Telstra Broadband Internet Access

[Steven Byrne]

At 12:39 96/09/12, George Bray wrote:

>A few calls revealed they are using LANCity cable modems with
>downstream capacity of 10Mbps and upstream of 19.2Kbps. The service
>will be available to other areas beginning next year. The delays are
>due to cable modem unavailability.

I don't think the upstream capability will be only 19.2Kbps. It would 
be too perverse, even for Telstra, to introduce such an asymmetrical 
data rate with this product line. 10Mbps downstream/ 1.5Mbps upstream 
would be more like it. 

But here's the information I could find out on the subject.

After a few on-line enquiries, it looks like Telstra will be using
the new LANcity (acquired by Bay Networks on the 4th of September
1996, by the way) LCX 4th generation cable modem, not the LANcity
LCP cable modem currently deployed in a variety of trials around the 
world. 

LCX will be commercially available in October, and unlike the LCP
cable modem, which offers a nice symmetrical data rate of 10Mbps
upstream/ downstream, LCX does offer an *asymmetrical* data rate
that conforms to the initial Multimedia Cable Network System Partners
Ltd. (MCNS) specifications. 

But exactly how it implements them, and at what exact datarate, I
couldn't find out. But I really do doubt that it would be anything
like 19.2k - I can't see any reason why would it need to, in any
technical or marketing sense. Especially with the news announced this
week that Boca, Hayes etc and other modem makers are soon to be
introducing analog modems based on Rockwell's new modem chipset that
will allow *56 kbps* over POTS.

(see http://www.businesswire.com/yesterday/167542.htm )

As Broadband Bob says:

( http://www.tezcat.com/~chicago/commentary/index.html#lancity )

"LANcity's direction with LCX may hurt them. The new modem will be
assymetrical, which will be released at a time when the industry is
finally shifting support back to a symmetrical design. However, they
are following the word from MCNS which is assymetrical at the moment,
and LANcity's compliance is understandable. "

I have a call in to the Telstra PR machine on this. If I get a call 
back from them, I will update the list.

Cheers

Steven Byrne

no longer with CIN or the public service

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