January 26, 1998 Plug-And-Play DSL Compaq, Bells, others work to set standard for modems, software By Mary E. Thyfault ompaq, Intel, and Microsoft are working with four of the five Bell companies and GTE to develop a standard for plug-and-play Digital Subscriber Line software and modems. The goal: to drive down DSL prices and make these products widely available by year's end. DSL is designed to give remote or home users high-speed access to cor- porate networks or the Internet via the phone company's current copper network. It operates at speeds ranging from 128 Kbps to 6 Mbps. But high costs for DSL modems and software and the lack of a standard implementation have held back the market. It now costs as much as $500 per line to deploy the technology. One reason: Telephone companies mus t send technicians to a customer's location to install the DSL equipment. Both the Compaq-led consortium and a separate effort by vendor Paradyne Corp. aim to develop DSL modems that customers will be able to plug into their current phone jacks, thereby cutting costs. Dataquest analyst Tim McElgunn expects the price of modems based on the Compaq standard to come in between $100 and $300, but even that price point, he says, might be too high for value-added resellers that need to add modems to PCs "for as close to free as possible." Paradyne, in Largo, Fla., says its Multiple Virtual Line modems, to be available in March, will be priced at $299 by year's end. The modems will operate at 768 Kbps in both directions. Paradyne designed MVL specifically for data, shedding much of the overhead in the original DSL standard. Paradyne says MVL equipment uses 10% of the digital signal processing power of current DSL equipment, enabli ng carriers to put more lines in their switching offices. While some industry analysts say the Compaq and Paradyne initiatives appear to compete, Paradyne VP Frank Wiener says the standards will work together. Likewise, a goal of the Compaq consortium is to make different brands of DSL equipment interoperate. But analysts note that for the market to really take off, telecom carriers must be more aggressive in rolling out DSL services. US West offers DSL services in Phoe- nix, charging $200 for installation and $40 per month for usage. Most of the Bells and GTE are testing DSL services. "Getting Microsoft, Intel, and Compaq into the equation will help speed things up," says Beth Gage, an analyst with TeleChoice Inc. "But really, it all comes down to service providers." Back to News in Review Send Us Your Feedback Top of the Page

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