re working from home) there are some options to fix this problem. One technique of extending broadband access to end users located beyond the serving radius is to use pair bonding.
What is pair bonding?
Pair bonding is when the broadband access service is deployed using two DSL access lines where the sum of the bit rates from each line are used to provide the objective distance needed for the access area. Alternatively, pair bonding can be used to increase the bit rate available to the customer for enhanced service quality.
What is required for pair bonding?
Pair bonding requires installing additional broadband phone lines and an on-site bonder that does the bonding work. Each line attached to the bonded connection has its own modem and all the modems are connected to the bonder. This bonder acts as the default gateway. The additional modems and bonder can be stored in a businesses service room or media panel in a user’s home.
How does pair bonding work?
The bonded connection acts as a single connection with multiple lines. Data from the local network is distributed over the multiple connections. This data is then reconfigured into a single line through the bonder. These multiple lines are hidden from the local network which allows customers to receive data as they would a single connection but enjoy a much more enhanced Internet speed.
If a line happens to fail, the bonder will stop data traffic to that line and pass it to the other connections. The failure will be transparent to the end user but should be restored as soon as possible. The bonder constantly monitors the lines and as the service provider, taking quick action to repair a line could have the problem resolved without the user even noticing.
The most ideal situation for DSL pair bonding is for users in rural towns where high speeds aren’t readily available. If a user has DSL speeds of 6 and 12 Mbps they may be able to get speeds up to 50 or even 100 Mbps. This is an option you can provide to your customer as an ISP.