May 19, 2008
AT&T and Comcast test the limits of tired old infrastructure with new services
With last mile infrastructure that should be on life support, AT&T and Comcast keep nursing it along instead of just laying fiber. Never mind the fact they’ll need to do it soon anyway. The dead end comes with pair / coax bonding techniques and not every customer has 2 usable pairs / cables.
Comcast over the weekend announced that they’ve struck a deal to buy Cable Modem Termination System (CMTS) gear from Arris Group, as the cable giant speeds up their DOCSIS 3.0 plans. Last month, Comcast launched their first pre-certification DOCSIS 3.0 market, offering $150, 50Mbps/5Mbps service in the twin cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul. (Broadband Reports)
Though I’ve been unable to get official launch plans out of AT&T yet, our users are reporting that the telco is now offering dual-HD streams in a number of U-Verse markets. After seeing an initial launch in the St. Louis area, users in parts of Michigan and Georgia are also seeing the update. (Broadband Reports)
Coax and twisted pair served us well over their long and productive lives. I hope they will be allowed to die with dignity instead of trying to push them even further. C’mon duopoly, it’s time to let them go!
Comments on AT&T and Comcast test the limits of tired old infrastructure with new services »
Dr. Dog @ 8:30 am
You know what’s funny? Done right the RG-8/9 cabling most cable companies use could push 100mbps per customer with ease, even using a shared cable length. But the cable guys would have to invest in active termination technology in the neighborhoods to make it happen, then backhaul.
But alas that takes investment, something not in their lexicon.
admin @ 9:13 am
True, but the bandwidth is shared between amalog TV DTV, VoIP, and broadband. Then there is the issue of some 35 year old coax that’s not quite up to the task.
Dr. Dog @ 10:10 am
Oh definitely its shared. But that leads to a observation. Ungermann-Bass now defunct was in 1985 providing all the following over RG-8:
- 100 channels video
- 10mbs ethernet per station. 100mbps backbone.
- 4way video conferencing. And you could trade 4 video channels per conference if you need more virtual meeting rooms.
20 years ago. We had it installed in various corporate offices in CA in the fGTE days. God only knows what could be accomplished today if some folks put their minds to it.