Dynamic Bandplanning for Vectored DSL

There are two types of crosstalk in digital subscriber line (DSL) systems, namely near-end crosstalk (NEXT) and far-end crosstalk (FEXT). NEXT is usually much stronger than FEXT. Therefore, high-speed DSL systems transmit in preplanned disjoint downstream (DS) and upstream (US) frequency bands to avoid NEXT. Although easy for implementation, such a fixed bandplan can lead to inefficient bandwidth usage, depending on the DS and US bit rate requirements and the loop topology, particularly in so-called vectored DSL systems, which include signal coordination for FEXT cancellation. In dynamic bandplanning (DBP), each frequency band is allocated to either DS, US, or to both directions depending on the aforementioned parameters. In this paper, we consider optimal DBP for vectored DSL with linear as well as with nonlinear transmitter/receiver structures. We propose an optimal DBP algorithm for systems with disjoint DS and US bands. For systems with overlapping bands, the problem of finding the optimal transmitter/receiver filters is nonconvex and we propose two iterative algorithms based on recent optimum spectrum balancing schemes from the literature. We also study the effect of echo and US NEXT cancellation on the system performance. Finally, simulation results are provided to demonstrate that our algorithms can indeed significantly increase the achievable bit rates.