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To: Frank A. Coluccio who wrote (17521)	12/5/1999 9:17:00 PM
From: Jay Lowe	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 29970

What's this picture look like technically, in terms of network architecture? Correct me if I'm wrong here, but isn't the technical form of "open access" simply mean that other vendors servers begin to populate the inside of the ATHM cloud ... either literally or via enhanced connections? Isn't this is simply an IP level agreement, so to speak ... the technical implications are only at the level of traffic routing with attendant provisioning implications? The marketing implications are really interesting ... if the agreement calls for aggressive co-marketing, this is extremely positive for ATHM and tends to work strongly against AOL. Aggressive co-marketing would polarize vendors into AT&T/ATHM allies (fast) and non-allies (slow ... or stuck with the DSL furball). Pipes level -- gating MSPG into the ATHM sub-net in some advantageous way? -- MSPG gets fatter drops off the ATHM sub-net? -- i.e., the route from average ATHM user to MSPG is shorter and faster than a random web hop? -- nothing new happens in the last mile, yes? -- just creating an intersection between the ATHM and MSPG clouds, yes? Eyeballs level -- MSPG gets ATHM visual real estate? Excite link? Marketing tie-in? -- If this is bi-directional, it's great for ATHM -- i.e., MSPG subs learn that ATHM is the faster (even "preferred") path?

To: Frank A. Coluccio who wrote (17521)	12/5/1999 9:36:00 PM
From: E. Davies	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 29970

Are you suggesting that this trend in increasing bandwidth delivery has reached some sort of limit? It is my stated opinion that when every single person can have their own bidirecional video channel the desire for bandwidth will be essentially satiated. Of course cable does not achieve that- only fiber will. However cable comes a heck of a lot closer. The public has been used to getting 50%-100% increases in communications bandwidth every couple of years. Suddenly we are getting a 1000%-2000% increase. Its going to take more than a couple of years before ~1Mbps speeds are seen as "inadequate" and "painfully slow" like 56k is now. Probably at least 5 years. I can however see them demanding better upstream speeds a lot sooner. The goal of ATHM & the MSO's will be to basically to maintain the status quo in performance while heavily ramping up the customer base. Of course it will be a massive undertaking to simply keep up- splitting nodes and adding channels will become common as well as using the Salt Lake architecture (if is is deemed to work). Whether cable can keep an performance advantage over dsl is simply a matter of economics. If the MSO's are willing to spend the money they will be able to do it in one form or another. Since cable (being a waveguide) is inherently a better technology I think they will be able to keep the advantage. Cable has a lot more "dark" bandwidth (downstream) than they are using at the moment. They also have a lot of reserve capacity to split the nodes. I don't see why if someone like MSPG was willing to help pay for upgrading why they should not be given a frequency of their own. Sure there will be eternal crowding of avaliable bandwidth until pure arrives. But 3-4 providers can reasonably find a way to share what there is and fund the release of more, including funding driving fiber deeper and deeper to the home. Its the government mandated access to the local mom&pop ISP that opennet and their ilk want that would have me worried. That cant be done in a reasonable way. Eric