DSL for the masses

A Little Story

I had PacBell DSL installed almost a year ago, and while it wasn't a nightmare, it wasn't exactly smooth either. Prime Services (PacBell out sourced installation to Prime Services) botched the first installation attempt, and I had to schedule another appointment. I couldn't get another installation date until a month later.

The next month, I missed another day of class to wait for Prime Services. At about 5PM, the tech still hadn't showed up and I called PacBell to find out what was happening. According to PacBell, my appointment was in their system, but it wasn't in Prime Services' system. At this point, I explained to the rep what had happened with the first installation and that I really didn't want to wait another month or two. The rep was very understanding, and she sent out a PacBell tech right away. The tech arrived at about 6PM, and I had DSL two hours later. On a side note, when CalBear had his DSL installed, he also needed two tech visits to get the job done.

G.lite

As you can see, DSL deployment would be a lot easier if users didn't require complicated service installations. What if customers could just buy an ADSL modem, take it home, plug it in, and have it work right out of the box? Wait, that sounds just as easy as buying a regular 56k analog modem!

The new G.lite DSL technology is promising this exact ease of installation, and, judging by the number of DSL modems on display at CES, DSL will become much easier to install in the near future. G.lite modems eliminate the need for splitters at the subscriber's home, but at the cost of speed. While G.dmt ADSL modems feature 8-1.5Mbps download speeds and 1.5Mbps-384kbps upload speeds, G.lite ADSL can only handle about 1.5Mbps downstream and 512-384k upstream. These speeds are perfectly fine for gamers and average consumers. In addition, G.lite also has a larger range of about 24,000 feet.

Of course, in order for G.lite to succeed, the telephone companies have to install the proper equipment on their side. G.lite deployment is still limited right now, but 3Com and Bell Atlantic already have a special agreement where you can buy a 3Com HomeConnect ADSL Modem, and hook it up as long as you're in the Bell Atlantic service area. The 3Com HomeConnect modems support both of the G.dmt and G.lite DSL standards. The 3Com representative I spoke to told me that PacBell was also in the process of testing the modems.

Internal

External

Intel

Creative

Intel and Creative Labs also had their own ADSL modems on display. Like the 3Com modem, Intel's PRO/DSL 3100 Modem also supports both G.dmt and G.lite. The 3100 will be available in February through DSL service providers. Currently US West offers users the Intel PRO/DSL 2100 internal modem. While Intel and 3Com already have deals in place with major DSL carriers, Creative's G.lite modem seems to be left out in the cold. If compatibility issues are solved and DSL modems become as common as analog modems, Creative would be the first major manufacturer to offer a third party DSL modem.