Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Good News From The High-Speed Networking Front

Posted by timothy on from the two-scoops-of-bits dept.

Degrees writes "Over at Small Times there is an article about two Danish companies that want to make deploying fiber optic lines easier with MEMS-based packaging technology. (MEMS is Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems - described here). Also mentioned is that the big three U.S. telcos are working on fiber to the home plans." And punkmac points to this eWeek article which begins "An Intel Corp. backed startup, SolarFlare Communications Inc. said Monday that it has developed a working prototype of a chip that will permit 10G-bps communications over standard CAT5e copper wiring. SolarFlare's chip will be used as evidence that 10G-bit over copper can be done, in anticipation of a draft IEEE standard to be developed later this year."

2 of 175 comments (clear)

  1. Cool but... by DR+SoB · · Score: 4, Interesting

    "SolarFlare's chip will be used as evidence that 10G-bit over copper can be done, in anticipation of a draft IEEE standard to be developed later this year." "

    Copper breaks down to easy, picks up to much interference, and is no good maintaining the speed over longer distances. They should concentrate on new technology instead of constantly trying to upgrade the old, now matter how much work you put into a '68 Mustang, it's always going to weigh a ton...

    --
    Mod +5 Drunk
  2. Re:Sign me up! by ivan256 · · Score: 4, Interesting

    That's funny, I'm quite pleased with the SLA I have with Worldcom, and quite turned off by the lack of SLA with any non telco options.

    There's a difference between DSL and shitty DSL. Pick a company that *guarantees* the quality.

    Now, if this stuff they're planning involves any encapsulation like PPPoE, or any "value added" services beyond a gateway and a block of static IP addresses, they can keep it, but I'd much prefer the phone company over the cable company any day otherwise. It's a lesser of two evils thing. When the phone company sells you something, you get what they sold you. Cable companies have a habit of changing the service you signed up for on a whim, and regularly. That combined the willingness to take responsibilty for problems (provided you pay for the right agreements) makes the phone company a no-brainer choice between those two options.