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To: Frank A. Coluccio who wrote (4515)	7/8/1999 10:03:00 AM
From: Frank A. Coluccio	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 12823

Thread, and to Darren, in particular, since you brought up this topic recently, although in a different context... I picked up this interesting post on the cable tv engineer's (SCTE) list. Enjoy! Regards, Frank Coluccio ps - the first quote below also demonstrates how the meaning of the term "broadband" has been mutilated and transformed by the manner in which it has been assimilated into a new lexicon. ------------ <<The thread re: bandwidth vs. throughput reminds me of when I taught broadband courses to clients with newly installed broadband data networks. I always heard "but isn't fibre faster?". When I responded that broadband is actually faster, they were always astounded. If you doubt this, compare the Vp of fibre to that of coax...>> While fiber's velocity of propagation is technically less than that of most coaxial cables, the bandwidth of single mode optical fiber far exceeds that of the coaxial cable we use in our networks. Several years ago Larry Lockwood (now deceased) wrote an article in "Communications Technology" magazine about the theoretical bandwidth of single mode optical fiber. In that article he went through the calculations and showed that an individual strand of single mode optical fiber has a theoretical bandwidth of about 20 THz. That's roughly equivalent to the ability to be able to simultaneously carry over 3 million 6 MHz wide analog NTSC channels on one fiber! Of course, the real-world limitation is the electronics attached to the ends of the fiber, but this clearly showed the potential of the glass we're using in our networks.

To: Frank A. Coluccio who wrote (4515)	7/8/1999 10:11:00 AM
From: Stephen L	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 12823

Thank you again. As always you raise several very valid point. NT does have a great product line in both optical-networking and wireless (there traditional business is not bad either). I am perhaps a bit naive in hoping to find a few "pure" optical networking plays before the LU, NT, and CSCO's buy them. There have been several posts here and elsewhere on the Nethead vs Bellhead debates, and the everything over IP argument seems to be compelling. Even more compelling is the argument that the packets will be sent most efficiently over fiberoptics and CDMA wireless (and BlueTooth fore in office WLANs). The technologies to make each of these a reality are a ways away, but appear to be evolving much more swiftly than at least I was aware. Here's a question for fun: five years and ten years hence what will the telecom networks look like? My speculation is that about half of business and home access (voice, data, video)will be IP over glass networks. In or near major metro areas, wireless CDMA should provide connectivity for both mobile users (phones, PDAs etc) and for some hoem and business use. The traditional SS7 telephony should continue to be strong outside the large metro areas with DSL access becoming increasingly strong. I will go out on a limb and conjecture that some of Loral and Hughs's birds will be up and provide broadband access and video to remote areas.

To: Frank A. Coluccio who wrote (4515)	7/8/1999 6:59:00 PM
From: D. K. G.	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 12823

A Gateway To 'Convergence' Nortel Product May Boost Value Of Data Networks Date: 7/8/99 Author: Michele Hostetler Nortel Networks Corp. wants to make networks smarter. On Wednesday, it revealed a new unit and said the unit next month will release its first product, which will look to boost the IQ of Internet-type networks. This promises to be a hot market, analysts say. The product is called a subscriber service gateway. It's basically a box filled with circuitry and software that will let network managers tell one customer from another. With such a gateway, phone carriers and Internet service providers can more easily sell premium services to corporate customers willing to pay premium prices. Such gateways have only hit the market in the past year. Nortel is the first big player with such an offering. The Canadian company is getting the jump on such rivals as San Jose, Calif.-based Cisco Systems Inc. Nortel's new division is an outgrowth of its $340 million April purchase of privately held Shasta Networks Inc. Shasta was based in Sunnyvale, near Cisco. It's also near the former Bay Networks Inc., which Nortel bought last year with an eye toward the voice and data network convergence. ''It is important for people in Silicon Valley to understand that Nortel is a player,'' said Anthony Alles, president of Nortel's new Shasta IP Services Business Unit. ''We are here to stay and we are here to win.'' Alles had been Shasta's chief executive. Besides Cisco, Nortel-Shasta competes against a host of start-ups, including Redback Networks Inc. Redback, which went public in May, released competing products last year. The gateway is important because data networks haven't had the capability to offer special services that in the voice field can be found by such standard offerings as call waiting. Companies that run data networks, Alles says, want to ''sell services, not bits.'' The subscriber service gateway is designed to let phone carriers and Internet service providers watch and shape traffic on their networks. The carriers or ISPs then can offer encryption and other options that they see their corporate customer needs, says William Flanagan, an analyst with NetReference Inc., a Sterling, Va.-based consulting firm. Traditionally, ISPs have used routers - a Cisco stronghold - to offer basic services, says Rosemary Cochran, an analyst with Boston-based Vertical Systems Group. Routers direct traffic. But now users are demanding different levels of service. Some users want priority when, for example, they need to quickly send a voice- and video-heavy presentation to a colleague on the other side of the world. Routers alone can't do this well, Cochran says. Carriers and ISPs can sort out their network traffic using these gateways, Flanagan says, and make more money from the networks. ''You can slice this baloney real thin,'' he said. The market is in its beginning stages as carriers move away from traditional voice -circuit- based - networks to data - packet-based - ones. Data networks break up traffic into uniform packets for fast transmission, but technology still has a way to go before data and voice networks fully converge. ''(The new gateways) probably are more flexible and powerful than any phone company will be able to take advantage of for a long time,'' Flanagan said. Still, analysts expect more companies will enter this field. Cisco already offers some of these services through existing products, though it has nothing that directly competes with Nortel's upcoming offering, Cochran says. Nortel is in a good position, Flanagan says. ''They did their homework,'' he said. ''They know what the phone companies need.'' (C) Copyright 1999 Investors Business Daily, Inc. ---- I thought this article further expands on your NT musings. I look forward to your next tome.<g> regards, dkg