xDSL Myth
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@Home Fact
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Myth #1:
"xDSL service is almost as fast as cable modem service" |
- @Home's service is up to 5-50x faster than xDSL because of inherent HFC/cable
modem advantages and @Home's advanced technologies for sustained end-to-end performance
- ADSL bandwidth drops precipitously with distance from the telephone central office.
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Myth #2:
"xDSL and cable modem service prices are comparable" |
- xDSL prices add up fast when you read the fine print (access charges, Internet
service, equipment required, etc.)
- xDSL typically costs 4-8x as much as @Home service2; @Home also includes
advanced multimedia content not available anywhere else (e.g., CD quality music,
Video News)
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Myth #3:
"xDSL uses copper telephone wiring, so it's ready to go today" |
- RBOCs don't have a "free lunch" -- only 50% of the network is capable
of supporting ADSL, and copper plant must be upgraded3
- The cable industry has been aggressively upgrading for high-speed data and other
digital services; over 10 million homes in North America are 2-way HFC today
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Myth #4:
"xDSL users have a dedicated connection; in contrast, cable is shared and
will potentially be slower with more users" |
- All modern data networks are shared at some level; potentially hundreds of 'dedicated'
ADSL lines are concentrated at a central office DSLAM (Digital Subscriber Line Access
Multiplexer) into a shared ISP connection
- "It's what's behind it that counts..." -- The shared high-speed cable
modem architecture is similar to local area networks used in offices everywhere.
True performance/quality measures include scalability with additional users, "effective
bandwidth" per customer, and backbone connectivity. HFC's highly scalable "fiber-to-the-neighborhood"
approach along with @Home's bandwidth-expanding technologies and high-speed national
backbone provide a superior solution (unmatched by DSL service from an ISP who simply
plugs into the already overloaded Internet)
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Myth #5:
"xDSL is a mass market product" |
- Forrester Research expects less than 250,000 total ADSL circuits by 2001 based
on learnings from early deployments (local loop quality, distance attenuation, technology
maturity, value proposition, RBOC concerns of high-margin T-1 cannibalization, etc.)
- Cable is available to 96% of homes in the U.S. according to Paul Kagan Associates;
Forward Concepts projects a mass market of over 7 million U.S. cable modem users
by 2002
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