STATE OF THE ART; The Year Of Big Bandwidth
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`nytimes.com/1999/02/11/technology/state-of-the-art-the-year-of-big-bandwidth.html
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`Peter H. Lewis
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`February 11, 1999
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`SKIP ADVERTISEMENT
`WHEN my local cable television operator, Time Warner, told me that after several months of
`waiting, I was next on the list to get a cable modem, I was practically giddy with anticipation.
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`A cable modem is related to a regular computer modem the way the movie ''Speed'' is
`related to ''Driving Miss Daisy.'' Using the local cable television network instead of the local
`phone network to connect to the Internet's main arteries, a cable modem hauls tons of data
`at high speeds -- theoretically up to more than 25 megabits per second (25 million bits per
`second, or 25 mbps), but in practical terms, 500 kilobits per second (500,000 bits per
`second, or 500 kbps) to 2.5 mbps.
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`A cable modem has high bandwidth, an industry term that means it carries a lot of
`information per second. It is also often called a fat pipe, based on the idea that information is
`like water and comes into your computer in a rush or a trickle.
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`Only a relatively small number of home computer users are now eligible to sign up for the
`high-bandwidth Internet services being offered by cable television companies (cable
`modems) and phone companies (digital subscriber lines, or D.S.L.). But in the coming year,
`as these industries battle to sell high-speed data services to consumers, potentially millions
`of people and small businesses will have the opportunity to wallow in the kind of bandwidth
`that once was affordable only for corporations and universities.
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`SKIP ADVERTISEMENT
`Just a short while ago, I was a low-bandwidth kind of guy. I had one of the fastest telephone-
`based modems you can buy in my home office, with a theoretical top speed of 56 kbps. Most
`people who connect to the Internet from home do so at speeds ranging from 14.4 kbps to
`33.6 kbps. So a cable modem held the promise of increasing my bandwidth at least tenfold,
`and, downhill with a tail wind and no other traffic, perhaps as much as fiftyfold. But there are
`some speed bumps, which will be discussed below.
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`Most consumers use dial-up modems, which are called that because the user has to dial up
`a phone connection between the home computer and the Internet service provider before
`going on line. Cruising the World Wide Web with a dial-up modem is like reading a magazine
`in slow motion, turning a page once every 20 seconds or so. No wonder some people call it
`the World Wide Wait.
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`Corporate Internet users and students in dormitories often connect to the Internet over so-
`called broad-band networks, which are high-capacity pipes shared by users on that line. For
`years, phone companies have sold big-bandwidth Internet pipelines for hefty fees, usually
`$1,000 a month or more. A T-1 telephone line, for example, has a bandwidth of 1.5 mbps.
`Turning a Web page or downloading a picture from a Usenet newsgroup on a T-1 link often
`takes only a second or two.
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`With a cable modem or one of the new D.S.L. modems that phone companies are just
`starting to offer, consumers can get some of the benefits of a T-1 line for $40 to $60 a month.
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`Now, $40 to $60 a month is still a lot of money, especially if you are also paying the cable
`company for television service. My monthly cable bill went to $79 a month from $34
`overnight. Plus, there was a one-time installation fee of $89. And PC users have to buy (for
`$50 or more) an Ethernet card, also known as a Network Interface Card, or N.I.C. (These are
`standard on most Macintoshes.)
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`And there was the aggravation of dealing with the cable company, which, despite the cable
`industry's efforts to improve its image for customer support, still managed to amaze me with
`its incompetence.
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`It took several visits, spread over two weeks, by a total of five Cable Guys before my
`Macintosh G3 was finally wired into the cable network and working properly. Even so, it was
`worth it. I love my cable modem.
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`The Internet is always ''on'' at my house, at least as long as my computer has power. That
`persistent connection has psychological as well as practical effects. I doubt that people
`would watch as much television if they had to boot up the set, wait a couple of minutes for it
`to ''handshake'' with the network and then wait 20 seconds each time they wanted to change
`a channel.
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`Now my phone company tells me I'm also near the top of the list to get a D.S.L. modem. Like
`a cable modem, a D.S.L. modem promises consumers a large increase in Internet bandwidth
`for monthly prices ranging from $40 to $60.
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`Both cable and D.S.L. modems have advantages and disadvantages. For many people, the
`relative differences are moot because, for now at least, most consumers do not have a
`choice.
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`SKIP ADVERTISEMENT
`Cable companies and phone companies are racing to upgrade equipment in more affluent
`neighborhoods (the ones with the highest percentage of computer users) to make high-
`speed services possible. It will take years before most homes have access to these services.
`Meanwhile, Net users hungry for bandwidth will take what they can get.
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`Cable already serves most areas in the United States, but not all cable lines can carry high-
`speed data. While almost all homes are wired for telephone service, it takes special
`equipment at the local switching station to support D.S.L. service, and only a few hundred of
`the thousands of switching stations nationwide have it.
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`D.S.L. is, to a greater extent than cable, fragmented by different and incompatible standards.
`Also to a greater extent than cable, D.S.L. is limited by distance. People who live more than
`about three miles from a local switching station cannot get D.S.L. service.
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`While cable modems offer higher theoretical top speeds than D.S.L. modems, D.S.L.
`modems offer higher guaranteed speeds. On my cable system, my bandwidth depends on
`how many people are using the same local loop at the same time. If all my neighbors sign up
`for cable Internet service and log on at the same time, my bandwidth could slow to a crawl --
`scarcely better than the dial-up modem I replaced. Because I was one of the first kids on my
`block to have a cable modem, however, I'm cruising at megabit speeds most of the time.
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`(Of course, with any type of modem, one rarely achieves the maximum speed; any Internet
`connection is limited by its slowest link.)
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`D.S.L. comes in a bewildering variety of speed and price offerings. In my area of the country,
`the $49 monthly consumer plan guarantees me Internet access at asymmetric speeds of 384
`kbps when I am downloading something from the Internet and a minimum of 128 kbps when
`I am sending information upstream. (Because the upstream and downstream speeds are
`asymmetric, this kind of D.S.L. service is called A.D.S.L.) While 384 kbps is the guaranteed
`downstream minimum, the phone company says I can expect gusts up to 1.5 mbps.
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`Cable, then, offers higher highs and lower lows for about the same price as A.D.S.L.
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`My local A.D.S.L. service gives me a choice of Internet service providers. I can buy the basic
`pipe for $39 a month, then pay a separate fee to my current I.S.P. to keep my current E-mail
`address and Web page, if my I.S.P. supports my kind of A.D.S.L. Or, for an extra $10 a
`month, I can use the phone company as my I.S.P.
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`With cable, I have no choice. Time Warner provides me with its Roadrunner service whether
`I want it or not. It is as if I signed up for local telephone service and was told that I could
`choose any long distance carrier as long as it was AT&T.
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`As more people get fat pipes, the fights will become fierce over what comes over those pipes
`and how. We can expect fierce regulatory battles in the coming year as different companies
`try to get the cable companies to open their pipes to different voice, data, video and audio
`services.
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