[ It seems grossly negligent to me to throw out a figure of 10 Mbps ]
No, I don't think 'gross' is an exagerration when a capacity figure which is 3 times the provider's estimate and 6 times the provider's guaranteed rate is posted as an available product and then that inflated claim is used to justify a marketing advantage.
Still, the provider you mention may be making an exagerration of their own, after all they are trying to sell you something. I guess my point is that any capacity figure for a cable modem is meaningless unless and until it is coupled with the maximum number of users allowed that capacity at one time. To say that a 3Mbps rate is 'almost always' available or that 1.5 is guaranteed can only be evaluated if one knows the assumptions upon which it is based. Paramount among these assumptions is the number of users. That's really all I'm trying to point out.
Now if COX would tell us how many users it can accomodate on a trunk and still provide 3Mbps, that is useful information. Or what there guarantee means if you have to call them on it, that again is useful. I'm certain that both of us can point to guarantees that were nothing more than marketing tools.
That said, we do agree on a couple of points: - The internet itself is and will be a limiting factor for the near future, although not as long as most people think, in my opinion.
Secondly, cable modems are a huge competitive factor to ADSL. We differ in the reason for that competitive factor. I believe it's a question of speed to market and market share, not capacity. If telcos allow their institutional inertia to keep them from deploying ADSL until guaranteed profits are available, then they are dead in the water. If they can shed their monopolistic cultures, they can have this market because in the end, it is actually easier for them to deploy widespread ADSL than it is for cable companies to deploy widespread modems. That's why I see limited early deployment of cable modems as a positive for ADSL. It will be the kick in the ass that the telcos need.
Sticks |
