DSLCON: Session M301

1. DSLCON: Session M301 Judith Hellerstein, President Hellerstein & Associates 2400 Virginia Avenue NW, Suite 1023C Washington, DC 20037 Phone: (202) 333-6517 Fax: (509) 355-9792 Judithh@jhellerstein.com www.jhellerstein.com The Future of DSL

2. Overview • Review the obstacles the industry faces on the road to successful DSL deployment in the mass market • Standards-based DSL • Interoperability • Spectrum Management • Customer service and technical support challenges • Automated provisioning and flow through of all orders • Limitations posed by Digital Loop Carriers • DSL in a Box: Getting to True Plug-N-Play • Results of IEC/Hellerstein & Associates Broadband Access Survey

3. Standards Based DSL • Benefits of using a standards-based DSL • Lack of standards leads to market fragmentation, low volumes, and high cost • Promotes interoperability of DSL technologies and devices and leads to increased customer choice • Allows the market to provide more product and supplier alternatives than possible without a standard • Helps focus industry on resolving other challenges necessary to reach mass deployment • Lowers costs to suppliers and to consumers • Increases choice of providers and greater selection of products

4. Standards Based DSL Variants • Asymmetric and Symmetric • ADSL and G.Lite • HDSL2 and G. Shdsl

5. Standards Based DSL Variants (continued) • G.Shdsl • Emerging ITU standard,decision expected by Feb 2001 • Spectrally compatible with ADSL and other technologies • Rate adaptive form of HDSL2 • Longer reach • Single pair (2 wire) • Speeds from 324K to 2.3 Mbps • HDSL2 • ITU decision on standard expected by the end of 2000 • An improved version of HDSL that requires only one copper pair • Symmetric solution that is spectrally compatible with ADSL • Superior reach, up to 24,000 feet

6. Interoperability • Interoperability is key, both among different DSL technologies and among equipment providers • Two key groups have played important roles in promoting Interoperability • DSL Forum • A non-profit organization of over 300 companies representing all of the leading stakeholders in DSL • Interoperability demonstrations at SuperCom • University of New Hampshire’s Interoperability lab • Both hold frequent plugfests to test interoperability of equipment and technology amongst a large collection of companies in the same room • University of New Hampshire (UNH) Interoperability Lab hosts two DSL consortiums: ADSL and HDSL2 http://www.iol.unh.edu/consortiums/index.html

7. DSL Forum • DSL Forum Interoperability Working Group and the UNH Interoperability Lab hold frequent plugfests • G8 Interoperability Group 8, Members working to develop a long term framework for accelerating interoperability and providing leadership at ongoing plugfests • Initial focus is on G.Lite and Full rate ADSL • Developed a framework for facilitating interoperability and driving towards certification • Testing is currently taking place on an accelerated schedule

8. Interoperability • Interoperability is a critical first step in getting to certification • Next service providers need to provide their deployment models so that products can be tested and certified. • Deployment Council • Newest group, just was launched a the recent DSL Forum Meeting in Dublin

9. Spectrum Compatibility and Management • Along with Interoperability, Spectrum Compatibility and Management is a crucial issue that needs to be addressed • Development of spectrum compatibility standards is essential to reduce cross talk and other forms of spectrum interference • Recent FCC Rulings on Spectrum Compatibility and Management • Definition of spectrum compatibility and spectrum management as well as other key terms, such as “significantly degrade”. • Spectrum compatibility is defined as the ability of a loop technology to reside and operate in the same or adjacent binder group as another loop technology • Spectrum Management is defined as the administration of the loop plant, to prevent harmful interference between services and technologies that use pairs in the same cable. • FCC defined significantly degrade as any action that noticeably impairs a service from a user’s perspective.

10. Spectrum Compatibility and Management (continued) • FCC Order sets the ground rules for spectrum compatibility and management but defers to the T1E1.4 Committee of ANSI to create spectrum compatibility standards and management practices • The Network Reliability and Interoperability Council (NRIC) was charged with advising the FCC and offering recommendations of the necessary policy changes the FCC must make

11. Overcoming the Obstacles to a Bright Future • Self Installation • Automated provisioning systems and processes • Flow through of all orders for every provider whether CLEC, DLEC, ILEC, or ISP • Provide customer and technical support personnel with all the tools needed to resolve problems

12. Customer Service and Technical Support • Customer Service and Technical Support • Provide service reps with the information, training, and access to resources to help them do their job and to troubleshoot • Answer the phones quickly • Reduce time customers spend waiting to speak with a technician to less than five minutes • Follow through with all customer requests • Better tracking of all orders • Notify consumers of all actions that affect deployment of DSL • Stop the blame game--Take responsibility

13. Overcoming the Obstacles to a Bright Future (continued) • Digital Loop Carriers • Today over 50% of all US households are either served through a DLC or are too far from the Central Office • DLC History • First Generation DLCs, including pre-first generation UDLCs, began to be deployed in the 1980s and early 1990s • Next Generation DLCs began to be deployed in the early 1990s • New Remote Terminals are just beginning to be deployed today.

14. Overcoming the Obstacles to a Bright Future: DLC • What solutions are available to reach these people served through a DLC • Upgrading existing DLCs to the Next Generation DLCs that can offer DSL service as SBC is doing under Project Pronto • SBC is decreasing loop length by having 80% of all consumers no further than 12,000 feet from the CO, sometimes even as low as 9,000 feet • SBC hopes to be able to serve 80% of all customers once it completes its upgrades • Attaching mini-rams to existing DLCs • Collocation in existing and in adjacent structures • Virtual collocation

15. Overcoming the Obstacles to a Bright Future: DLC (continued) • Regulatory issues concerning the ability of competitors to collocate in or adjacent to a remote terminal

16. DSL in the Box: Getting to True Plug-N-Play • OpenDSL Consortium formed in August 2000 • New group spearheaded by Cisco & composed of DSL equipment and chip manufacturers, system integrators, and service providers whose goal is to simplify and expedite DSL installations and make equipment interoperable • Focus on self installation thereby avoiding expensive truck rolls • Getting to true plug and play • Automate CPE configuration, network elements, and setup process • Make customer installs and set-ups of modems and routers easy and simple • Ability to switch service providers without need to purchase new modem • OpenDSL Certification Program and Lab • Place where vendors can test their equipment for interoperability and to ensure true plug and play • Third party certification of equipment offered on site

17. Infrastructure Changes • Broadband access is not only about plumbing, ie, providing the pipes to carry the traffic, it is about: • Applications that generate extra revenue for suppliers • New content delivery models • Formation of partnerships between website owners and content delivery providers • Ability to dynamically create and display information on websites based on the type of connection (narrowband or broadband) or device accessing the information (PC, mobile phone, PDA, or other Internet appliance) without user/customer intervention • Revamping of Web sites to design and format them for the high bandwidth user

18. Infrastructure Changes (continued) • Entertainment • Video on demand partnership between Enron and Blockbuster with other service providers • Video on demand partnership with Intertainer • Interactive sports and gaming • Emergence of Peer-to-Peer Networking • Napster, Gnutella, Hotline • The creation of a whole new broadband lifestyle

19. Applications • Voice Over DSL • Provides users with 16 extra phone lines • Lines can be added dynamically as the need arises • Multimedia • Video conferences, Training, Streaming Video Productions • Entertainment (Music, Games, Movies) • Music Downloads (Napster, labels, and record stores) • Online Interactive Gaming • Video On Demand (Enron/Blockbuster deal) • Sports • Programming such as can seen on Quokka.com

20. Results of IEC/Hellerstein & Associates Broadband Access Survey • Broadband Access Survey taken by Participants at the 2000 DSL ComForum • DSL Focus Group held at the IEC 2000 DSL ComForum • Survey Findings • Majority of respondents believed that DSL will not be widely deployed within five years • 75% of respondents see DSL as an intermediate bridge to more advanced broadband transmissions technologies.

21. Conclusion • Explained the Benefits Gained Through Using Standards-based DSL • The critical need for interoperability and spectrum management • Importance of Getting to True Plug and Play • Obstacles remaining to a bright future • Infrastructure Changes Created Broadband Deployments and Penetration • Results of IEC/Hellerstein & Associates Broadband Access Survey

22. Questions, Comments, Suggestions? Judith Hellerstein, President Hellerstein & Associates 2400 Virginia Avenue NW Washington, DC 20037 Phone: (202) 333-6517 Fax: (509) 355-9792 Judith@jhellerstein.com www.jhellerstein.com Thank You