Who will provide this Tecnology?:
High-Tech Highway for Rural America
"Virtual corporation" delivers video and high-speed data over
telephone wires of small, independent telephone companies.
By Jane M. Sanders
Don't let the slow pace of rural Hart County, Ga., population 18,000, fool you. Yes, it has only four stoplights in the county seat of Hartwell. And you can still call the local pharmacist in the middle of the night to get an emergency prescription filled. What's surprising is Hart County's status as the testbed for a new technology that may give bragging rights to rural Americans. photo by Gary Meek
Pharmacist Bill Rogers had the Traverser installed in his Hartwell Pharmacy so he could watch televised sports events, track packages on the Internet and establish a Web page where customers can order prescription refills. (300-dpi JPEG version - 356k)
Traditionally, rural America lags behind urban areas in consumer technology. But now a new technology for delivering simultaneous digital television, high-speed Internet access and telephone service – all via regular copper telephone wire – is operational far from the hubbub of the big city.
Developed primarily by engineers at the Georgia Tech Research Institute for mPhase Technologies Inc., based in Norwalk, Conn., the technology is a system incorporating Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) communications combined with sophisticated digital signal processing and filtering. mPhase Technologies and a related company Microphase Corporation have contributed key components based on years of experience with signal telemetry and filtering. The results of this team effort form the basis for the Traverser Digital Video and Data Delivery System (DVDDS).
The product has undergone beta testing with Hart Telephone Company in Hartwell since last fall, and this summer, the company has been installing the DVDDS for 1,000 of its customers. Plans call for expansion as mPhase increases production this fall. The Traverser system will cost consumers about the same amount they are paying for cable television and DSL service combined – from $75 to $100 a month.
"The system is, in a word, phenomenal," says Hartwell attorney Walter Gordon, who participated in the beta test. He uses the Traverser in his office for high-speed Internet access and occasionally for digital TV. "... I hope the system is fully deployed here in Hart County, as I know many of my friends want the same access speed I enjoy."
Hartwell pharmacist Bill Rogers also sings the Traverser's praises. "The TV picture clarity at my store is much better than I have at home where we have regular cable TV," Rogers says. He had the system installed in his Hartwell Pharmacy so he could watch televised sports events, track packages on the Internet and establish a Web page where customers can order prescription refills.
Gordon and Rogers agree that the deployment of such cutting-edge technology to a rural area before it's available in metropolitan areas is quite unusual. "But it's not surprising given the progressive nature of my local, independent phone company," Gordon says.
It is exactly this pioneering attitude that makes the 1,200 or so small, independent telephone companies in rural America the initial market for the Traverser DVDDS, says David Klimek, chief technology officer for mPhase.
"Independent telcos can usually make decisions quickly, and they want to remain competitive by offering video through telephone wire," Klimek says. "Then they can compete directly with the cable companies. Eventually, mPhase will go after the Baby Bells, but they want to see if the technology is proven and if it's a moneymaker."
Working hard to make that scenario a reality is a sort of "virtual corporation" including mPhase and its parent company Microphase, the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI), contract manufacturer Flextronics International Inc. (famous for manufacturing the Palm Pilot) and its outsourcers. The involvement of Hart Telephone Company in beta testing is also vital, researchers say.
Before signing on GTRI engineers in April 1997, mPhase developed the basic modem technology for streaming data to a DSL transmitter, then sending it over copper wires, receiving it and displaying it on a television screen in a laboratory. Since then, Microphase has also developed a basic filtering technology that separates ordinary telephone signals from the high-frequency signals required for video programming and high-speed Internet delivery. photo by Gary Meek
The Traverser DVDDS delivers simultaneous digital television, high-speed Internet access and telephone service over a single copper phone wire. GTRI principal research engineer Dr. Ron Bohlander, left, and mPhase CEO Ron Durando discuss the advantages of the Traverser at the SuperComm 2000 trade show in Atlanta. (300-dpi JPEG version - 304k)
But to get the concept out of the laboratory, into a factory and then into homes, company executives realized the need for the electronics expertise and manufacturing design resources available at Georgia Tech. In something of a coincidental meeting at a Washington, D.C., airport, mPhase officials discussed the concept with Tech researchers. And a month later, GTRI officials had signed what became their largest-ever commercial contract and their first-ever concept-to-production contract.
"We were prepared for mPhase because we had brought in some bright, young staff from the telecommunications industry," recalls Dr. Ron Bohlander, a principal research scientist at GTRI. "They had some fresh ideas and had created some critical inventions in our GTRI labs for DSL distribution of video programming to homes.... Then we happened to run into mPhase with the need for this technology."
Since then, GTRI has done most of the research and development for the Traverser - transforming mPhase and Microphase's basic technologies into a system that would economically supply many telephone company customers.
Meanwhile, mPhase has promoted the concept, raised the capital, contacted customers and marketed the product.
Hart Telephone Company joined the team effort in 1998. "We provide several different services – Hart Telephone Company, Hart Cable and Hart GlobalNet ISP," explains Michael McInerney, executive vice president for Hart. "We wanted to know how we could we expand our video product and put DSL into the marketplace. So we found mPhase through our research. We read about their product and talked to executives there. They liked us because we're in Georgia, we have all the services they wanted to test and we were willing to try it."
Alpha and beta testing followed as GTRI engineers developed several generations of prototypes. As the testing proved successful, mPhase moved forward with plans to manufacture the product. Last summer, mPhase signed on Flextronics to manufacture the Traverser DVDDS and its consumer component, the Traverser Intelligent Network Interface (INI). The design of access electronics for use in telephone company facilities, more prototype systems and the design of a box to contain the INI were the next steps leading to mass production. This began with the manufacture of 1,000 INIs a month this past summer and is now on the increase.
Because the DVDDS is a complicated system, GTRI engineers have been working closely with Flextronics as the manufacturer implements the design specifications provided by researchers.
"These are complex products," Bohlander says. "We verify that the design has been implemented correctly and test the first boards produced. A lot of conversations have taken place to adjust the design to reduce costs and make it easier to manufacture."
The fruits of these efforts by GTRI are not only a satisfied customer in mPhase, but an increased value to its other commercial customers because of what its engineers have learned as a participant in this "virtual corporation," Bohlander adds.
Though all parties involved predict a bright future for the Traverser, they acknowledge there are still some hurdles to jump. For one, most television programming is still delivered to distributors in analog, rather than digital, format. Though that conversion is expected to occur eventually, mPhase officials have recognized the advantage of acquiring their own source of digital TV programming now to make their product more attractive. photo by Gary Meek
The Traverser DVDDS system has undergone beta testing at Hart Telephone Company in Hartwell, Ga. Executive vice president Michael McInerney says the Traverser allows the company to expand its customer base without further investment in infrastructure. (300-dpi JPEG version - 335k)
For the beta testing in Hart County, Hart GlobalNet downlinked digital programming - basically seven Discovery channels – from HITS (Head-end in the Sky), an AT&T venture. Also, Hart Telephone has digitized some analog programming from its cable company. To gain better control over the delivery of digital television programming for the long run, mPhase has joined with AlphaStar, which has converted an old military satellite tracking station into a commercial video uplinking facility. AlphaStar and mPhase are arranging to jointly offer more than 50 channels of popular programming, such as that from ESPN and HBO, to telephone companies (telcos) who purchase the Traverser DVDDS. McInerney says Hart plans to purchase this service.
Then there's the time pressure and product appeal involved in beating the competition. Companies such as iMagic TV and Viagate are offering a different set of solutions with a different system architecture.
"Most competing systems are offered with VDSL (very high bit rate DSL), and we use RADSL (rate adaptive DSL)," Bohlander explains. "Because of their faster bit rate - we're at 4 to 6 megabits per second, and they're at 25-26 megabits per second – they must transmit programming over a shorter distance. We have a 12,000- to 14,000-foot range from the telephone company's node to the customer's home. They can only reach about 3,000 feet."
All the technologies have some limitations, researchers point out. While the shorter distance limits the service area for iMagic and Viagate, it also allows those companies to deliver more than one program per phone line. While the mPhase system can transmit only one program at a time over a single phone line, most newer homes have two pre-installed phone lines that could both be used to deliver two programs to two televisions equipped with Traverser INIs in a home, Bohlander says.
Klimek acknowledges the fierce competition in his industry. But he speaks without hesitation about the Traverser's potential for success.
"We feel we have an interesting niche in the market," Klimek says. "The Traverser is low cost and very robust. It can deliver up to 400 digital channels. It's not based on asynchronous transfer mode (ATM), a common transport means for telcos, nor is it software-based. The Traverser works directly through the phone system. It's a good offering."
For telcos, who have the copper wire infrastructure already in place, the Traverser is an opportunity to expand their customer base without a large investment of time and money in coaxial cable, McInerney says. "This made sense from the 'get go' to us because we've already got the (telephone wiring) infrastructure," he adds.
Bohlander explains the appeal further: "When you offer telephone companies a way to not only bring DSL and the Internet to the market, but also digital television, that really triples their revenue potential. It's our belief that if you get the nose of the camel under the tent with the video that's very attractive, then telephone companies will sell more DSL as well. DSL is getting a lot more popular, but it's still a slow sale by itself."
Another edge for telephone companies is the limitations imposed by the power line infrastructure, says GTRI senior research technologist Tim Strike. "Cable and telephone companies lease space on power poles by the foot, and that space is limited," he explains. "So it's hard for competing cable companies to be on the same pole. Telephone companies are already there, and the company that is there first gets the customer's business."
For the consumer, Traverser's appeal is multifaceted. "It's the quality of the picture," Bohlander says. "And people tend to trust their telephone supplier to provide reliable service. Also, you get local channels without having to pay an extra fee or buying extra hardware like you have to do with satellite television. It's the simultaneous delivery of telephone service, digital television and high-speed Internet."
One more point for the consumer, Klimek adds, is that the Traverser delivers high-quality digital TV on a standard television set. It does not require an expensive high-definition set. The Traverser INI will even convert its digital signal to the analog format needed by most televisions manufactured before 1998, yet still deliver digital-quality television, Bohlander adds.
If the Traverser succeeds as its developers predict, it could dramatically affect the competition between telcos and cable companies – ultimately benefiting the rural, and eventually the urban, consumer, the virtual corporation participants say.
Beyond U.S. borders, there is interest in the Traverser from telcos in Mexico, China and Turkey, Klimek says. And one company in South Carolina is adapting the Traverser for use as an in-plant digital television training program.
Already, the Traverser has been recognized as a hot new product. It was a finalist for the SUPERCOMM 2000 trade show's SUPERQuest Most Promising New Enterprise Network Technology/Network Infrastructure Systems and Services Award this past summer.
All of that is just fine to Bill Rogers and other Hartwell beta testers, but the real proof of the pudding is the Traverser's reliable delivery of the services they need and want. "I just want my ESPN |
