1-Meg Modem

The 1-Meg Modem in telecommunications was[1] a DSL modem created by Nortel which conforms to the ADSL Lite standard.[2] The 1-Meg Modem was the first xDSL modem to gain approval and registration under FCC Part 68 Rules.[3]

History

At the time the modem was released on August 8, 1997,[4] telephone companies were fearing competition from cable modems. However, early DSL technology was too costly for wide deployment. By October 1998 Nortel claimed more than $1 billion in sales which, in their words, had "the potential for more than one million end-user lines."[5] The modems were originally tested at Northern Illinois University dormitories and worked well even though the school's wiring was relatively old.[6][7]

Description

The 1-Meg Modem can be deployed up to 18,000 feet (5,500 m) from the central office providing a downstream bit rate of 960 kilobits per second (kbit/s) and a maximum upstream rate of 120 kbit/s over 24 gauge wire. The second generation could achieve a transfer rate of 1280 kbit/s downstream and 320 kbit/s upstream.[8] Unlike most ADSL modems which use Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) virtual circuits to carry data, the 1-Meg Modem used Ethernet which makes the product easy for most residential users to install themselves but ill-suited for applications that require quality of service to be enforced. At the telephone company switch the installation was relatively simple when the switch was a Nortel DMS Switch.[9] The customer's line card must be swapped with a line card that supported the 1-Meg Modem, and also a card must be added to the drawer that would manage all data from the 1-Meg Modem cards in the drawer.[citation needed]

See also

References

  1. ^ "1 Meg Modem End of Life". Archived from the original on July 14, 2011. Retrieved April 20, 2009.
  2. ^ "Highspeed Alternatives—DSL". ModemHelp.Org. Archived from the original on July 18, 2006. Retrieved August 6, 2006.
  3. ^ NORTEL NETWORKS: Nortel Networks' 1-Meg Modem re receives FCC Part 68 Rules approval and registration
  4. ^ "Nortel (Northern Telecom) Launches Mass-Market High-Speed Internet Solution". www.prnewswire.com. Retrieved March 13, 2017.
  5. ^ "Nortel Networks Expands 1-Meg Modem CPE Portfolio" (Press release). Nortel Networks. October 21, 1998. Retrieved October 18, 2006.
  6. ^ Carter, Wayne (October 20, 1997). "Nortel fills gap between analog, DSL: New 1-Meg Modem promises affordable high-speed access". Telephony Online. Retrieved August 6, 2006.
  7. ^ Austen, Ian (April 30, 1998). "Modem 'Lite' Offers Fast Web Access at Low Rates". The New York Times. Retrieved May 23, 2008.
  8. ^ "Nortel 1-Meg Modem: Next Generation Data Access" (PDF). Nortel Networks. July 1998. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 3, 2006. Retrieved June 23, 2006.
  9. ^ LaBarba, Liane H. (April 9, 2001). "DSL Breaks the Rural Barrier". Telephony Online. Retrieved August 6, 2006.