Small town tests TV, DSL combo via phone lines
cnn.com
January 22, 2001
Web posted at: 9:08 AM EST (1408 GMT)
By David George
CNN Science News Correspondent
HARTWELL, Georgia (CNN) -- A small
town near the Georgia-South Carolina
border is a testbed for technology that
could change the way people receive
television programs and pay-to-view
movies.
The local telephone company, Hart
Telephone, is offering subscribers a
combination of telephone service,
high-speed DSL Internet connection, and up to 60 television channels delivered
over ordinary copper wire phone lines.
Television -- or "full motion video" -- over phone lines represents a breakthrough
for the industry.
"Its been attempted before, but the problem has been compression technology
for the video ... (and) cross-talk or interference," said Michael McInerney, Hart
Telephone's executive vice president.
But scientists at the Georgia Tech Research Institute in Atlanta managed to solve
the compression and cross-talk problems.
And a Connecticut company, mPhase Technologies, manufactures black, set-top
boxes (each about the size of a VCR) incorporating the new technology. The
company calls its product the "mPhase Traverser."
Pharmacist Bill Rogers has one mounted on a TV set hanging near the ceiling of
his Hartwell Pharmacy, located in a strip mall shopping center not served by
cable TV.
"The cable is 500 yards that way," said Rogers, pointing toward the back of his
store. "But the cable company won't run a line over here for just one customer."
Rogers has had the mPhase Traverser system in his store for about two months.
"People will look up and I'll say, 'You
know, I've got cable TV in here.' And
they'll say 'Really?' And I'll say, 'Well,
its actually not cable. It's through the
telephone line.'"
While offering multiple TV channels
over the phone line is a big draw, Hart
Telephone spokespeople say many
customers are attracted by the prospect
of high-speed Internet access. The
company maintains an office in the
center of town where people can
compare DSL downloads with a 56K
modem on side-by-side computer screens.
Attorney Walter Gordon routinely exchanges hefty word processing documents
with other lawyers over the Internet, with each side making changes.
"Just beyond belief" is the way Gordon describes the speed of his newly installed
DSL connection.
Hart Telephone's McInerney said his company plans to offer combination
telephone/Internet/television service at prices competitive with other ISPs and
satellite television providers.
The company hopes to have 60 paying customers on line by the end of January. |
