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Technology Stocks : LAST MILE TECHNOLOGIES - Let's Discuss Them Here -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Kenneth E. Phillipps who wrote (3727)	5/15/1999 10:35:00 AM
From: Frank A. Coluccio	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 12823

Interesting piece, Ken, Thanks. The subject of power line data has a very serious side to it that I am only now beginning to see clearly. During the last round of discussion on the topic here in this thread I began thinking about its mission in ways other than how we may be viewing it here as a means of simply beating the local carrier's tariffs. Or, as one of the trials in the UK sought to demonstrate, how it could be used to support elementary school web access. Both of those applications, to be sure, would find takers if and when the capability became widely available. But it should also be understood that if it were available to us as an option, it would not be free <?>, and would be far inferior anyway <?>. There is a side to power line data, however, that I find more compelling although radically removed from how it would affect us here in the US, at first. That is, its utility (pun aware) as an adjunct to another primary means of lifeline telephone support and global Internet access. Specifically, in those many locales around the globe where there is marginal or even scarce power line distribution, but where telephony infrastructure is still lacking almost entirely, never mind cable TV or high speed Internet access. I could begin to envisage how microwave telephony could be delivered to a hamlet at some central point, say, by a line of sight, or by a LEO like Teledesic, and dropped off to an electric substation for last mile delivery to residents over power line. Do you see this as far fetched? It's certainly not an end-state design, by any means, but something that would seem worthy of exploration, at least. It would be less costly than wireless local loops via an alternative scheme, although far inferior at the same time. But when you don't have the requisite resources, who can be choosy? To explore this at the level where it would even begin to make a difference would require some enormous heads down levels of dedication of resources and focus, and it seems that NT is one that has been behind this now for some time. More power to them! [Oi! I know, I know...] Although I still question their motivation, given the inferior quality and far less lucrative appeal that would accompany this mode of delivery. I'd be interesting in seeing more demo data on the number of dwellings in rural and outback areas, and in the bush, that have some meager forms of electric power line delivery but who are still without wireline telephone services, or any hope of same, soon. To such inhabitants, even inferior sounding voice and low speed data delivered over powerline might yield tremendous benefit as a starter. Given the bit budget that would exist, this could likely include any variant of low bit rate voice delivery, including cellular like algorithms and those now being used for VoIP. I half mindedly stated somewhere upstream that some kind of CDMA over power line might work due to the robustness inherent in spread spectrum, and I continue to think along those and similar lines, although without scientific based justification. Such expedients, however, could be used to foster a dynamic that would fuel itself in many ways, possibly leading to gradual economic improvements which would serve to justify improved communications provisions. Not necessarily, I'm sure, but plausible in many ways. I usually don't take such a minimalist view of provisioning bandwidth, as you know, but sometimes the Ham Operator comes out of me and must have his say too. Just some thoughts here from beautiful Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, NY on this lovely Saturday Morning... ...where my household enjoys the use of: - four telephone landlines; - three cellular/pcs's; - four PCs that are still functional - (must inventory the basement to count the missing and the dead PCs); - four digital display pagers; - one cable TV line with four STBs; - untold numbers of worn out keyboards and monitors. I tossed the ham rig in '66 when I starting doing high seas ship to shore Morse for T while going to night school. And starting to contemplate a bit, here, as I type about those who cannot afford a kite string. Comments welcome. Regards, Frank Coluccio