Some Characteristics of xDSL & Cable Broadband Access Technologies.
Is it true that secure connections are not available on cable systems? Nokia's White paper mentions this.
----------------------clip--------------------------------
DSL technologies offer high-speed data connections over the existing copper infrastructure. Because DSL uses copper already in place, the cost to prepare the network only involves testing loops, not building new infrastructure. The cost to deploy CPE and CO equipment is about $350 - $700 per subscriber, depending on which xDSL
technology and CPE type is used.
New splitterless versions of ADSL promise to eventually bring this figure down to the bottom end of this range. DSL offers both a secure connection and dedicated bandwidth. When coupled with ATM
technology, as the upcoming UAWG standard calls for, DSL will be able to offer a range of service quality guarantees to the user. DSL also provides high coverage, since virtually every U.S. home and business has a copper loop. With 700 million loops worldwide, the addressable market is extremely large. It is estimated that around 70% of
local loops are suitable for DSL use, giving DSL more coverage than any of the other access technologies available today.
For consumers, DSL offers many advantages, including the availability of voice and data service from the same carrier, the choice among many ISPs, and much higher bandwidth than dial-up modems. Due to deregulation and the existence of multiple telco carriers in
each metro area, competition will lower the prices of DSL service to the consumer market. CPE prices will also fall when G.lite standardization allows for mass deployment and competition among modem manufacturers.
-------------------------------clip----------------------------
You may recall Diamond Lane, they are now owned by Nokia. Diamond Lane was an Aware Technology user via ADI. Nokia's site is where I took these Diamond Lane PDF clips from.
-------------------------------clip---------------------------
While cable modems purport to offer high bandwidth services, cable modems use a shared medium, similar to an Ethernet. Each user does not get a guaranteed, dedicated data rate on the network, and transmissions are not secure from eavesdropping. The speeds are around 10 Mbps upstream and 30 Mbps downstream, shared in a
neighborhood of 500 to 2,000 homes. Thus, the first subscriber on the block has sufficient bandwidth. However, as new users are added, the performance is significantly degraded. With 500 users on the same network, each user could be limited to performance no faster than a 56 kbps analog modem.
Near term competition – xDSL vs. Cable Modems
The competition today is between xDSL and cable modems. While cable modems have an early lead, it is widely predicted that DSL will catch up in the next couple of years and eventually reach higher penetrations. Cable networks and associated networking equipment are not engineered to the same level of reliability as telephony networks. In addition, the cable operator also acts as the ISP, so the user is captive to one operator for Internet service, instead of being able to choose among several established, experienced ISPs.
DSL is predicted to eventually gain greater acceptance than cable modems for several reasons: greater coverage, variable deployment costs, dedicated and secure bandwidth, and high reliability. In addition, telephone companies have a better brand image with
consumers than cable companies, providing an additional advantage in a competitive marketplace. 1999 is predicted to be the first year of
significant DSL deployment. After 1999, when the RBOCs have their full weight behind DSL, deployments are predicted to continue at accelerating rates. both cable modems and DSL have a bright future. Each will find its own niche, with cable likely to be a lower cost, residential service for casual users, and DSL more popular among businesses and teleworkers. Each technology will also help the other by enabling more high-bandwidth applications and generating awareness of the availability of these services. The competitive rivalry for customers between the phone companies and cable operators will also help drive overall deployment of broadband access technologies. Thus, the growth of each technology will help to reinforce and motivate the growth of the other, and the entire industry.
DSL's next steps
Of the 5 competing technologies reviewed in this paper, only two, cable modems and xDSL, are currently candidates for achieving mass market penetration. Today, cable has an early lead in the race to capture a large base of customers. Telecom carriers need to
begin deploying xDSL services in order to capture market share and keep their existing customers. The equipment they should be using needs to fit the criteria previously mentioned: low cost, high speed, reliable, secure, and ready for mass deployment today.
Low cost and high speed translate directly into a highly scalable, ATM-based DSL system architecture. This will guarantee each user access to bandwidth via QoS functionality, while also saving the carrier deployment costs over the long run due to the system's scalability. This cost savings will allow the carrier to be cost-competitive with cable modem systems, which can put thousands of subscribers onto the same access node. Reliability and security dictate a NEBS-verified system that does not pool multiple
modems on a shared local loop. Finally, a DSL system ready for mass deployment today needs to have been field tested with commercial applications, not only trial deployments.
With such equipment, telecom carriers will be able to capitalize on the fundamental advantages of xDSL and grow their markets faster than the cable operators or other broadband access technologies.
------------------------clip-----------------------------
This has been edited by me and there are charts and graphs with the complete thingy-m-bob at this link...
dlcc.com |
