Semi-OT:Waiting For DSL? Don't Hold Your Breath
By Meg Walker, TechWeb News
Jan 5, 2001 (2:50 PM)
URL: techweb.com
Listening to irate consumers gripe about delays in DSL service suggests the future for this kind of high-speed Internet access doesn't seem terribly bright. Consider the plight of Peter Eddy, a software engineer in Boston.
Almost two years ago in the rollout of DSL in his neighborhood, Eddy was anxious for a high-speed line to his home.
He contacted an ISP that initially promised him the installation in about two months.
Five months later, Eddy said, the line was finally installed. Then, last fall, he wanted a second DSL line that he could use for business.
Eddy negotiated with two other ISPs that ended up not being able to get the local telephone company to allot a copper phone line for the service to his house.
A third ISP eventually connected with the local phone company and finally got Eddy his second hook-up.
The problem experienced by Eddy isn't regional. DSL installation nationwide has been fraught with delays and service headaches for consumers and businesses.
A mess of companies involved in a single DSL installation sets up a high probability for long waits and troubles, analysts say. One said that as many as 20 people and four companies can be part of the process.
And there are other impediments, such as DSL only working within a certain distance from local telephone switching offices.
But despite the problems plaguing DSL, analysts think it will gather momentum.
At the end of 2000, there were 1.5 million DSL subscribers in the United States, according to the Yankee Group, a research firm in Boston. By 2005, subscriptions will jump to 10.5 million.
Mike Goodman, a senior analyst at the Yankee Group, said cable will continue to outpace DSL in the short term because there are many unknowns about the performance. Cable is a more mature technology.
"Installing cable modems is more science than art. Installing DSL is more art than science," Goodman said.
On the other hand, Goodman said, "DSL was designed to take advantage of existing copper wire and you're working with old plant [infrastructure] that could be in some cases be more than a 100 years old."
Mark Peden, a director of DSL Forum, an industry interest group in Palo Alto, Calif., said the industry is working to automate the complicated system of ordering DSL and getting it installed.
Peden said the industry is also working on technology that will electronically connect telephone wires to DSL equipment in the telephone company's central office. He thinks delays will decrease by the end of the year because of automated improvements.
Another problem is linked to finances. Wholesale providers are strapped because they spent millions on DSL technology, but many of their ISP customers have had trouble paying their bills. |
