Very Ultra DSL, really soon.

In the hope of having happier thoughts : the Globe and Mail, Globetechnology reports on "Broadband at warp speed"

Using 2 new upgraded technologies BCI (Bell Canada) hope to provide 16 megabits a second in early 2004, and 22 mbps as early as next year. Currently Sympatico's Ultra service does ~ 3 Mb down (and 600 Kbp up). The the local Cable company (Rogers) is also testing service at like speeds.

The How is two new technologies now ready for rollout. The first is OPI-DSLAM, which is a device that sits at the other end of the DSL system used by Bell through its Sympatico Internet service; it replaces the older DSLAM, which is limited to about six megabits a second. The second is the Nortel 6500, a technology that can deliver and manage fibre optic lines close enough to the home to realize superhigh speeds.

I found a older reference to the OPI DSLAM here:Reaching Farther With DSL dated from Oct 2002 and talks about proposed "fibre to the neighbourhood" (FTTN) initiatives and the related challenges. Here's more info on the Nortel Networks Optical Multiservice Edge 6500

I'm already 200 feet away from a central switch. If they ever run the fiber above ground, I suspect that I'd be out that night tapping it.

22 mpbs is very good. However, how many TV signals could I stream at a time over that? I wonder how much brandwidth a single channel needs? (leaving aside issues on the Server, Caching, etc.) Hopeful I'll get a change to use their Video on Demand soon.

Now they need to come up with a good marketing name, if they don't just keep "Ultra" as the high end.

On a related note: IP World show coming to Toronto in the fall