(more on BA - you'll love this)
Now They're Talking
Regional Bells to sell high speed Internet access
After a decade of delay, false starts, and failures, local telephone companies around the country - including Bell Atlantic - will shortly begin selling a cheap, high-speed Internet access called DSL to homes and businesses.
Bell Atlantic, the carrier for Long Island and much of the Northeast, said yesterday it would join a consortium of local phone companies and computer companies in adapting a standard for Digital Subscriber Line, a system that's roughly 10 to 30 times speedier than today's fastest modems.
"It's a breakthrough for the consumer," said Rick Doherty of Envisioneering, a Seaford-based hardware consulting firm that is working with the new standard. "After years of dragging their feet, the Regional Bells have finally agreed to give this technology to the masses. They've been holding back because services like these threaten their business data profits."
Today, a conventional service similar to DSL, such as a so-called T1 connection into the Internet, could cost more than $1,000 per month.
Some reports indicate the service could be available by Christmas, but Larry Plumb, a Bell Atlantic spokesman, said his firm is aiming initial deployment for this summer.
The full specifications won't be announced officially until next week by the partners, which include Compaq, Intel and Microsoft (which will be involved in one way or another in producing the modems), and most local telephone companies.
While no one was talking on the record yesterday, industry analysts had mixed views on the new service.
(Snip)
Unlike cable modems, however, the new DSL standard will not require any special installation at the house. Availability is limited only by the fact that special equipment must be installed in each of the tens of thousands of telephone company central offices. Costs are still up in the air. A DSL line, which could also be used for talking on the telephone, could be as little as $10 a month more than a regular phone line. It probably won't be much more than $40 per month, which is what cable modems generally cost.
(Snip)
By Lou Dolinar
Newsday, January 21, 1998
Now, if I only knew what to do with my Amati money. <g>
Regards,
Bernie |
