IEEE honors Nokia with Milestone Award for pioneering ADSL technology that launched the broadband era

IEEE honors Nokia with Milestone Award for pioneering ADSL technology that launched the broadband era

(IN BRIEF) Nokia has received a prestigious IEEE Milestone Award for its groundbreaking role in developing and deploying ADSL technology in the 1990s, a breakthrough that connected nearly one billion people and ushered in the broadband era. Introduced in Antwerp, Belgium, in 1993, ADSL provided multi-megabit internet over standard telephone lines, making high-speed access affordable and widely available. With this recognition, ADSL joins a distinguished list of innovations honored by IEEE, such as Maxwell’s equations, the transatlantic cable, and the Compact Disc. IEEE President & CEO Kathleen Kramer highlighted the award’s importance in showcasing how engineering advances benefit humanity. Nokia’s Geert Heyninck noted that ADSL was a turning point beyond the dial-up era and emphasized Nokia’s continued leadership, with technologies such as VDSL, 10G PON, 25G PON, and 100G PON—now up to 100,000 times faster than the first ADSL proof-of-concepts—cementing its role as a broadband pioneer for over 30 years.

(PRESS RELEASE) ESPOO, 5-Sep-2025 — /EuropaWire/ — Nokia has been honored with a prestigious IEEE Milestone Award for its pioneering role in the introduction and global rollout of ADSL (Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line) in the 1990s—a landmark technology that enabled the world’s first large-scale broadband services. Developed in Antwerp, Belgium, in 1993, ADSL delivered multi-megabit internet speeds over standard telephone lines, making broadband both affordable and widely accessible. This breakthrough transformed connectivity for nearly one billion people and marked the beginning of the broadband era.

The IEEE Milestone Program recognizes technical achievements of historic significance that have stood the test of time and delivered lasting benefits to society. With this award, ADSL joins an elite group of recognized innovations, including Maxwell’s equations, the transatlantic cable, and the Compact Disc—a testament to its transformative role in global communications.

Reflecting on the honor, Kathleen Kramer, 2025 IEEE President & CEO, commented: “The IEEE Milestone Program recognizes great moments throughout our world’s long history of technical innovation. Milestones are a global symbol of how electrical engineering and computing have built the modern world. They also highlight the contributions of countless technologists who advanced technology to benefit humanity.”

For Nokia, ADSL represented not only a breakthrough but also the start of a continuous journey of broadband innovation. Geert Heyninck, General Manager of Broadband Networks at Nokia, said: “ADSL signified the birth of broadband. It was a turning point that moved us beyond the dial-up era into a world of always-on, high-speed connectivity. From those early 1 Mbps ADSL demonstrations to today’s 100 Gbps fiber prototypes, Nokia has been pushing the boundaries of broadband for over three decades.”

Since the early days of ADSL, Nokia has driven numerous milestones in fixed broadband, including VDSL, 10G PON, 25G PON, and the latest 100G PON, delivering speeds up to 100,000 times faster than the original ADSL concept. These advances continue to shape the digital world by enabling faster, more reliable, and more scalable connectivity for communities worldwide.

About IEEE

IEEE is the world’s largest technical professional organization and is a public charity dedicated to advancing technology for the benefit of humanity. Through its highly cited publications, conferences, technology standards, and professional and educational activities, IEEE is the trusted voice on a wide variety of areas ranging from aerospace systems, computers and telecommunications to biomedical engineering, electric power and consumer electronics. Learn more at https://www.ieee.org

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SOURCE: Nokia