Of course, you need a beefy backbone when you’re running the third-largest DSL provider in the US, and when said DSL provider ust launched VDSL2 tiers to compete with cable providers’ DOCSIS 3 rollouts. There are rumblings that Qwest in some areas hasn’t allowed customers to purchase more than 12 Mbps down and 896 kbps up on their VDSL2 service even for people chose enough to the remote terminal to get more, due to lack of bandwidth availability. Then again, this is more likely due to the back of “middle mile” connectivity between Qwest remotes and the backbone; the speed limitation seems to suggest that the affected boxes are fed with copper T3s (45 megabits each way) rather than 100-megabit-plus fiber.

It will be interesting to see what happens to Qwest’s offerings, particularly on the high-end side, due to this backbone upgrade. It might mean cheaper bandwidth to large Qwest customers (like the FRGP, of which Mines is a member) or it might just mean that Qwest will be at 20% network utilization rather than 70%. The backbone upgrade probably won’t make the difference between getting faster DSL service in any given location at any point in time, but who knows?

1. Qwest’s medium of choice from here on out is VDSL2.
2. AT&T also uses VDSL, albeit a generation older (for now), for their U-Verse network.
3. Unlike AT&T, Qwest isn’t going to try to run a TV service over their VDSL network, leaving more bandwidth for internet-only service.
4. VDSL2, unlike VDSL, works over copper “loop” lengths longer than a few thousand feet, albeit at speeds comparable to Qwest’s older “Fiber to the Node” ADSL2+ system.
5. Due to (4), all Qwest upgrades will be to VDSL2 equipment, with no ADSL2+ intermediate step.
6. VDSL2 requires a special modem, in contrast to garden-variety ADSL2+. Qwest’s VDSL2 modem is the ActionTec Q1000, which has built-in 802.11n wireless, gigabit Ethernet and backward compatbility with older DSL systems.
7. In areas where loop lengths are short enough, all tiers above 1.5 Mbps can get 5 Mbps uploads (as opposed to 896 kbps) for just $5 more per month.
8. Unlike Comcast, Qwest has no stated caps on their residential tiers, and doesn’t appear to throttle their network.
9. Qwest VDSL2 service will be marginally faster than ADSL2+ service of the same advertised speed, as Qwest’s VDSL2 installation doesn’t used the overhead-heavy ATM protocol to pass internet traffic. ADSL (and ADSL2+) do use the protocol, limiting customers to about 85% of their advertised speed. VDSL2 customers on the other hand should get 90-95% of advertised speeds in real life.
10. Latency (ping time) may improve on VDSL2 service, compared with ADSL. In any case, a call or online chat with Qwest could reduce pings even more, if they turn off interleave on your line. On the other hand, non-interleaved DSL doesn’t work well over old and/or noisy phone lines.
11. More information about VDSL2, directly from Qwest, can be found here.
12. More information about VDSL2, directly from customers, can be found among the posts here.

Got any more questions? Ask in the comments.