The Barron's article on the merits of cable versus DSL was
informative, and made a good case for why cable has signed up more broadband customers to date. Basically cable hasn't had the mess of old and varied cooper wire to deal with, cable now has one new updated pipe.
However the article did point out that the way cable's current broadband architecture is, their broadband system is still mainly oriented for down loading. I have yet to really do my homework, but my hope is that DSL and the next generations to come will be more and more capable on the up load end, which will give the Bells an edge on being able to support coming highly interactive applications and tie in better with the current more powerful systems up stream, like enhanced Ethernet.
The article also paned various types of wireless broadband, but it didn't mention my hybrid idea of creating a bridging system of wireless to wired broadband, which my gut tells me could possibly net a Verizon access to 20% more customers than it now has access to.
Anyway the article concludes that all this technology will eventually converge around an all optical system in ten years time. So the real fight is to capture broadband customers now, that will be converted to an all optical system, when it comes. Who knows, at that point, or sooner cable co.s and telephone co.s may be buying each other out, for their broadband customers.
So in the mean time the Westells of the world still have plenty to do, to help the Bells hook up as many broadband customers as they can.
In closing, in my area cable offers broadband connections for $39.95 each/month, I'm not sure about the cable modem cost. Where as Verizon offers a single DSL connection for $49.95/month, but at no additional cost you can hook up as many as three computers to that one connection. The modem cost is currently $50.OO as opposed to the normal $200.00. I wonder if this is part of the excess modem inventory being worked off. Also DSL is more secure than cable, because it provides customers their own separate address, that can be changed. Also Barrons didn't mention that cable bogs down with more users on the system, where as DSL dedicates a limited number of customers per up stream feeder line. That is the reason one has to wait for the next opening with DSL in ones area, because a new feeder line has to be installed up stream, to create additional capacity in ones area. |
