Bearing out reports last week that a major cross-industry consortium of PC and telephone companies would unite to promote a standard for the quick deployment of digital subscriber line technology, the so-called Universal ADSL Working Group (UAWG) became a reality today, adopting the acceleration of ADSL's mass deployment as its debut theme.
ADSL offers a way to deliver data to homes at rates of up to 25 times faster than today's modem technologies.
The industry group, which includes Compaq, Intel, and Microsoft from the PC world - plus telecommunications companies like Ameritech, Bell Atlantic, BellSouth, GTE, SBC Communications, Sprint, and others - plans to propose a simplified version of ADSL (Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line). The standard will comply with an expected interoperable DSL standard from the International Telecommunications Union (ITU).
ADSL has been touted as an efficient means of delivering high-speed Internet services to consumer homes over standard copper phone lines.
The UAWG says its proposed standard reduces the complexity of ADSL installation by eliminating the need for new wiring at the user's home, making the deployment of its so-called "Universal ADSL" more cost-effective for phone companies.
Universal ADSL will also be compatible with and complementary to higher-speed ADSL technologies, the group said.
Other companies joining the group include Lucent Technologies, Cisco Systems, Ericsson Telecom, Lucent Technologies, MCI, Nortel, Rockwell Semiconductor, Siemens, Texas Instruments, and Westell Technologies - with still others openly invited to join.
"With PC, networking, and telecommunications industry leaders joining together, we have a powerful alliance to propose to the ITU a broad-based specification for high-speed network access," said John Cahill, executive director at BellSouth and co-chair of the UAWG, in the group's statement. "This represents a major evolution of the Internet to become an essential source of consumer information, entertainment and commerce."
