Verizon Tests 10 Gbps to Home

Verizon says it has managed to push 10 gigabits per second through its FiOS trunking network, including 2 gigabit per second service to a customer’s house with two simultaneously-used PCs.


The XG-PON field trial connected a FiOS customer location with 10 gigabits per second downstream to the home and 2.5 Gbps upstream.

The test demonstrates the capability of the Verizon's FiOS network to accommodate a wide array of new and emerging video services and the growing demand for streaming video content and other bandwidth-intensive applications.

The latest field trial was conducted in May in Taunton, Mass., with a XG-PON system developed by Motorola, a supplier of BPON and GPON optical networking equipment to Verizon.

At the customer's home, the optical network terminal (ONT) received the 10/2.5 Gbps feed and used two data communication ports to simultaneously provide transmission speeds of close to 1 Gbps to each of two PCs inside the home. Combined, the two ports delivered approximately 1.85 Gbps in aggregate bandwidth in each direction.

Tests were designed to simulate what two different customers might experience while using their PCs to download, upload or share files to the Internet when served by a 10G PON system.  In addition, speed tests were performed to Verizon's speed test server located more than 400 miles away in Reston, Va., realized speeds of up to 915 Mbps between the PC and the speed test server.

"XG-PON can provide the capacity needed to support the explosive growth in bandwidth envisioned for new and emerging services such as 3DTV and Ultra HD TV, and the growing demand for streaming video content to the PC and TV, as well as the increased use of concurrent applications," said Vincent O'Byrne, director of technology for Verizon's FTTP architecture and design effort.


Verizon trumpeted the test as proof that its gamble on building out a large fiber-optic network will pay off in the future, as user needs for bandwidth outstrip the capabilities of cable and DSL.

The test appears aimed to reassure investors that Verizon made the right decision to deploy the fiber-to-home network, and to assure observers that Verizon can keep up with any new bandwidth initiatives cable competitors may deploy.

Verizon Pushes 10 Gbps Through Fiber Network | Epicenter�| Wired.com

FaceTime Would Crash Mobile Cell Sites

At 667 Kbps, just 20 FaceTime users would saturate a 14 Mbps HSPA based 3G cell even if one assumes no scarcity at the base station backhaul, and that every user was in perfect range operating at the peak transmission/receive rates, and that there was no other traffic on the network.

That's why FaceTime is limited to Wi-Fi operation.

Digital Society � Blog Archive � Estimate of network bandwidth for iPhone 4 FaceTime

Where are the Broadband Apps?

Some people probably just can’t understand why more than 70 percent of Americans are happy with their existing broadband service. The usual explanation for this state of affairs (besides blaming people for being "dumb") is that there are no applications driving consumer demand because broadband is too slow to allow for higher bandwidth applications.

Experience from markets where 10 Mbps to 100 Mbps service is available suggest it is applications that lag, even when bandwidth is not a particular problem. After 10 years, what truly important applications have developed in markets such as South Korea, for example? You might point to gaming or video on demand.

But some of us would argue those are relatively trivial innovations. They don't seem to change a nation's productivity, and neither of those apps are "new" things we hadn't thought of before.

With over 40 million broadband homes since 2008 with more than 6 Mbps of connectivity, one would expect that there would be more applications that require and thrive at 6 Mbps, some would argue. There arguably are new things people do that involve piracy (content), and there might be some premium subscription services that have at least some penetration.

Don't get me wrong; it is entertaining to watch YouTube or Hulu. I'm just not sure that was what we generally had in mind when we have argued that huge pipes would lead to all sorts of interesting and socially or economically useful new developments. New ways to watch television are interesting to lots of people and companies, to be sure.

But was that what you had in mind?

Digital Society � Blog Archive � Reality check – Americans like their broadband service

Google Wins Copyright Suit Over YouTube Video

Google has successfully defended itself from a 2007 lawsuit filed by Viacom, alleging that Google's ouTube operation was guilty of copyright infringment by allowing users to post 160,000 unauthorized clips on YouTube, and that those clips had been viewed 1.5 billion times.

Viacom, the parent company of MTV, Comedy Central, and Paramount Pictures, filed the $1 billion lawsuit in March 2007. Google argued it was protected under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998, the law that protects Internet service providers from the illegal sharing of copyrighted material among their users, if the service providers agree to take down offending material when notified by copyright holders.

The court granted Google's motion for summary judgment,  meaning that YouTube is protected by the safe harbor of the Digital Millenium Copyright Act against claims of copyright infringement. The decision follows established judicial consensus that online services like YouTube are protected when they work cooperatively with copyright holders to help them manage their rights online.

Not surprisingly, Google General Counsel Kent Walker says the ruling is a victory for consumers.

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160,000 Androids A Day

Google's Andy Rubin says 160,000 Android devices are being activated every day, up from 100,000 a day in May. Apps in the Android Market also are up to 68,000 or so.

160,000 Android devices being activated every day; 68,000 apps in Market | Android Central

Droid X Released by Verizon and Motorola

Verizon Wireless and Motorola have launched the Droid X, featuring a 1GHz processor; 4.3-inch screen, 3G Mobile HotSpot capabilities, dual-flash, 8-megapixel camera, HD camcorder and access to Android Market, which now has more than 65,000 applications.

DROID X by Motorola will be available at www.verizonwireless.com and in Verizon Wireless Communications Stores beginning July 15 for $199.99 after a $100 mail-in rebate with a new two-year customer agreement.

Motorola Media Center - Press Releases - July 2010: DROID X By Motorola Lands On The Nation's Largest & Most Reliable 3G Network

GOAL!!!! USA Advances to Final 16 Round at World Cup