Goodbye ISDN: a cyber-earthquake?

[valis <valis@xxxxxxxxxx>]

====> First intimations of the following came last night on the BBC.
      Will telcos get the short straw in the next big Net development?
      What will it mean for the rest of us, politically and otherwise,
      since this combination could become as big as Microsoft?
                                                                  valis


   NORWEB Communications Homepage
   08 October 1997

   Nortel (Northern Telecom) and NORWEB Communications achieve technology
         breakthrough that will open a new wave of Internet growth

   LONDON, UK - Nortel (Northern Telecom) and NORWEB Communications today
   announced that they have developed jointly a new technology that
   allows data to be transferred over electricity power lines into the
   home at speeds of over one megabit per second - up to ten times faster
   than ISDN, currently the fastest generally available speed for
   domestic users. The breakthrough has the potential to open a new wave
   of demand for Internet services.

   Nortel has developed the technology at its main European Research and
   Development laboratories in Harlow UK, in co-operation with NORWEB
   Communications. Recent trials in the NORWEB Communications network
   have been completed successfully and their technology is now ready to
   be deployed in volume.

   The technology, which enables electricity companies to convert their
   power infrastructures into information access networks, will be
   marketed in Europe and Asia Pacific.

   It allows electricity companies to provide a service that solves the
   three major problems facing domestic Internet take up - access to
   consumers' homes, data transmission rates and capital cost.

     * By giving customers access to the Internet through their existing
       electricity supply system, the technology is available to
       virtually anybody. It offers permanent on-line connection with the
       potential for lower charges.
     * The new technology enables data to be transmitted at rates of over
       one megabit per second by using a patented technology that screens
       the data from electrical interference on the host power line, a
       long sought after goal in telecommunications.
     * Investment costs for the electricity companies are low compared to
       those envisaged for other broadband data access systems. Due to
       the nature of this technology, it can be rolled out in discrete,
       targeted phases. Utilities not wishing to operate data services
       also have the option of charging a right-to-use fee to an
       operating company for accessing their plant. Domestic customers
       require a computer card comparable in cost to a conventional ISDN
       terminal adapter, but offering ten times the peak bandwidth.

   The new technology will stimulate the introduction of Internet-based
   applications such as electronic commerce, teleworking, web broadcast
   media, entertainment and Internet telephony on a mass market scale.

   The two companies have been working together on this development for
   the last three years and it is subject to a number of patents filed by
   Nortel and NORWEB Communications. NORWEB Communications is widely
   recognised within the power sector as a leader in research into
   broadband communications over power lines, having started work in the
   area in 1990.

   Electricity utilities in Europe and the Asia Pacific region have
   already expressed significant interest.

   Peter Dudley, a vice president of Nortel comments: "The rate of
   Internet take up and the volume of data traffic carried over the
   Internet has been one of the most striking business developments of
   the current decade but speed of access remains a bottleneck for most
   users. As one of the first practical low cost answers to the problem
   of high speed access to the Internet, this new technology will unleash
   the next wave of net growth."

   Mark Ballett, managing director of NORWEB Communications, comments:
   "NORWEB Communications has championed the use of electricity networks
   for voice and data services for several years and we are delighted to
   be now in a position to announce the launch of the first commercial
   products. This technology will allow us to use existing infrastructure
   to establish a strongly differentiated service offering in the north
   west residential and small business market."

   Nortel will be opening a conformance centre in Harlow for hardware and
   software suppliers who are interested in certifying their products for
   use in this new service.

   Nortel had a 1996 turnover of $US 3 billion in Europe, operating both
   independently and through its joint ventures with the Lagardere Group
   in France (Matra Communications and Nortel Matra Cellular), Olivetti
   Spa in Italy (Sixtel) and Daimler-Benz Aerospace AG in Germany (Nortel
   Dasa Network Systems). The company employs approximately 16,000 people
   across Europe in Research and Development, manufacturing and sales.

   Nortel works with customers world-wide to design, build and integrate
   digital networks - for information, entertainment, education and
   business - offering one of the broadest choices of network solutions
   in the industry. Nortel had 1996 revenues of $US 12.8 billion and has
   approximately 68,000 employees world wide.

   NORWEB Communications, part of United Utilities plc, provides an
   extensive range of advanced voice and data services and has achieved
   significant success in providing resilient networks for businesses
   throughout the north west. The company plans to use power line
   technology to provide public access networks for residential customers
   in the region.

   United Utilities has a combined capability in electricity, gas and
   telecoms. This new technology will strengthen its competitiveness as a
   multi-utility service provider.

                               [...]

   © copyright NORWEB plc 1997