Irvine, Calif. – October 06, 2026 -- Comtrend has secured FCC conditional approval for its PBL-6201 Wi-Fi 6 Bonded VDSL Gateway, giving broadband service providers a certified equipment option as fewer vendors continue manufacturing DSL gear.
Rural Providers Still Rely Heavily on Copper Networks
According to NTCA's 2025 Broadband/Internet Availability Survey, 40.8% of surveyed rural broadband providers still serve some customers over copper lines. With equipment vendors increasingly exiting the DSL gateway market, replacement and upgrade options for these providers have narrowed.
PBL-6201 Combines Bonded VDSL2 With Wi-Fi 6 and Fiber-Ready Port
The gateway pairs bonded VDSL2 (up to 35b) with Wi-Fi 6 AX6000 and a 1W high-power output to boost speeds and in-home coverage over existing copper infrastructure. It is backward compatible with single-line VDSL and ADSL2+ deployments, allowing providers to standardize on one device across varying line types and loop lengths. The unit includes G.vector and G.inp support to cut crosstalk and impulse noise, TR-069/TR-181 remote management to reduce truck rolls, four 1GbE LAN ports, a 2.5GbE WAN port for fiber integration, and USB 3.0 connectivity.
Comtrend Positions Gateway as Bridge to MVNO and 5G Expansion
John Castreje, General Manager at Comtrend North America, said the approval gives DSL providers a reliable gateway option while the company prepares additional offerings including MVNO mobile service, 5G, and Wi-Fi HaLow designed to work alongside existing copper networks. Comtrend has supported DSL providers for over three decades and said it will continue backing copper-based networks while introducing new revenue-generating technologies.
Gateway Ships Now Across Multiple Network Types
The PBL-6201 is available immediately. Comtrend said it continues to supply service providers with equipment across xDSL, XGS-PON, Ethernet, Wi-Fi 6, Wi-Fi 7, and G.hn networking categories.