Fiber-optic telephone lines
ActHill
questions can be found?
1. What percentage of the telephone lines in the United States have been
converted to fiber-optic lines?
2. Is it necessary for a homeowner to have a fiber-optic cable running
directly to his/her house to take advantage of the greater bandwidth and
other benefits of fiber-optic lines?
3. What are the primary advantages of fiber-optic lines over conventional
copper lines?
4. Can ISDN use fiber-optic lines?
Thanks.
Ray Hill
act...@aol.com
Grieg A. Olson
> Does anyone know of a Web page or Newsgroup where the answers to these
> questions can be found?
>
> 1. What percentage of the telephone lines in the United States have been
> converted to fiber-optic lines?
I couldn't find this.
>
> 2. Is it necessary for a homeowner to have a fiber-optic cable running
> directly to his/her house to take advantage of the greater bandwidth and
> other benefits of fiber-optic lines?
No. We all take advantage of fiber optics' benefits every day, wven
though we don't realize it.
If you want higher bandwidth to your house, there are a variety of ways to
connect your house to fiber without actually running fiber to the house.
Such systems go by varous names, such as 'fiber to the curb' or 'fiber to
the neighborhood'. In such systems, fiber comes to the neighborhood and
the final link to the house is on conventional copper wire, sometimes coax
cable. This is a very cost effective way to improve services to the
customer.
The cable television industry is actively persuing improved high-bandwidth
bidirectional communication to the home. You might find useful info at
http://www.cablelabs.com/
>
> 3. What are the primary advantages of fiber-optic lines over conventional
> copper lines?
Low signal attenuation. (Long transmission distance without amplifiers.)
>
> 4. Can ISDN use fiber-optic lines?
Yes. See http://www.rain.org/~eds/isdn.htm
>
> Thanks.
>
> Ray Hill
> act...@aol.com
Grieg
Standard Disclaimer______________________
Any opinions are mine, etc....
Marjorie Katz
act...@aol.com (ActHill) wrote:
>Does anyone know of a Web page or Newsgroup where the answers to these
>questions can be found?
This is as good a newsgroup as any relating to fiber questions.
>
>1. What percentage of the telephone lines in the United States have been
>converted to fiber-optic lines?
All the long-haul networks (AT & T, Sprint, MCI) are pretty much all fiber,
but the copper is still there, and I'm sure it is still be used. As far as fiber
in the local loop, I'm not sure.
>
>2. Is it necessary for a homeowner to have a fiber-optic cable running
>directly to his/her house to take advantage of the greater bandwidth and
>other benefits of fiber-optic lines?
Yes and no...it depends upon how much bandwidth you are talking about.
The bandwidth of fiber is only limited by what is on each end. Copper
is still good enough for POTS (plain old telephone). CATV companies bring
coax into the home, which can handle alot of video (and Internet services).
Many CATV companies are bringing fiber to the curb (or the pedestal, which
serves 200-500 homes). Basically, for commercially available, resonably priced
computers, Internet services, and video, for the home, you do not need
fiber in 1995, or for at least the next several years. To be honest,
extensive fiber to the home is decades away in the U.S.
There are certain test sites of maybe 250 homes that have fiber, but they
are test sites only.
>
>3. What are the primary advantages of fiber-optic lines over conventional
>copper lines?
Bandwidth per fiber vs. bandwidth per copper wire translates to huge cable
cost and size reductions; longer term reliability (glass lasts forever,
although the cable might not), security (wire tapping is alot harder).
>4. Can ISDN use fiber-optic lines?
A better question would be, can ISDN be used over copper...and the answer is yes.
NYNEX has residential ISDN lines available at a reasonable cost if you still
think your 28.8K modem is too slow. (Of course, if you install an ISDN line,
you would have to purchase a $500 modem).
--
Marjorie Katz, President URL= http://world.std.com/~maddawg/optimark.html
Optimark, 14 Heath Wood Lane, Chestnut Hill, MA 02167-2685
(617)232-6224; Fax (617)731-2272