Speakeasy alternatives

[gaf at blu.org (Jerry Feldman)]

On Thu, 29 Mar 2007 09:34:25 -0400
"Matt Galster" <galsterm at gmail.com> wrote:

> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Verizon_FiOS
> 
> That technical description of the network makes FiOS look more like
> Cable than DSL.
> 
> "Verizon is constructing a passive optical network. Optical fiber
> extends from central offices to unpowered hubs, in which the optical
> signal is optically split up to 32 ways."
Exactly. I can't speak for other cable companies, but Comcast brings
fibre down to their equivalent of a hub and uses the existing copper.
As I had mentioned earlier, at one time cable tv was a one-way system,,
but could allow low speeds in reverse. I don't know if this is still
true since many cable companies have virtually rewired. Now that
Verizon has raised the bar with an excellent (from a technical
standpoint) service, their competitors (Comcast, Charter, Cox, et. al.)
will need to meet their level or service and price. On the other hand,
the average cable Internet subscriber is only concerned with download
speeds. We, on this list, are probably on the fringe.

-- 
Jerry Feldman <gaf at blu.org>
Boston Linux and Unix user group
http://www.blu.org PGP key id:C5061EA9
PGP Key fingerprint:053C 73EC 3AC1 5C44 3E14 9245 FB00 3ED5 C506 1EA9