1998 Could Be Watershed Year for DSL
By Carmen Nobel and Scott Berinato
December 5, 1997 1:58 PM PST
PC Week
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. |
