Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Technology Stocks : Westell WSTL -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: pat mudge who wrote (7510)	11/4/1997 11:56:00 AM
From: Radam	Respond to of 21342

Silicon Valley to try DSL By Jeff Pelline (jeffp@cnet.com) October 31, 1997, 1:30 p.m. PT Pacific Bell plans to launch a market trial for high-speed Net access, dubbed DSL, in Silicon Valley next month, taking on cable-modem providers such as @Home on their home turf, executives disclosed today. A formal announcement is expected next month. Word of the trial comes in the same week that US West rolled out commercial DSL (digital subscriber line) service in Phoenix. Both are signs that the Baby Bells are gearing up to take on the cable-television industry. One of these, @Home, is based in Silicon Valley and offers high-speed Net access in the California suburbs of Sunnyvale and Fremont. Bell Atlantic has a market trial going in northern Virginia as well, and Bell South has launched one in Birmingham, Alabama. Both companies plan to launch commercial DSL in mid-1998. Pac Bell plans to charge between $80 and $250 per month for the service under two plans, Paula Reinman, director of DSL marketing for Pac Bell, said today. Installation and equipment will cost extra, however--estimated in the hundreds of dollars. One plan lets consumers send and receive data at up to 384 kbps, and the other lets them send data at up to 384 kbps and receive it at up to 1.5 mbps, Reinman added. The market trial potentially could reach "tens of thousands" of customers, she said, and will be offered in the East Bay Area suburbs of Danville and San Ramon as well as San Jose, Burlingame, Los Altos, Mountain View, Palo Alto, Redwood City, Santa Clara, and Sunnyvale, according to its Web site. The company also has plans to expand the market trial in the future to Southern California. Pac Bell plans a commercial rollout of DSL by the third quarter of next year, pending California regulatory approval, Reinman said. Silicon Valley is a hot market for high-speed Net access because of the high penetration rate of personal computers both in homes and offices. The San Ramon area also has a high rate of PC usage, and it is home to large office complexes run by the likes of Pac Bell, Chevron, and Pacific Gas & Electric. Pac Bell already has tested the service for a year. It will use equipment from Alcatel, among others, and is expected to be called FasTrak DSL. The trial date has been delayed from September because of regulatory filings. Pac Bell was bought by SBC Communications earlier this year in one of the largest telecommunications mergers to date. DSL refers to higher-speed Net access over copper wires. It is faster than ISDN's 128 kbps and is the Baby Bells' emerging weapon in taking on the cable industry in the Net access market. US West debuted its DSL service in Phoenix this week to 500,000 potential customers with plans to expand it to 12 cities in the western United States, including Seattle and Denver, by the first half of next year. US West is providing access at speeds of 192, 320, and 704 kbps for as little as $40 per month plus $200 for installation. The Baby Bells face stiff competition, however. Cable-modem operators such as @Home say they typically operate at speeds of 1.5 to 3 mbps for $40 to $45 per month. Time Warner's Road Runner also is ramping up its cable-modem service throughout the country. The Bells also have to deal with criticism of their marketing efforts. The penetration rates of ISDN have been disappointing, many analysts say, and consumers have criticized Pac Bell and others for slow installation. But Pac Bell thinks it can weather the storm. "DSL will provide a dedicated data circuit, ensuring the same fast access to an online gateway every time," the company said in a Web posting. "Cable modems, on the other hand, operate on a shared network and will perform more slowly depending on the number of people and kinds of applications using the shared network simultaneously."