The year of big bandwidth

Article Abstract:

A 33.6 kbps phone modem gets you on the internet for about $15 a month, with most service providers. T-1 service, popular with big institutions such as corporations and universities, runs about 1.5 mbps, at a cost of $1,000 a month. Now there are 2 alternatives staking out the middle ground. The first, cable modem services, offer internet access at speeds from .5 mbps up to a theoretical top speed of 25 mbps. For around $40 or $60 a month, with about $90 for installation and, for most home users, $70 for a network interface card, users can increase access speed by a factor of ten, though this decreases as more users log onto the local loop. With this service, the cable company becomes your ISP. The second alternative is the phone companies, whose comparable offering is called digital subscriber lines, or D.S.L. Asychronous D.S.L., or ADSL, promises download speeds of 384kbps and upload speeds of 128kbps, independent of how many subscribers are on the system. With this service, users may retain their current ISPs, or switch to the phone co. for an additional $10 per month.

United States, Telegraph & other communications, Cable Television Systems, Cable Networks, Services information, Cable and other pay TV services, Services, Internet service providers, Internet services, DSL, DSL (Digital subscriber line), Column, Cable television broadcasting industry, Cable television, Cable television/data services

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Judge temporarily blocks law that bars indecency on the Internet

Article Abstract:

Enforcement of the new Communications Decency Act, part of the new telecommunications reform bill, was blocked by a Federal judge. The judge ruled that the law, which makes transmitting indecent material over the Internet a felony, is unconstitutional since the term indecent is not adequately defined. The semantic basis of the judge's ruling left both supporters and opponents uncertain of the final outcome due to another judge's decision to uphold part of the same law. The section upheld by another judge specifies offensive behavior, describing patently offensive behavior as activities in conflict with contemporary community standards. However, even though the law articulates the kinds of behavior in question, it remains relatively subjective. The rulings are the first step toward a complete judicial review of the act to be conducted by a three-judge Federal panel.

Regulation and Administration of Communications, Electric, Gas, and Other Utilities, Telecommunications Regulation, Laws, regulations and rules, Internet, Telecommunications services industry, Telecommunications industry, Telecommunications regulations, Censorship, Censorship issue

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