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CableModem
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1996-02-28
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35 lines
<Heard on the Net>
Cable Modems offer huge speed increases
A recent cable modem trial in Boston proved that higher access speeds
promote greater Internet use.
Unlike cable, telephone lines were never designed to handle the high
bandwidth current fast modems demand. Modern modems offering around
30,000bps are really pushing the boundaries of the domestic phone
line. Cable modems can carry data at up to 1,000 times faster than
communication over a telephone. At present, you can expect a
downlink channel running at 1.5Mbps and an uplink channel with speeds
of 64Kbps. This is likely to increase by a factor of ten in 1997 when
new faster technologies come online.
US cable operators plan to have 500,000 cable modems hooked up and
online by the end of the year, although it will be years before the
technology is widely used. While proved in small-scale trials, the
technology hasn't been tested for large-scale, two way use. Most
systems are only tuned for high speed one-way transfer, making
"upstream" transfers slower and prone to outside interference.
Cable operators hope the speed benefits will outweigh the
disadvantages. High speed, direct connections encourage faster home
acceptance.
Service providers and telephone companies are expected to fight back
by promoting ISDN. ISDN, although slower, offers high speed, stable
transfers in both directions. British Telecom remains firm on its
eyewatering ú400 installation charge making ISDN outside the reach of
the average home user.
Tim Rice