Re: Microsoft offering xDSL access

["Jay R. Ashworth" <jra () scfn thpl lib fl us>]

On Fri, Jan 23, 1998 at 02:23:19AM -0500, Deepak Jain wrote:
> > UUNET doesn't own dedicated single-circuit copper to people's houses.
>
> If xDSL can only run about 18kft end-to-end, to service a wide metro area 
> like Washington, D.C. one would either have to have a POP within every 6 
> mile radius (fed by conventional circuits) or backhaul the data (by 
> conventional circuit) to their POP.
>
> Is this correct, if not, what am I missing?

That's correct.  DSL is a baseband technology, running over copper.
Read: layer 1.  The only practical place to put DSL headends right now
is in RBOC CO's.  No one else has the point to point copper -- it's not
a multiplexed layer 1 service like cablemodems.

Oh, and sorry, backhauling isn't an issue.  The DSL modem at the
opposite end of the line from the customer _has to physically be
there_.  Once you grab the signal and turn it into some other layer 1
format, you can mux it and back haul it, but that doesn't solve the
problem at hand.

Cheers,
-- j
-- 
Jay R. Ashworth                                                jra () baylink com
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