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Technology Stocks : LAST MILE TECHNOLOGIES - Let's Discuss Them Here -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Frank A. Coluccio who wrote (5846)	11/4/1999 5:08:00 PM
From: JGoren	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 12823

In the phone line vs. cable war, I have to say, based on my experience, cable will lose. I don't know about the experience of others, but cable here in Dallas goes out all the time--sometimes briefly, sometimes for a couple of minutes or up to 30 minutes. My mom's cable reception is awful; she'd be better off with the antenna. Dallas has TCI (now ATT). Most of us are used to getting knocked off the phone lines occasionally--whether it's a phone problem or a provider problem. But, we can get right back on. Not so with cable the way it is now. Moreover, as I reported earlier, SBC installed new copper wires. Since then, the noise level has decreased and I am able to sign on consistently at my modem's top speed, 28.8, which I could never do before. I just don't think cable will be able to deliver the trouble-free, interruption-free service that the phone can deliver with DSL and the residential consumer just won't tolerate interruptions in service.

To: Frank A. Coluccio who wrote (5846)	11/5/1999 1:46:00 AM
From: axial	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 12823

Frank, and Thread, What happened? An effort to gain insight into the merits or failings of WOFDM, and Wi-LAN, has turned into an internet monster, popping up on The Fool, newsgroups, 3 threads at SI, and Stockwatch. Truly, the Road to Hell is paved with Good Intentions. The CSCO announcement re: VOFDM has propelled many of the posts into the realm of advocacy. When I first posted here, and on the Broadband thread, I didn't know VOFDM existed. Yesterday evening, COFDM leapt out of the shadows. Disparate facts mate in the night; come morning a litter of questions has spawned. Research is pointless. The more I learn, the less I know. Bernard and Peter leave nuggets, laden with insight, that prompt thought: I awake to new brood of doubts. It's an exercise in lateral propagation. IPRs. ASICs. Business plans. All leading away from the central question: What are the relative merits of these two competing technologies? We have learned from Bernard that VOFDM will probably excel as a transport medium where line of sight limitations need to be overcome. We have learned that there will probably be a place for COFDM, WOFDM, and VOFDM. What defines these places? Or, should we simply accept at face value what Peter seems to be saying, that the market will ultimately decide what succeeds? And if that is the case, what are we to make of Wi-LAN's apparent head-start in developing ICs? Why did Philips and Telia embrace WOFDM, though they certainly knew about VOFDM? What of the presence of TI at Wi-LAN's WOFDM announcement? Has TI now embraced Cisco as a scorned suitor? I am mindful of the admonition at the beginning of this thread to restrict the scope of our remarks, yet a discussion of WOFDM necessarily concerns Wi-LAN and its prospects, while a discussion of VOFDM certainly pertains to the potential of Cisco's wireless initiative. And a dialogue about IPRs or ASICs or who's onside says nothing about the core technologies. I am not carping about the quality of the posts - in fact, the posts are gratefully acknowledged. More to the point is the quicksilver-like quality of the subject: it seems to elude all efforts to contain it, to direct it. Perhaps the answer lies in a new thread, subject: The Flavors of OFDM: V, W, and C. Thanks to all, Jim Kayne