Thread, re: BLSs's fiber internet access testing:
The following story...
"BellSouth To Test Fiber Optic Internet Access "
...concerning Bell South's testing of PON-based services in the local loop is getting some undue hype, and is being misconstrued, I believe, as a fiber to the home test on some of the other boards.
This architecture is similar, if not identical (or very close, I would think), to the Full Service Area Networking model, FSAN, we've discussed here many times, dependent on PON, and supportive of ATM and IP over VDSL, to the home.
This topic most recently came up in discussion here a short while ago, after contemplating what the RBOC's hold-out, or Ace in the Hole, would be, and when they would unleash it in reply to the MSOs' CableModem services.
Maybe WTC can elaborate on this for us, a bit, and point out any differences that might exist between the BLS approach to PON and that of the original Bellcore/ITU FSAN model, if any. What say, Tim?
The one possible difference I'm inferring from the release is that they may be leaning towards a Fast Ethernet type of delivery at 100 Mb/s, whereas the highest previous speeds were stated at 52 Mb/s VDSL speeds down, and 2 to 6 Mb/s up(?). But the Ethernet is only a guess on my part, due to the ready supply of engineering in place for 100 Mb/s Ethernet, and the fact that 100 Mb/s is an odd-ball outside plant speed as of now.
For those who need a refresher on FSAN technology, go to the Telephony Magazine article published a while back, at:
A Quick Introduction to FSAN:
internettelephony.com
Good information here--including links to a number of papers related to this subject (available in Adobe Acrobat format):
cselt.it
The diagram links are very helpful in the immediately preceding link.
Regards, Frank Coluccio
-----------------------PR Follows:
internetnews.com
BellSouth To Test Fiber Optic Internet Access
June 3, 1999
By Elizabeth Clampet
InternetNews.com Assistant Editor
ISP News Archives
Atlanta will be the test market for a new Internet access option to be tested this fall by BellSouth.
The new service is an effort to overcome the distance limitations of Digital Subscriber Line and will give phone companies another way to battle cable companies' Internet offerings.
Called passive optical network (PON), it uses high-capacity, optical fiber to transmit voice, data and video. It uses the asynchronous transfer mode protocol and requires no power.
Theoretically, the company said, the service offers a connection speed of up to 100 megabits per second, faster than current DSL and cable modem transmissions. BellSouth's DSL offering, FastAccess, transmits at speeds of up to 1.5 megabits per second, and cable Internet services transmits at approximately 10-40 megabits per second.
BellSouth plans to install the new fiber optic system to connect its switching offices to approximately 400 Atlanta customer homes. Dave Kettler, executive director for BellSouth Science and Technology, said using fiber optics to connect to the Internet is a logical step for the company, which already provides telephone connections via the wires.
"BellSouth's latest step provides the final link for an all-fiber connection from our switch all the way to the home, instead of terminating fiber at the curb," he said. "Fiber to the home is BellSouth's ultimate platform for satisfying our customers' voracious appetite for bandwidth, an appetite that is growing at exponential rates."
Pricing for the upcoming service was not disclosed, but company officials said that within two years they expect costs to be as low as standard phone offerings.
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