As cable modems slowly creep across the land in search of cable-TV systems advanced enough to handle them, US West Media Group's MediaOne unit has upped the ante for all players by deploying a national fiber backbone that uses only Internet protocols.
The idea is that everything from the latest software download to a conversation with grandma could be seamlessly comingled on the same fiber. MediaOne claims the system eventually will drive a high-speed bit bonanza that will bounce voice, video, and data communications over one system without having to juggle several protocols and switch technologies along the way.
MediaOne uses an entirely IP-based synchronous optical network (SONET) rather than the more traditional asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) switching method used by several other backbones. The alleged result is a "very robust and manageable protocol" that allows for easier and more efficient traffic management, said Paul Bosco, MediaOne's senior vice president for Internet products and technology.
MediaOne, which had been Continental Cablevision before it merged with US West Media Group last year, has touted its new network as a way to link together its major clusters in parts of Florida and in the suburbs of Chicago, Detroit, Atlanta, Los Angeles, and Boston. The project has high priority. Indeed, US West was so concerned about disrupting the operations of MediaOne's high-speed data unit - or losing members of its staff - that it allowed the unit to stay in Boston, while all other MediaOne employees learned they were to relocate to Denver.
While the concept of linking regional hubs with long-haul fiber isn't new, MediaOne's Internet-centric approach is unique and has drawn its share of criticism. Robert Hoskins, a technology spokesman at MCI Communications, acknowledged that MediaOne's SONET strategy is "simpler ... It might be good for them." But he maintained that MCI's ATM-based backbone - which relies heavily on more traditional switching technologies used for standard telephony applications - has more flexibility to manage heavy traffic during peak usage times.
MediaOne remains undeterred. Bosco said that while the company will use its backbone in the short term for its strictly PC-based cable-modem service (branded as MediaOne Express), it plans to integrate IP-based applications into its traditional cable service as well. Eventually, all the interactive fare that cable companies have been hyping for the past three years may come to fruition with the Internet's help, he said.
In fact, he said MediaOne is "trialing, quietly" news-on-demand features using the audio/video streaming products of VDONet and Progressive Networks. In Boston, for example, MediaOne Express customers can view video clips from the New England Cable News, a local cable-TV news channel funded by MediaOne and the Hearst Corp.
Absent in MediaOne's equation is the @Home Network, the high-speed Internet service that has created its own ATM-based network and also leases long-haul fiber. An @Home spokeswoman said the company hasn't made any decisions on whether to partner with MediaOne.
Still, MediaOne is optimistic. "We believe there are many highly synergistic opportunities to collaborate," Bosco said of @Home and other such ventures. "The more we work together, the more we develop deep productive relationships."
But Bosco said that while @Home is focused on PC-based applications, MediaOne plans to eventually integrate MediaOne Express' IP-based services into more traditional cable-TV services to create an interactive platform.
The next step would be to offer "content bundles" of Internet, TV, and data services in which greater reliability and bandwidth might fetch higher subscription fees, he said. But Bosco said the ultimate goal is to create a high-speed platform through which customers could access the network from a TV, a PC, or even a wireless laptop modem. "We've got to be able to provide them with one environment," he said.
MediaOne plans to get some of this going over the next six months, although much remains close to the vest for now. The company is leasing long-haul fiber from several undisclosed companies, with plans to permanently partner with one of them within the next three to six months, Bosco said. At that point, several possibilities ensue, including using the network to help other cable operators aggregate their high-speed data traffic.
