Residential Subscribers Research Articles

An engineering and policy analysis of fiber introduction into the residential subscriber loop

An engineering model which provides a framework for evaluating alternative network architectures for providing fiber to the home is presented. The analysis employs this model to construct estimates of the average cost per subscriber of several network alternatives which have been proposed in the literature. The results identify two possible network architectures, the active double star and the passive double star, as particularly attractive alternatives. Sensitivity analyses provide detail on the critical contributors to overall costs. Several policy issues raised by the analysis, including the proper allocation of risk from fiber-to-the-home investments, are considered.< <ETX xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">&gt;</ETX>

Introduction and evolution of optical fibre systems in the local loop

AbstractMany administrations are actively considering the use of optical fibre systems in the local loop for connecting to end customers. These might initially carry a range of services to large businesses, followed later by telephony and/or cable TV services to residential subscribers. Finally, true broadband services will be required.This paper briefly describes some technical options for introducing optical systems into the local loop. It indicates a scenario for cost‐effective introduction known as ‘fibre to the kerb’ while providing an infrastructure suitable for evolving into ‘fibre to the home’ and later carrying future broadband services.

Interstate switched access demand analysis

The breakup of the Bell System in 1984 led to the adoption by the Federal Communications Commission of a system of tariff charges that are paid to local exchange carriers by business and residential telephone subscribers, and interexchange carriers such as AT&T. These charges are designed to recover the costs associated with providing access to the public switched network to complete interstate calls. This system is known as the FCC Access Charge Plan. Flat-rate fees, named Subscriber Line Charges, are imposed on telephone subscribers, while usage-based charges are billed to interexchange carriers. These are called Carrier Common Line and Traffic Sensitive rates. Since CCL and TS rates are based on network usage, forecasts of switched access demand are required to set them properly.This paper presents an econometric model of interstate switched access demand developed and utilized by AT&T to produce forecasts of 1988 demand in connection with the Annual 1988 Access Tariff Filings. The model is estimated in a state-level pooled cross-sectional time-series framework, with dynamics introduced via polynomial distributed lags on price and income. It represents an extension of the econometric demand model developed and used by the FCC a year earlier to determine a reasonable forecast of 1987 Carrier Common Line switched access demand. Estimated demand elasticities and forecasts are provided. The model forecasts are also compared to those from other models.

Residential Fiber Optic Subscriber Loops: Information Pipeline or Technology Pipedream?

Fiber optic systems are now being considered for the "last mile" of the telecommunications network, the distribution portion of the subscriber loop. Early promoters have emphasized the enormous potential of fiber as an information pipeline. They view fiber as the key to revolutionizing the way in which we receive and interact with data in the developing information society. The investment of both technical and economic resources required to develop and deploy fiber optic systems for residential subscriber loops, however, will demand real economic returns. This will dictate new approaches to both the technology and the business strategies that strive to bring the system costs in line with the value of the information being carried. These approaches must also recognize the competitive service environment that is developing in the area of local distribution. This paper considers some of the major issues currently affecting the development of subscriber loop applications for fiber optics and their impact on technical and market requirements.

The consumer reels in the aftermath: Changing rules, rising rates, questionable quality, and overwhelming options challenge the residential subscriber

Where divestiture has had a direct impact is in the fragmentation of the end-to-end network. The separation of long-distance service, local service, and telecommunications equipment has yielded as much proliferation of telephone products as confusion over who is supplying what. By creating a competitive environment, divestiture has also introduced gradations in the quality of service and a sometimes bewildering choice for users between quality and price. The controversy over access charges that has arisen in the aftermath of the divestiture of AT&T is discussed. Attention is also given to the movement of regional holding and operating companies into unregulated ventures. The difficulties that must be surmounted for the equal access concept to be implemented by September 1986 are discussed. Finally, the author considers the variation in quality that now exists among the various interexchange carriers.

The cost of telephone service: An international comparison of rates in major countries

An exhaustive analysis of all 1979 telephone calls in the US Bell System determines market baskets of telephone services consumed by residential subscribers and by business subscribers. Individual calls are classified according to duration, distance, hour and day of week, and type of service. The annual cost of purchasing these market baskets is evaluated using the complete rate structures of nine countries. Telephone service is least expensive in the US and only slightly higher in Canada. Costs in Sweden, the UK and Italy are moderately higher than the USA. The highest rates are found in Japan, the FRG, France and Australia.

Electronic Systems and Equipment for Evolving Loop Plant

This paper discusses a French plan for enhanced subscriber service, and some of the systems and equipment that will meet these goals on existing loop plant. Since 1972, the French PTT has been installing digital central offices at the national, regional, and local levels. Coverage is expected to reach 10000000 lines by 1985, so that when integrated services can be offered, the nation will be ready to take advantage of them. A PTT-sponsored program, directed toward all-digital subscriber loops, has revealed four principal phases. The first of these is already in progress: both digital and analog pair-gain systems are now being installed on existing loop plant. Soon to come is the second Phase: residential subscribers will be able to obtain two-channel subscribercarrier installations, with the carrier channel supporting data services, independent of the voice service on the same loop plant. Integrated Services Digital Networks, the third phase, should stretch the French loop plant to maximum capacity. When the demand for broad-band services overrides the capabilities of the existing copper pair plant, fiber optics cable installation will be fully planned and implemented as the fourth phase.

Personal computer networks

In this discussion of the growth of personal computer use in the USA, and the increasing interest in linking these computers into networks, the author describes the expansion of personal computing in the USA since 1975, and cites a number of estimates, surveys, and market research studies concerning projected growth. The activities of the Personal Computer Network (PCNET) are discussed, from its founding in May 1977 to initial experimental operation in early 1978. A number of options for network link media are dealt with, including the dial telephone system and various radio link designs. These various network architectures lead to several policy issues: How will the standards for telephone system use interact with increasing use of personal computer-based telecommunications? How will the cost of telephone service (particularly off-peak hour rates) influence the growth and use of personal computer networks? Could, and should, the telephone carriers and/or the value-added carriers offer a packet-switched service to residential subscribers? What current restrictions are faced by personal computer users in networking via CB and amateur radio? Bandwidth for digital block radio can materially improve the cost-effectiveness of personal computer network activity — what frequencies would be suitable, and what usage restrictions would be appropriate? What are the societal consequences of personal computer networks?

Special report: The Great New York Telephone Fire: The Bell System marshaled its impressive resources to assess and repair damage in record time

On February 27, 1975, at approximately 12:15 a.m., a fire broke out in a New York Telephone Company central office, located at 13th Street and Second Avenue in New York City's Borough of Manhattan. The fire, which started in the building's basement cable vault, raged out of control, damaging or totally destroying millions of dollars worth of telephone equipment. The result: an unprecedented, total telephone communications blackout in the affected subscriber area, and its environs, disrupting service to over 160 000 residential and business subscribers.

Sampling Listener Reactions to Short-Wave Broadcasts

THE IMPORTANCE of short-wave broadcasting is attested not only by the attention devoted to it by the belligerent countries and its increasing utilization by the United States, but also by the analyses of program contents by students of propaganda in neutral countries. In all psycho-social phenomena, however, the stimulus is one thing; the response is another. And the response to long distance SW (shortwave) broadcasts, while probably studied as thoroughly as possible by the broadcasting countries themselves, has very rarely been publicly reported on. There is need for adequate and impartial study of reactions within listening publics to complement the analyses of the broadcasts themselves. The present paper is concerned with a very limited attempt to fill in this great void in our understanding of the current war via SW. The public which was sampled and is reported on consists Of 556 residential telephone subscribers other than Negroes in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.