Anybody, know anything, about this "passive optical networking", sound interesting, or is this just a 'flavor' of existing FTTC, something currently available?
BellSouth Plans Fiber-Optic Test
June 4, 1999
ATLANTA - The Associated Press via
NewsEdge Corporation : BellSouth Corp.
plans to test a new type of fiber-optic data
line at 400 suburban Atlanta homes this fall
in what the company hopes will be its key
to providing high-speed Internet access
affordably.
The test, which was announced today,
involves 400 houses already selected in
Dunwoody, BellSouth spokesman John
Goldman said.
In theory, the fiber can deliver data at 100
megabits per second, faster than the digital
subscriber lines (DSL) BellSouth has been
marketing.
DSL, which transfers data at about 1.5
megabits per second, has encountered
some technical difficulties because many
homes are in areas not equipped to receive
it.
The fiber technology also would allow
Atlanta-based BellSouth to compete with
cable companies who offer high-speed
Internet access. The company expects the
fiber technology to be as cheap as copper
wire in two years as demand grows,
Goldman said.
The new fiber, called passive optical
networking, doesn't require a power source
between the company and a customer's
home.
''This is the next logical step,'' Goldman
said. ''What we are doing in Dunwoody is
getting ready for the future.''
Telephone and cable companies are
scrambling to find ways to deliver increased
speed for Internet connections as
consumers turn to video and other
data-heavy applications online.
BellSouth will price the service at $59.95
per month, the same as its DSL service.
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