If you've had trouble figuring out the differences in service and pricing structure between ADSL and cable modems, dial-up and broadband, and HOT vs. YES, well, all I can tell you is to prepare a couple of ibuprofen before you get too involved in reading this – for the inevitable headache that is sure to result.
That's right, folks – they're changing the technology yet again. The current range of download speeds available for both cable and DSL/ADSL modems (Bezeq is currently selling 2.5 Mbps) isn't sufficient for the Next Big Thing, which is video or TV on demand. So, the people in charge of these things – phone and cable companies, international consortia of various shapes and sizes, and, of course, the Marketing Department – went back to the drawing board and came up with a bunch of new technological candidates that will provide a faster, easier, and smoother access to all things digital, including video, data and voice systems. The new converged systems will replace the current un-converged digital technologies, as well as require the hapless citizenry to learn a whole new bunch of acronyms.
FTTH might prove a tad too expensive for a company like Bezeq (Verizon has reportedly earmarked as much as $20 billion for its upgrade campaign). Instead, it might use a less-intensive - and less expensive - but still effective version of home fiber optic technology, called FTTC (Fiber to the Curb) or FTTN (Fiber to the Neighborhood), which would alleviate the need and expense of upgrading the wiring in customers' homes.
As the names imply, FTTC and FTTN entail rewiring main phone lines with fiber, replacing existing copper transmission networks with new cables capable of high speed digital transmission. How does the high speed stuff get to customers' homes? Well, both technologies will require customers to upgrade their modems to VDSL (Very High Rate DSL) capable devices. VDSL will work on existing copper wire systems, providing download/upload rates as high as 52/16 Mbp – nearly seven times faster than ADSL.