[1998 could be watershed year for DSL]
(Thanks to Terry Mitchell for finding the article.)
I'm having a hard time keeping a straight face, reading about the ADSL "coming out party."
Reminds me of the Bette Midler movie where she and her medical school husband have a baby, divorce soon afterwards, and she raises the kid alone --- struggling on a waitress's salary, you know the scene. When the daughter's about 14 or 15, she knows she can't give her what she needs, so asks the child's father to take over. He's a successful doctor, second wife, gorgeous home --- the whole nine yards. Fast forward to the daughter's wedding. Bette's character can't go (I forget the reasons)and yet when the day arrives, she can't stand it so goes and watches the wedding party through the country club window. Yeah -- you got it --- a real tear-jerker.
Okay, read on, the invitations are in the mail :))
>>>
By Carmen Nobel and Scott Berinato December 5, 1997 3:04 PM PST PC Week Online
Intel Corp. and Microsoft Corp. are set to throw their weight behind DSL in an effort to make the technology a legitimate option for corporations looking for less expensive leased lines and faster remote access.
The two companies, along with several RBOCs (Regional Bell Operating Companies), will hold a coming-out party in February for the most popular flavor of the fledgling technology, ADSL (asymmetric digital subscriber line), which can transmit data over regular phone lines at rates of up to 7M bps.
Microsoft plans to add ADSL drivers to Windows 98, due next year, sources close to the Redmond, Wash., company said. Meanwhile, Intel, of Santa Clara, Calif., wants to standardize on Universal Serial Bus technology for plugging DSL modems into PCs, sources said. Current DSL modems connect to computers by using a short Ethernet connection between the modem and PC.
Microsoft and Intel also plan to accelerate the market with an interoperability standard, much the way cable modem vendors joined forces on MCNS (Multimedia Cable Network System) earlier this year. When finalized, MCNS gave that market a jolt of legitimacy.
"[Intel and Microsoft are] a market force that adds a lot of leverage [to DSL]," said Frank Wiener, vice president at Paradyne Corp., a DSL vendor in Largo, Fla. "A real, mass-market DSL solution has to be supported by major [vendors]."
A vote of confidence from Microsoft and Intel "could accelerate the standards process," Wiener added.
Beyond standards and hardware development, service provisions will be required for mass deployment of DSL in 1998.
Intel and Microsoft will bring RBOCs and other service providers to the February event. Spurring the RBOCs' involvement is a new "splitterless" DSL modem technology that makes it more economical to offer widespread service, according to sources.
Splitterless DSL does not require a technician to install the service at a customer site, and it eliminates the need to optimize the copper phone line. Current DSL and ISDN hardware require such support, which has limited their appeal to service providers and customers.
"That's a really big deal for [telecommunications providers]," said John Hunter, an analyst at TeleChoice Inc., in Northglenn, Colo. "[With splitterless DSL], they don't have to roll a truck out there to install it. It's plug and play, which is what everyone is shooting for."
The latest company on the scene with splitterless technology, NetSpeed Inc., this week announced new, low-cost DSL hardware.
NetSpeed's SpeedRunner PCI network adapter, due to ship in March, uses the Austin, Texas, company's EZ-DSL technology, which offers speeds of up to 7.1M bps downstream and 952K bps upstream.
The most appealing feature of the NetSpeed adapter is its price: $199.
"It sounds pretty darn reasonable to me," said Bo Kersey, a consultant at Austin Ventures, in Austin, which is using NetSpeed ADSL equipment. "It's very fast-a direct pipe to the Internet.">>>> |
