Five telecommunications firms, Level One Communications Inc, ADC Communications Inc, Adtran Inc, Pairgain Technologies Inc and the Siemens AG Semiconductor Group have had their new HDSL-2 communications standard accepted by the American National Standards Institute, and have finalized a draft standard. The core of the standard, which is for a technology High Speed Digital Subscriber Line, that is planned as a replacement for T1/E1leased lines. The difference is that HDSL-2 can be transmitted over standard phone copper pairs, which mean data lines can be installed with having to lay a special fiber or co-axial cable. The standard is also a replacement for the original HDSL specification that required two copper pairs.
