Autonomous synchronization of a DMT-VDSL system in unbundled networks

We present an algorithm that autonomously synchronizes all DMT-Zipper based VDSL modems in an unbundled access network, solving the problem with nonorthogonal NEXT that appears in systems with unsynchronized modems. The algorithm we present runs autonomously in each VDSL modem in the central office or in the street cabinet. We determine the other modems' relative frame offsets by exploiting their NEXT signal using the inherent cyclic redundancy found in DMT signals. By estimating the relative frame offsets of the other users, we can adjust a given user's own frame-timing relative to the mean of the others. With our method all modems in the network will be synchronized to within a small fraction of the total DMT frame-length, suppressing the nonorthogonal NEXT to a level far below the background noise-floor. This means that we can achieve the same performance in an unbundled access network without any master clock reference as in a system where all modems are perfectly synchronized using a master clock.