UK cable operator NTL Inc trialling an ADSL asynchronous digital subscriber line) service aimed at the business sector, utilising equipment supplied by Alcatel SA. The French equipment manufacturer seems set to scoop the majority of the UK’s ADSL provisioning business, being already in the driving seat of British Telecom’s planned ADSL roll out next year.
NTL’s ADSL trial centers on the South Eastern UK towns of Guildford and Woking. If successful, it is expected to add a copper local access capability to NTL’s cable infrastructure, and is being tested at speeds of up to 6Mbps.
Stephen Rowles, head of NTL’s business development unit, said ADSL will eventually be deployed in balance with other technologies, and that cable modems would remain the preferred local access option for its customers. He added the trial is also the first instance of an optimised cable modem-to-ADSL modem system in the UK.
Rowles said the decision to trial ADSL now also has to do with the approach of the unbundling of incumbent British Telecom’s local loop, in 2001, of which the company plans to take advantage. He added that, with its technology provider being an advocate of VDSL as the DSL technology to follow ADSL, it will also be a logical next step for NTL when the time comes.
