GTE to test Asymmetrical Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL)

High-speed technology trial to involve small and mid-sized businesses, residents

IRVING, TX., February 6, 1996 -- February 6, 1996 -- Responding to the growing demand for faster Internet access, and the need for small businesses and individuals who work at home to quickly connect to enterprise networks, GTE Telephone Operations today announced that it has begun testing the use of Asymmetrical Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL) technology as part of a public data trial in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex.

The six-month trial, designed to test the high-speed communication capabilities of ADSL over existing telephone lines, will initially involve the Irving Public Library system, ProTech Books (a sister company of Taylors Bookstores) and area GTE employees. The trial will be expanded to other participants.

Using ADSL technology, customers can simultaneously make standard voice calls and use their personal computer to send or receive information to and from remote offices or the Internet at speeds 10 times faster than Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN), and more than 50 times faster than a conventional 28.8 kbps dial-up modem.

ADSL service is provided by connecting a pair of modems to each end of a telephone line; one in the telephone company's central office and the other at the customer premise.

As a high-speed modem technology, ADSL operates over existing twisted-pair copper telephone lines that carry regular telephone service, and can simultaneously transmit data at speeds up to 6.144 Mbps downstream, and up to 640kbps upstream. During the local trial, data will be transmitted at speeds up to 4 Mbps downstream, and up to 500kbps upstream.

At 4Mbps, 200 pages of text can be downloaded in less than one second, and a typical World Wide Web page with graphics and text can be downloaded in less than one-tenth of a second.

ADSL Could Provide Customers with More Choices

"The trial will enable us to learn how ADSL operates in the public network, and determine if a commercial offering is prudent," said Jeff Kissell, assistant vice president of business product management for GTE Telephone Operations. "If the trial is successful, we believe ADSL has the potential to expand our high-speed data portfolio, become an alternative to cable modems, provide customers with more choices, and fill a market niche that is in high demand by small businesses and telecommuters who want fast, affordable access to the Internet and enterprise-wide networks."

Small to mid-size businesses, non-profit organizations, libraries and residential customers can benefit from ADSL, according to GTE's ADSL product manager Sean Dalton.

"Given its eventual projections of bandwidth, ADSL is a beneficial service for companies that require high-speed data access, but for whom T-1 and Frame Relay service are cost prohibitive," said Dalton. "Likewise, today's dial-up customers will enjoy using on-line services at greater speeds than ever offered before."

Libraries, Businesses, Residents Participate in ADSL Trial

"ADSL holds great promise for becoming a widely used high-speed on-ramp to the Information Highway," said Dr. Robert Olshansky of GTE Laboratories in Waltham, Mass., which has provided the network design and systems integration for the data trial. "ADSL will enable GTE and other telephone companies to use the existing copper-line telephone network and off-the-shelf computer networking equipment to provide high-speed data connections from customers' computers or local area networks to the Information Highway."

Computers at Irving's Central and Northwest branch library will be equipped with ADSL modems to create a virtual private network between the two locations and provide visitors and employees with Internet access, electronic messaging and desktop business conferencing capabilities.

ProTech Books, also located in Irving, a seller of computer and high-technology books, kits and guides, plans to use the ADSL technology to give customers and employees greater access to, and use of, the Internet.

ADSL modems are being provided specifically for the trial by Westell Technologies of Oswego, Ill., and Aware, Inc. of Bedford, Mass. Routers and switches used to provide connection between the ADSL access lines and the Internet are being provided during the trial by Bay Networks, Inc., of Billerica, Mass. Irving, Texas-based GTE Intelligent Network Services (GTEINS) is providing Internet access during the trial.

GTE Telephone Operations is the largest U.S.-based local telephone company, providing voice, video and data products and services through more than 23 million access lines in portions of the United States, Canada, South America, the Caribbean and the Pacific. Its parent organization, GTE Corporation, is one of the largest publicly held telecommunications companies in the world.