Microsoft offering xDSL access

Fri Jan 23 20:02:14 UTC 1998

On Fri, 23 Jan 1998, ^Faust^ wrote:

> Geoff White wrote:
> 
> > Well my understanding here in PacBell/SBC land is that the way it will
> > work, (this comes from someone who made a naieve inquiry to another
> > equally naieve saleperson at PacBell/SBC), is that you need to connect to
> > PacBell's ATM backbone in order to order xDSL (the person just wanted to
> > connect from their home to the office), when I heard this I though it was
> > totally absurd but the truth, as they say is far stranger :)
> 
> Why is this absurd? You think coolocating routers at COs is less absurd?
> Aggregating DSL traffic in a DSLAM and pumping it out via ATM is the
> right way to do things.
>

No it was absurd because my friend just wanted to run two adsl "modems"
between his office and home on copper. He was told that to do that he
needed to connect to PacBell's ATM backbone, that's whats absurd.

> (If I totally misunderstood and you are saying that using *ATM* is absurd, then

see above
> don't bother to reply. I'm an atheist.)
> 
> > What the salesguy was saying but (he really didn't know it) and what I
> > found out from a little digging is that PacBell's intent is to only sell
> > xDSl to CLECs ! So then it all makes sense, you need a router that
> > connects to their ATM cloud, then they just route the traffic from their
> > copper on over to your routers and presto! You are an xDSL enabled ISP!
> 
> This is crap. Covad, Brainstorm, DNAI, etc. are CLECs?! I don't think so. Yet
> they seem to be able to offer xDSL using P*B.
>

not yet, but I bet in two years time they wiil be (or will be going out of
business) 

When we started InterNex P*B didn't offer ISDN either, now try to make
money on that type of connectivity in the Bay Area.