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Re: [PLUG] Cable modem in Philly
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> On Tue, 26 Sep 2000, Sandhitsu R Das wrote:
> > I need some recommendations on Linux-friendly cable modem providers in the
> > Philadelphia area. Any pointers ?
>
> Generally with cablemodem, you are stuck with whomever your cable
> provider is, and if or if not they have cable modem access in your
> area. Although RCN is making moves to move in to the Philadelphia area
> and break Comcast's monopoly --they would probably still have to set up
> their own network.. which would take quite a long while. . it's something
> to keep your eyes on, to contact the city council, rcn, or whatever about
> to help lend support/make it easier for them..
>
Several major points here.
Today, Cable Modems are a worse choice than DSL.
Why? Because as is mentioned above, Cable modems ARE monopolies!
Not only are you limited in availability by the physical Cable TV provider
in your area, but once that Cable Operator decides to offer Cable Modem
service, you are stuck with them as your ISP, like it or not. I don't know
of any cable operator offering any options.
In almost every franchise area in Philadelphia, @home is the option where
you have "real" Cable modem service - two-way (theoretically 10meg up and
down). Several franchises offer fast down and dial-up up - one way.
The problem I, and several others are seeing with @home is that they are
incapable of providing the advertised capacity. This is the reason they
are making such a big deal over their new "acceptable use policy."
(Basically, you can't use @home for anything other than down-loading
web pages one at a time. You are now prohibited from doing things like
what every Mac user knows as "Personal File Sharing" or "Personal Web
Serving." Similarly, you are prohibited from running ANY kind of "home
network" using NAT behind the one address they give you. And you are
prohibited from using your home computer as an endpoint in a VPC to your
office network. These things ARE being enforced by constant monitoring by
@home. It is a very interesting situation developing. [@home's excuse is
that you have to subscribe to @work for all these "features," but people in
the know are saying -- yeah, the pricing is made very high (some say
un-competitive) to conserve their non-existent bandwidth.
While Cable modem performance is "usually" better than xDSL, just as xDSL
is better than dial-up; neither service lives up to its advertising claims
(even when weasel-worded with the phrase "up to"). This may all be growing
pains which are simply magnified because of the utter inability of the
communications industry to accurately estimate demand and customer
expectations (or believe those who have been accurate).
All in all it will be very interesting to watch how this shakes out.
All that being said..... If you live in Urban Cable/Time-Warner-ville...
basically Wade Cable's old franchise area, nominally University City, West
and North Philadelphia... Time Warner (literally last week) just began
rolling out their Digital Cable television service starting at 40th street
and moving West. Sometime in the Spring (according to current "best
guesses") they will be offering Cable Modem service.
I have used the term "they" because the offering will be directly
influenced by the AOL/Time Warner merger and the actions of both the
European Union (which currently opposes the merger) and the FTC/FCC, who
are currently neutral on the merger.
The two primary events are concessions being granted by AOL/TW to the ECC
(and the FCC/FTC is basically letting the ECC be the heavy here), and
the date of the actual merger.
The two concessions (and the FCC/FTC is expected to want these in writing,
as opposed to their current "voluntary concession" status) are,
unrestricted ISP access and divestiture of certain "over concentrated"
components.
The unrestricted IPS access issue is the most important, and it is the one
which has the most significant impact on the Internet backbone providers.
Currently all of the Backbone providers charge "little guys" to carry
traffic but "peer" with their buddies for free. Most "smaller"
international carriers (read little countries) are forced to pay for their
backbone interchange connectivity while MCI/UUnet/Sprint, etc get it for
free. If AOL is forced to become a "common carrier" - allowing open access
to all comers, this issue of who pays whom for what will undoubtedly be
part and parcel of the whole thing. As the world's largest ISP, AOL is
right in the sights on this one.... it's quite interesting.
Time Warner currently uses @home as both their ISP and Cable Modem
technology, while AOL evidently uses (owns?) Road Runner.
Curiouser and curiouser....
--
www.tru64unix.compaq.com
www.tru64.org
comp.unix.tru64
T.T.F.N.
William H. Magill Senior Systems Administrator
Information Services and Computing (ISC) University of Pennsylvania
Internet: magill@isc.upenn.edu magill@acm.org
http://www.isc-net.upenn.edu/~magill/
______________________________________________________________________
Philadelphia Linux Users Group - http://www.phillylinux.org
Announcements-http://lists.phillylinux.org/mail/listinfo/plug-announce
General Discussion - http://lists.phillylinux.org/mail/listinfo/plug
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