Re: Internet Via Electric Lines?

[Cynthia Brown <cynthb@sonetis.com>]

On Wed, 8 Oct 1997, Peter Trei wrote:

> It looks like we're seeing different parts of the problem. You're 
> worried about the long-haul backbone. I'm trying to see ways to
> get a 10Gbps fibre into my living room.
> 
> The backbone cost is a tiny fraction of the cost of getting fiber
> into every house in the country. 
>  
> Building a few optical fibers into a cable as it is being 
> manufactured is cheap and easy, as is using fiber-equipped
> cable if you are installing new lines, or replacing old ones
> for other reasons (installation costs are usually far higher 
> than the cost of the line itself). It's hooking up all the 
> fibers into a meaningful network that gets expensive, 
> which was my point.

Practically speaking, using the cable TV infrastructure looks much more
promising than the power grid.  Pros: 

- already available in many major urban centres = less retrofit
- theoretical 30Mbps transmission rate (not fibre, but still pretty good)

Cons:

- lack of standardisation / compatibility for the modems themselves 
(bleeding edge technology, surprise surprise)
- little choice for your ISP
- you may have to buy cable service along with the Internet connectivity

Cynthia
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		   Cynthia H. Brown, P.Eng.
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