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Technology Stocks : GSPN - DSL Chip maker IPO coming soon; IPO priced at $15 -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Nancy McKinney who wrote (133)	5/23/2000 3:10:00 PM
From: Stoctrash	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 164

globespan.net DSL technology uses the copper pair wiring that exists in almost every home and office. Special hardware attached to both the user and switch ends of the telephone line allows data transmission over the wires at far greater speeds than the standard phone wiring. How does DSL work? DSL utilizes more of the bandwidth on copper phone lines than what is currently used for plain old telephone service (POTS). By utilizing frequencies between 26kHz and 1MHz, DSL can encode more data to achieve higher data rates than would otherwise be possible in the restricted frequency range of a POTS network (only up to 4 kHz). In order to utilize the frequencies above the voice audio spectrum, special DSL equipment must be installed on both ends and the copper wire in between must be clean enough to sustain the higher frequencies for the entire route. This means that bandwidth limiting devices such as loading coils can prevent DSL from being used. What does DSL mean for me? At home or at the office, DSL gives you great data transmission speed for a reasonable price. In addition, it is a constant connection so you have access to the Internet and email 24/7. There is no need to dial in to your ISP (Internet Service Provider) each time you want to get on-line. Why is DSL better? DSL technologies are revolutionizing business communications by providing high-speed Internet access at prices that small and medium-size businesses can afford. Before the advent of DSL, these companies had to choose between cheap but agonizingly slow dial-up modems and fast but prohibitively expensive ISDN services or leased lines. DSL changes the economics of Internet access by establishing an entirely new point on the price/performance curve. DSL services also offer small and medium-size businesses significantly higher Internet access for only incrementally higher prices. This conveys a number of compelling advantages to users: Continuous Connection: DSL users are always connected, so they get immediate Internet access. ISDN terminal adapters require 5-10 seconds to establish a connection, while dial-up modems can take nearly half a minute. Dedicated Bandwidth: DSL line speeds are constant and provide the same speed (hence the "Symmetric" moniker) in both directions. Unlike cable modems, DSL equipment is not accessing a shared infrastructure that throttles down individual connection speeds when traffic gets heavy. Investment Protection: DSL provides customers with a cost-effective upgrade path. ISWest can upgrade your DSL Access Device remotely via software when you decide you need a higher access speed. Easy Maintenance: DSL connectivity is easy to maintain. Unlike ISDN devices, DSL modems don't require any complex manual configuration - they are truly plug and play. -back to top- Is DSL available in my area? Check with your ISP or local telephone company to see if DSL is available in your area. More and more companies are making this service available. You can also check this link for local DSL availability. How do I determine how far I am from my Central Office (CO)? Your ISP or telephone company should be able to calculate this information for you in airline and/or wire feet. The closer you are to your CO, the higher the speeds you can achieve using DSL. How do analog modems, cable modems, ISDN and DSL compare? Analog modems use a telephone network as is. They simply allow digital data to flow over the telephone company's already analog network by performing a digital to analog conversion for transmission onto the network and vice versa on the receiving end. The only necessity for analog modems is that each end of the call has must have a compatible modem. This makes analog modem connections the most ubiquitous form of data communications available today. However, analog modems are thus limited by the telephone company's voice bandwidth service. Current analog modems are struggling to achieve rates of only 56Kbps whereas the slowest DSL connection is 144Kbps.