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Five Ways to Break Up Data LogjamsCABLE MODEMS: Sleek black boxes that link PCs to TV cables, letting home Web surfers download information from the Internet at up to 40 million bits per second (mbps). TCI, Time Warner, and others are conducting trials, but it will take another two years to iron out the bugs. DSL: The Baby Bells' answer to cable modems. These ''digital subscriber line'' technologies boost the data transmission speed of old-fashioned copper wires to as much as 9 mbps. BellSouth, Bell Atlantic, and MCI are in field trials, with commercial service expected in 1998. BROADBAND SATELLITE: Schemes to beam down high-speed Internet access from satellites have been hatched by a diverse crew, including Hughes Communications, Space Systems/Loral, and Teledesic, a new venture backed by Craig McCaw and Bill Gates. Speeds could eventually exceed 1 gigabit--but don't hold your breath. Most won't be ready before 2001. ATM: A superfast switching technology called asynchronous transfer mode is already boosting capacity on long-distance phone and data links. Proponents say the technology, which runs up to 622 mbps, could do wonders for crowded office networks as well. But companies would have to scrap their existing networks. GIGABIT ETHERNET: As the name suggests, these powerful office network switches will handle a billion bits per second, posing a big challenge to ATM. Large companies will start installing them later this year. But the switches will not be cheap in the early days and will require a lot of optic fiber to run.
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Updated June 15, 1997 by bwwebmaster
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