DSL Forum Announces Technical Progress - Industry Trend or Event

Cambridge Telcom Report, Feb 28, 2000

Home networking, local loop unbundling, new generation services and applications for digital subscriber line (DSL) connected homes, offices and public services were top of the agenda at DSL Forum's Summit meeting in Paris in February 2000. With 600,000 phone lines delivering DSL service by the end of 1999 - up 1,000 percent in the year - and global deployment announcements accelerating daily, the technology is now reaching mainstream consumer mass markets.

Hans-Erhard Reiter, chairman of DSL Forum told the 350 delegates, "It is clear that expectations are revolutionized when business and residential users begin to experience the speed of DSL service. What DSL delivers is more than just a phone line...it's a lifestyle."

According to Jerry Rudisin, chief executive of Nightfire, "Always-on connection to the Internet completely changes the way we use the Web simply because there is no need to switch on, select an access program, dial in and wait. We expect electricity to simply `be there' for any use we want, unplanned and instantly. With DSL service, the Web is viewed in the same way." Zvi Levgoren of ARMT reinforced the message, demonstrating applications on demand - from Web-based storage of programs and data to online interactive games. "If you don't have the necessary speed to minimize the signal delay `round trip,' the real risk is that you target the bad guy, but end up shooting the good guy."

Sharing information, programs, printers, Internet access and much more via networking computers and phones is customary in business and gaining popularity in homes enabled by broadband access. The ability to establish a home network is the added value that the market will demand as applications such as video networking, video gaming, video-on-demand, home automation and security monitoring become commonplace. This dimension reflects the symbiotic relationship between broadband access and home networking that is changing peoples' lifestyles.

VoDSL Gains Ground

Voice over DSL (VoDSL) enables voice and data integration and has united industry players as a key application for DSL technology. Anticipation builds as the focus of much technical work edges the technology nearer to market deployment. VoDSL represents an exciting step in the development of the telecommunications environment. This integrated service will allow businesses and consumers to realize lower service costs and data while retaining high quality of service (QoS). Equipment investments are maximized and the telecommunications process is streamlined through the use of VoDSL.

As a result of recent work within DSL Forum's technical groups, a white paper introducing VoDSL technology while addressing the need for a standards-based, compatible and interoperable voice service will be published shortly and a working text is in consultation.

Autoconfiguration

Joint meetings of the Operations & Network Management Working Group and the Architecture & Transport (formerly ATM--asynchronous transfer mode) group about autoconfiguration, addressed the overall approach as a first step to developing a formal working text and technical recommendation. The initial phase of this work is examining ATM VC establishment.

Interoperability Test House Facility Selected

Interoperability of DSL equipment is a high priority for DSL Forum. Its vision is that products purchased by customers and delivered by service providers are built on industry standards and provide a globally interoperable transport platform that supports current applications and enables the creation of new ones.

In recognition of the absolute need to facilitate this technical work -- following competitive selection -- the Forum has contracted with the University of New Hampshire InterOperability Laboratory (UNH-IOL) as its first official interoperability test facility. Its initial focus will be on the ITU G.992.1 and G.992.2 specifications.

UNH-IOL selection is a major step in developing a recommended process which manufacturers can follow to validate standards-based DSL, consumer premise equipment (CPE) and DSLAM (DSL Access Multiplexer) equipment interoperability. Additional test houses to expand the scope and geographic reach of the work will be addressed at the next meeting.

Interoperability, autoconfiguration, VoDSL and more will be agenda points for the next working meetings of DSL Forum which will take place in Orlando, Florida from May 17-19, 2000, preceded by a DSL Forum Summit Tuesday, May 16th.

Details about this and DSL are available on DSL Forum's Web sites at http://www.dslforum.org/paris_pres.html with information for users at http://www.dsllife.com

DSL Forum is a non-profit international organization of more than 300 member companies representing the world's computer, networking and telecommunications industries. In November 1999, members voted to change the name to DSL Forum to reflect the broader scope of DSL work across the whole range of DSL technologies.

Established in 1994, the Forum is dedicated to the development and mass-market deployment of broadband communications technologies based on DSL over existing copper telephone wire infrastructures.