Open Standard for DSL — "A Stitch in Time" or "Too Little Too Late"? —continued

Getting it done
The whole idea here is to streamline the process of DSL installation. DSL service has been criticized because it can be time consuming and costly to install. In most cases, a technician has to dispatched to the customer location to make the connection.

"Automating the configuration of new DSL devices — thus eliminating the deployment bottleneck and idling installation trucks — to produce a standards-based plug-n-play DSL model for homes and businesses is a critical hurdle for the DSL industry," said John Stephens, newly appointed chairperson of DSL Forum's CPE Autoconfiguration Working Group.

The DSL Forum's technical committee has already agreed to have the CPE Autoconfiguration Architecture Document ready for "straw ballot" at a meeting scheduled for early December in Portland, Oregon. Among the agenda items are to present an overview architecture for CPE autoconfiguration, identify the information and data structures needed to support the architecture, specify a mechanism to provide managed upgrades of firmware and software of massive DSL deployments and address the security issues.

All of this is critical for ISPs if they want to stay competitive. Unless the speed of deploying DSL is increased, ISPs risk losing customers to cable, satellite or wireless broadband services. A standard will also go a long way in lowering the cost of DSL and in providing ISPs with what may be a competitive advantage over cable.

"The OpenDSL initiative will greatly accelerate our ability to deploy services. By providing a solution for inter-operable, 'plug-and-play' equipment, OpenDSL will ultimately allow us to focus less on managing and testing the (modems) and more on the business of getting DSL service out to our customers," said Mark Dunn, chief technology officer at Digital Broadband Communications, in a prepared statement. The quest for a standard is certainly a much-needed step in the right direction, but a number of questions and stumbling blocks remain.

How long will the league of ISPs last?
The first question is how quickly the new standards can be implemented. Members of the OpenDSL initiative say they expect to have modems certified by the first quarter of 2001. Many analysts, however, see this estimate as overly optimistic, predicting that it will more likely be another year for the standards take effect.

Another question is whether or not the DSL Forum, or someone else, can be convinced to act as gate keeper. "The challenge confronting the OpenDSL Initiative members is whether they can convince the DSL Forum to muster the political will power needed to transform the Forum into the DSL industry's 'clearing house' for certifying DSL CPE," noted Chaners In-stat Group.

The DSL Forum has certainly indicated its desire to establish standards, but the jury is still out on whether or not it can work with the OpenDSL initiative and muster the political power needed to, first, establish industry-wide standards and, second, to enforce those standards.

Progress is occurring, but it is difficult to tell how fast the progress is. Standards will mean less work and higher profits from ISPs. They could also be the key to the future growth and, perhaps, even the survival of DSL, if achieved in time

Related article
See Dave Burstein's comments on the September DSL forum meeting..

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