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Microsoft and Telcos Look to ADSL To Enable the Multimedia Future of the Internet
PR Newswire - December 14, 1997 17:18
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Broadband ADSL Services Will Bring Continuous, High-Speed Internet Access to
The Mass Market, Enabling a New Constellation of Multimedia Services
SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 14 /PRNewswire/ -- The multimedia future of the
Internet and the continuing convergence of communications, information
and entertainment will be enabled by broadband asymmetric digital subscriber
line (ADSL) services, according to Craig Mundie, senior vice president of
Microsoft's consumer platforms division.
ADSL is a modern technology that provides high-speed digital transmission
over the 750 million ordinary phone lines crisscrossing the Earth at speeds
more than 25 to 100 times faster than today's new 56.6 Kbps modems. Extensive
international ADSL technical trials now are moving rapidly to worldwide market
trials and initial service deployments throughout 1998.
"The world wants high-speed access to the Internet and more. It expects
its PCs to become multi-function household and office appliances, providing
new and faster services for communications, information and entertainment,"
said Mundie in his keynote presentation at the ADSL Forum Summit meeting in
San Francisco last week. He told the audience of nearly 450 executives and
professionals from the communications and computer industries that all future
Microsoft Windows operating systems will incorporate support for ADSL
technology.
Mundie, who has been using ADSL in his home during the past year, added
that the powerful advantage of the technology's "always-on" feature shouldn't
be overshadowed by its broadband speed. "It's just as important to be
continuously connected as it is to be connected at high speeds. ... (Together
both features) fundamentally change the way in which people perceive the
Internet and the appliances connected to it."
Mundie reported that Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) was ramping up its ADSL
trial with GTE during the next several weeks to include more than 1,000 homes
and use of 6 Mbps ADSL. Microsoft is a member of the ADSL Forum, which is
comprised of nearly 300 member companies representing all sectors of the
world's computer and communications industries.
Telephone company representatives speaking at the ADSL Forum Summit last
week called ADSL deployments a "strategic imperative" as the most viable means
of providing a host of new broadband services to consumers, telecommuters,
branch offices and small businesses. "Customers need ADSL, want it, use it
and love it, and they are willing to pay for it," declared Phillip Skeba,
Ameritech's Manager of Strategic Standardization Management. He said that
later this month Ameritech (NYSE: AIT) will move from ADSL market trials to a
limited commercial service launch, with general availability in 27 target
markets slated for mid-1998.
Flynn Nogueria, director of data services for GTE Communications Corp.,
said, "I can't ever remember a new product being better positioned (for mass
market penetration) .... My 81-year-old grandmother wants ADSL (fast access
for her new WebTV)." GTE recently announced limited commercial deployment of
ADSL services within office buildings and apartment and condominium complexes.
The carrier plans to convert its four ADSL trials to commercial service during
the first quarter of 1998.
Alan White, project manager with BellSouth's advanced networking division,
reported that the carrier will deploy commercial ADSL services in its top
six metropolitan area markets during the second quarter of 1998, with a total
of 30 metro areas to be served by year-end. "Customers want this service
desperately," he added.
Frank Nelson, director of DSL product management for Bell Atlantic
(NYSE: BEL), said that his company will begin commercial deployment in
mid-1998. SBC Communications (NYSE: SBC) also plans mid-year ADSL deployment,
reported Mike Powell, the company's DSL marketing manager.
Daniel Briere, President of TeleChoice, a leading telecommunications
market research firm, predicted an ADSL ramp-up in 1998 with "real mass
orders" coming during 1999. "I'm a firm believer that ADSL is here to stay
and is a logical way to get high bandwidth to residential and some business
subscribers," he said.
To learn more about ADSL and the ADSL Forum, visit the Forum web site at
www.adsl.com or call 510-608-5905.
SOURCE ADSL Forum
/NOTE TO EDITORS: Use of quotations in the preceding news release is not
intended to imply endorsement or sponsorship of the ADSL Forum or ADSL
technology by any named individual or organization./
/CONTACT: Ann Jansen of ADSL Forum, 503-648-3545, or
annjansen@compuserve.com/
/Web site: adsl.com
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