Sckipio and SK Broadband deploy new Gfast gigabit fibre in South Korea

News and Business

Sckipio Technologies and internet service provider SK Broadband have announced the first commercial deployment of second generation Gfast 212MHz gigabit internet in Asia. SK Broadband has deployed the new Gfast gigabit service in Seoul and Seongnam in South Korea.

Most South Korean apartment buildings already have fibre to the basement. But often these are older buildings, making it impractical to bring fibre all the way to apartments further up, said SK Broadband. This is the reason why only 34% of South Korean apartments have direct fibre connectivity, while the remaining 66% need another approach.

That is where Gfast comes in. Gfast is the standards-based access network technology that adds gigabit connections to each unit in the building by using the existing twisted pair telephone wiring. Sckipio develops standards-compliant Gfast modems used to enable ultra-broadband access and mobile backhaul. It partners with more than 30 companies globally on Gfast and is a contributor to ITU standards.

“SK Broadband is determined to provide gigabit internet to all, but not all South Korean apartments can be easily wired with fibre all the way to the apartment,” said Choong-Bok Lee, the manager in charge of access networks at SK Broadband. “That’s why we chose Sckipio’s Gfast. It’s the best way to extend gigabit fibre performance to these apartments over existing twisted pair telephone wires.”

Working with South Korean network infrastructure equipment maker HFR, Sckipio provides SK Broadband solutions supporting up to 96 subscribers. HFR’s DPU (distribution point unit) serves 24 subscribers in a single DPU and can connect to an additional three DPUs to serve 96 subscribers sharing the same copper binder. Only Sckipio’s Gfast offering supports 96 concurrent gigabit subscribers.

“We’re partnering with SK Broadband and HFR to accelerate South Korea’s lead in broadband speeds,” said David Baum, Sckipio CEO. “This deployment demonstrates Gfast technology’s use case to deliver gigabit service to large apartment environments without needing to install fibre connections to each apartment.”