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Old 08-29-2004, 02:14 PM
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Default ADSL: the technology, and the educational prospects

Introduction



This is a paper that has been written to look into the use of ADSL (Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line) technology, specifically with the view of improving learning opportunities within educational establishments: primarily, the more rural of FE colleges, and also community (adult) education, since in my professional opinion, colleges are more likely to require symmetric links to the Internet and other networks, and Universities require larger-bandwidth pipes.



Another, equally-important aim of this paper is NOT to sell the ADSL technology – this is British Telecom’s job, along with the resellers and other service providers that are connected with the roll-out and provision of ADSL services, either by manufacturing or selling equipment, providing broadband traffic services (end to end across the BT network), or by creating “portals”, offering materials which are seen to be multimedia “rich”, and offer a better experience overall.



Lastly, and in order to ensure practical application of my findings, I am resolved to providing a recommendation of some kind, to provide closure to the study. Ideally, I would like to continue my research and analysis long after the presentation of this paper, and would hope that my findings or recommendations are used to the benefit of those, such as IT and Network Managers at educational facilities, that are considering the technology for their own facilities and networks.



History



In 1989, DSL (Digital Subscriber Line) was first developed from the ground up in the United States by Bellcore, the research arm of Bell Telecommunications, with the intention of providing video-on-demand (VoD) systems to thousands of eager recipients [1], eager to receive “box office” films on-demand, as a direct competitor to the dozens of cable-operators that were springing up like weeds across the country. As an off-shoot of the research and development conducted, it was decided that the data link could and should be asymmetric – in order to conserve frequency bandwidth, along with concerns of the power required for clients to transmit back to telephone exchanges,



DSL could download faster than it could upload (transmit). After all, end users would only need to make a small transmission to the relevant service to order a film, and enjoy a film or presentation flood down the line, requiring a large amount of bandwidth. This is whilst preserving the traditional analogue, PSTN POTS (Public Switched Telephone Network, Plain Old Telephone Network).











The technology was slow to be adopted, and due to scepticism by telecom providers, since the new systems would require a relatively large investment for a long-winded return process, the technology was gradually shelved for this specific purpose.



However, evidently there were some people that never took their eye off the ADSL ball, and continued to mould it for use in a practical and money-making application – several years later, many Internet Service Providers (ISPs) via telecom companies (telcos) unveiled a new product – ADSL links, capable of rivalling private circuits (leased lines), due to their low cost, and attractiveness to residential users and small-medium enterprises (SMEs). The UK watched on, as a spectator.



It wasn’t until the Summer 1997 that the UK’s largest telco, British Telecom, announced a trial of the ADSL technology with households in connected to a handful of trial-enabled exchanges, with the view of a new product should the trial be successful. This trial was closely followed by the other customer-base giant, Freeserve, conducting a similar trial, with Hull’s Kingston Telecommunications conducting a trial with 1,500 users in the immediate area in July 1998. It wasn’t until early December 1999, sometime after a successful trial, that BT formally announced a pricing structure for a new product stream that they had developed.[2]



The technology itself is simple – “piggy back” a data signal, on top of the ordinary analogue signal that the telephone uses, up to 1.1MHz, which is understood to be the maximum bandwidth limit of traditional copper telephone lines.

By doing this, users can take full advantage of the DSL data service, whilst being able to use the telephone – a big nuisance for most Internet enthusiasts that used a conventional modem on their house/business line.





This was also the case for those that used both 64kbit data channels of the ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Network)-based product, BT Highway which received a paper-launch late 1997, since both actions would block the analogue line, and prevent calls from being made or received. Curiously enough, BT Highway had been established for nearly two years before ADSL had even begun to be rolled out.

Gareth Robers

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http://webhostingchat.com
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