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To: ftth who wrote (4950)	1/31/1999 11:31:00 AM
From: Frank A. Coluccio	Respond to of 29970

Dave, that was quite a read, thanks. If your message 4950 was in reply to my 4942, then I wasn't communicating very well what I meant by: FAC: >>I still don't have a clue as to how they will do multiple broadband access arrangements with the standards that are now being implemented, and the new reverse-digital product doesn't help here much either, because it works between the hub and the head end, and avoids the coaxial segment of interest between the node and the end points (the homes).<< What I meant by that was: Multiple Independent ISPs and Portals; how could they co-exist, each hoping to derive broadband advantages, all on a single drop segment to the neighborhood, with the standards that now exist and being considered, very much like the standards and practices explained in your ONadvantage piece. There are far too many conflict points to support multiple entrants in such a heterogeneous provider environment, not the least of which is the management and administration of DOCSIS provisions. I'll continue to explore ways that this may become feasible in order to satisfy my own curiosity, since I anticipate that this will come to pass -- which is no reflection on what I think "should" be the case -- nevertheless, I feel it will, with sufficient lobbying and arm-twisting in The District by the largest Tier Ones (should that be teary eyed ones?) who want in. =================== On Onadvantage: I am not well-versed in this initiative, so I really appreciate your posting it here. Several things pop up in my mind, with some questions I'd like to ask you and others more knowledgeable than I. They are saying all of the right things. Will ONadvantage be introduced seamlessly to the ongoing rollout, as in cease and desist on the old model implementations (pre-ONadvantage configurations), and begin with the new? Or will they proceed with business as usual, and retrofit on a first it, first out basis, respecting the older installations first? Think of the PR implications if they leave the existing users stranded with "antiquated" modems and inferior service management. This one paragraph was a little confusing for me: "ONadvantage will allow provisioning of advanced services that were heretofore difficult or impossible to provide. Resource-intensive and constant-bit-rate applications, such as IP telephony, Internet radio, and video conferencing, are currently left entirely to the discretion of the user. This means a user can turn on an unmanaged, low-quality service and leave it running 24 hours a day, using proportionately more network resources than necessary (because it is a low-quality service) even when the user is not making use of the service (because it is unmanaged). With ONadvantage, new, high-quality services can be implemented with consistently high performance." Are they saying that "always on" services such as web-tone, IP telephony and constant surveillance tend to inappropriately utilize network resources? Or something else? In that paragraph they state that " With ONadvantage, new, high-quality services can be implemented with consistently high performance," But they fail to indicate if this will be a departure from the notion of 'always on.' What's your take? ---------------------- I see the merit of partnering with certain vendors to implement these platforms from an expediency standpoint, but I am cautious about their entering into an arrangement that may leave them with proprietary wares. They could get locked in, hostage, to Cisco and Inktomi if they are not careful, in other words. Do you agree with this sentiment? Or am I just being overly cautious here? What say? Regards, Frank Coluccio