Text 17852, 51 rader
Skriven 2006-05-15 14:25:25 av Charles Scaglione (1:123/789.0)
  Kommentar till text 17831 av George Lagergren (1:106/2000.0)
Ärende: DSL 2 +  info
=====================
On Mon, 15 May 2006 02:45:00 +0000, George Lagergren -> Charles Scaglione
wrote:

 CS>> I see Jeff answered your question.  But to add to your curiosity about
 CS>> transmitting TV over copper wire....  Here in the Dallas - Fort Worth
 CS>> area of Texas Verizon has begun extensive upgrading of their DSL and TV
 CS>> cable systems.  They now offer (in select areas) both fast DSL and TV
 CS>> by fiber optic cable directly connected to your computer or TV set.  No
 CS>> modem required.  However, the TV reception requires a set top box which
 CS>> they provide.

 GL>      Questions:  Did the phone company charge you for the set top box?
 GL>      Or do they charge a monthly fee for the set top box?

The phone company (Verizon) rents it to the subscriber for $3.00/month.
The only reason the set top box is required is so that you can receive
those frequencies that are out of range of a typical TV set.  Even a TV
set that is fully equipped for modern cable can not interpret the signals
received over the fiber optic system.

 GL>      The article Jeff pointed out says the main reason that telephone
 GL>      companies are not ready to offer DSL 2 + [plus] is the cost of the
set
 GL>      top box is about $500.   They would prefer a cost of $100.

I'm not sure what system is referred to in the article.  The set top
box supplied by Verizon for their fiber optic system is from Motorola.
The box interacts with the DSL fiber connection to provide VOD (video on
demand) and electronic selection of music channels.  The music channels
can be directed from the set top box to a stereo system; likewise the TV
audio.  The subscription price for all this (provided you already
subscribe to their fiber optic DSL) is $39.95 month plus the $3.00 set top
box rental fee.  No contract required.

 CS>> It doesn't surprise me though that better and faster DSL is available
 CS>> in Europe and the Far East.  Both are ahead of us.

 GL>      Maybe governments want their population using broad-band
 GL>      communications.

I believe it's because Europe and Asia (Japan, Korea) have much tighter
control over what's done with broadcasting - they also provide a subsidy
to broadcasters.  In Japan and Korea the phone company is owned and
operated by their respective govts.  Not sure that's the case throughout
Europe but I do believe most countries there have nationalized
communication media providers.

Regards.

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