Ethernet won (was: RE: [funsec] Not so fast, broadband...)

Wed Mar 14 15:50:19 UTC 2007

Thus spake <bmanning at karoshi.com>
> perhaps not.  but there is a real issue w/ the number
> of businesses that operate from the home (according to
> some numbers this is as high as 65% of all US business)
> and the telcos still retain a mindset of business areas
> and residential areas.  It is not possible to get some
> "business services" deployed in a "residential" area.
...
> persuading a telco, one home-based business at a time,
> that regardless of the zoning - there are really 65% of
> those apartments running businesses and want business-class
> services is an exercise in futility.

It depends what "business" services you mean.  If you want a T1 or SONET 
pipe, yeah, you're going to hit a serious wall even if the fiber runs 
through your property.

However, most telcos have "business" DSL and "residential" DSL, and the 
physical layer is the same (ditto for cable, all the way back to @Home vs 
@Work).  The only differences are the AUP, the price tag, and the ability to 
get static IPs.  Expect to pay 2-3x for the same bit rate; higher bitrates 
may be available with "business" service, but the upload rates still suck 
because their gear is designed for consumers.  Sticking with "residential" 
service for your home office will pay for basic server colo space somewhere 
else, and you'll get more for your money.

S

Stephen Sprunk      "Those people who think they know everything
CCIE #3723         are a great annoyance to those of us who do."
K5SSS                                             --Isaac Asimov 