My view on internet services (correct me if I you differ):
Standard phone lines = copper,slow, noisy, but cheap
ISDN = copper, a little faster, less noisy, expensive, hard to get
DSL = copper, very fast, expensive (for now), not widely available
Cable = coax, super fast, cheap, but largely unavailable due to cable co incompetence
Fiber = glass, super duper fast, very expensive, unavailable unless you are the govt or a big company
Broadcast Satellite (DISH, DSS) = DSL-type speed downlink (very fast), no uplink (needs phone lines for data out, but you don't send much data out), clean, cheap (should be, anyway)
Teledesic Satellite = whatever Bill Gates wants to promise, but don't bet on it; really expensive, I bet
Wireless = urban only, fast, noisy (interference), expensive
Data carried on TV signals, either wireless or cable -- could be fast, cheap, clean -- mmm, what am I mising? Take a look at WAVO -- could be a killer ap. If this goes, Echostar could play in this big time. PBS stations will be the first experiment. Anyone from Echostar reading this? Charlie??? |
