Femtocell is quickly becoming a buzzword in the mobile space, and it also impacts wireless data users one way or another.  Basically, femtocell is a term used to describe a small base station or a signal strengthener/repeater, but there are many factors to consider other than just the technical ones when it comes to femtocell.  Of course, that does not mean that the entire concept of micro/relay towers is even technically sound in all cases.

What is Femtocell Really?

Wireless signals can be fickle things, and troubleshooting wireless problems can be a serious undertaking.  We here are High Speed Experts routinely receive requests to help troubleshoot wireless problems, and have created a three-part wireless troubleshooting guide.  Our guide covers signals that come from laptops, desktops, and wireless routers, and that means two things: shorter distances and higher power.  Simply put, distance and low-power requirements both make transmissions difficult, add in high-throughput and the problem is rather severe.  In fact, 3G and 4G data standards are really amazing considering the power profiles offered by most portable devices/cellular phones.

A femtocell tower is basically a mini-relay station that can be installed in a property or in a vehicle.  The idea is that by providing a much closer tower with much greater power consumption capabilities than those provided by a cellular phone or smartphone battery, that signals will be better.  Of course, theory and reality collide in many cases, which leads people to ask…

Does Femtocell Really Work?

There are many reports of femtocell stations that do not do what they say they will do, and this could be due to many reasons.  It could truly be that some of the early micro/relay stations do not work as advertised or are in need of a firmware upgrade, a common problem for early tech adopters.  It could be that some consumers have cellular phones that are not designed to be compatibility with femtocell towers.  Some networks do not support femtocell technology, and some only support very specific femtocell technology.

Add to this the laundry list of technical standards and compliance-issues, and it is entirely possible that most of the horror stories are the result of early adopters, unprepared firmware, and other issues that are easily explained.  Despite the fact that it is possible to easily attribute so many possible complaints to one reason or another, the early roll-out of femtocell technology has left a bad taste in the mouths of many.  This is particularly bad for those looking into femtocell technology in order to boost their mobile broadband performance and/or reliability.

The Argument Against Femtocell

The most obvious and common argument femtocell would be that service providers should be responsible for building out networks and ensuring connectivity.  This argument certainly has merit, but there are some technical considerations that make it unreasonable for network providers to offer affordable service that has very high quality levels and no dead spots.  The reason has to do with the incredible cost of even smaller cellular relay towers.

While it would be possible for carriers to build out their networks in such a way in theory, in practice the results would probably be a network that would cost too much.  That cost would slow R&D and be passed on to consumers.  In short, it might seem ironic but poor service helps make mobile broadband and cellular plans affordable.  That does not mean that all carriers should be let off the hook for poor service, but that there might be a place for femtocell technology.

The Argument For Femtocell

The aforementioned argument for femtocell is simple: cellular providers have an obligation to provide great service in a wide area, but they cannot ensure high-quality/high-performance connectivity in all areas.  The future of mini-relay stations might have consumers willing to offer open access to larger relaytowers receiving compensation in some form, which could help networks build quicker and more thoroughly (or deep in network lingo).  A similar arrangement is being used in many British and French cities in regards to open WiFi access, and has proven quite effective.

Is Femtocell Right For You?

• If, after reading this article, you feel femtocell might be for you, then you need to do the following:
• Call your wireless service provider and ask them which standard(s) they support.
• Ensure that your mobile device/phone supports femtocell technology.
• Buy an appropriate micro/relay tower.
• Ensure that your new femtocell tower is running the appropriate firmware.  Note the use of the word appropriate instead of latest.  This may take a little research.
• Learn where to place your new femtocell tower for best effect.

AT&T U-verse and Verizon FiOS are two of the top tier broadband services that deliver top-notch IPTV and VoIP (digital telephone) services, but the competition has just heated up; AT&T has officially unveiled its plans to incorporate a new technology into its U-verse network that will greatly increase the effective range from the neighborhood node to any property line.  Currently the maximum allowable distance from any neighborhood node to a property line varies significantly based on the line quality, but 3000 to 4000 feet tend to be the real world limits in many cases.

Shotgun Technology Lives On

Anyone who was online in the days when dinosaurs and analog modems ruled the earth might remember the so-called shotgun modems.  These modems used two lines and two separate connections, which were then ‘bonded’ to provide what amounted to approximately a two-fold increase in performance.  Back in the day that was nothing to giggle about, though the idea of getting excited about downloads jumping from 4 kilobytes per second to around 7 kilobytes per second does seem rather silly now.  This same concept is going to be used by AT&T to deliver top notch digital services and high-speed DSL to consumers.

The question many people have is: how will it work?  The answer is simple, and it is something that we have covered here many times: signals traveling over metal wires degrade as they travel.  The longer the distance between the property of consumer or business and the nearest node, the lower the signal quality will tend to be.  This translates into lower performance, which is something that AT&T does not want when it is fighting a battle with fiber-fueled Verizon FiOS.  Simply put, fiber does not have the limitations of metal wiring and thus AT&T has had to stay on top of its game in order to avoid being considered a second-tier service.

So far, AT&T has been fighting Verizon’s advances by ensuring that their fastest services are available across almost the entirety of their network.  After all, comparing a low-tier DSL service to a high-end fiber service is an easy PR win for the fiber optic provider, but a high-tier DSL service such as those provided by U-verse are sufficiently fast for a large portion of consumers.  This means that AT&T’s next move has to be an expansion into new markets and/or deeper penetration of markets that they already compete in.  This last objective is what the new shotgun technology will enable by using two lines to carry two slower signals over a greater distance.  The idea here is that by bonding two slower signals at the neighborhood node, the consumer will still feel as if they are getting a much faster service.  In the end an old engineering saying applies: a difference that makes no difference is no difference.

How Much Further?

It is difficult to accurately state just how much further the shotgun technology will allow U-verse to extend, but current estimates are that an additional 1000 to 2000 feet of electrical wiring will be enabled.  Anyone who has ever studied basic math knows that the when you extend the radius of a circle a little bit that the surface area of the circle increases greatly.  This is very much like what AT&T is doing with this new U-verse bonding technology; even an increase of 500 feet could mean that several million homes and/or businesses will now be eligible for U-verse services.

Faster Too?

While we have already covered DSL Phantom Mode technology, it is also possible that bonding will be part of DSL’s future in much the same way that shotgun modem technology enabled high-performance modem setups back in the mid to late 1990s.  The problem is that the market is completely different from that of the shotgun modem era.  Today, DSL competes with fiber and fiber is winning because it is simply a better technology that is comparably priced yet lacks many of the limitations.  The era of the shotgun modem was one where dialup services cost around $20 per month each, DSL had not been widely deployed in most markets, cable modems were still nascent, and ISDN services were extremely expensive.  In short, it is possible for AT&T to increase U-verse speed with their bonding technology, but it is questionable as to whether or not that will allow them to compete effectively with fiber for any length of time.

Can You Get U-Verse Now?

If you have ever tried to get AT&T U-Verse service before and have been denied due to the distance between your property and the neighborhood node, then now is the time to check again.  If not today, then next week and the month after that.  AT&T is actively rolling the new technology out over major portions of its U-verse network, not something that they are just talking about.

U-verse problems are few and far in between, but they do happen.  Who do people turn to when they experience U-verse problems?  Strangely enough, sometimes they e-mail us!  While we certainly have a lot of love for U-verse here at High Speed Experts, we also understand that U-verse problems do exist in certain situations.  We certainly do not mind helping out, even if AT&T won’t give us a salary for doing the occasional good deed!   They say that kindness is its own reward, and to that end we have decided that instead of helping people solve their U-verse problems on a one-on-one basis that our time would be better spent addressing some common problems.  Yes, believe it or not, U-verse does have a few little hiccups, but not all of them are necessarily the fault of U-verse.  Sometimes a simple reset can cure U-verse problems, but sometimes a little more investigative work is in order if you want to be permanently free of U-verse problems.

Freezing Set Top Boxes (STBs)

While we do not really get that many e-mails from U-verse customers regarding their U-verse problems, the most frequent e-mail that we do get is regarding set top boxes that freeze.  One second you are happily watching your show and then the next thing you know, your screen locks up quicker than Windows Vista.  The bottom line is that in a perfect world, and in the homes of many U-verse customers, the U-verse STBs work fine.  So what gives?  In most cases it is a heat problem, and you should start your troubleshooting by:

1. Ensuring that the U-verse STB/DVR is in an open space where it can vent its excess heat.  The U-verse system is certainly powerful, and all of that power generates heat.  If that heat cannot go anywhere, then it slowly heats up the U-verse STB and a lock-up is not uncommon.
2. Make sure that nothing is on top of or immediately next to your U-verse STB/DVR.
3. Make sure that the U-verse STB/DVR has plenty of ventilation, and check to see if its own vents are clogged.

There are just the basic steps that you should make on your own before getting frustrated, but there is more.  Sometimes the wiring in a property, or even those done by U-verse installers in a hurry, is not exactly what we would call top-notch.  I’m sure that 99% of the U-verse installers are great at what they do, and do it very well, but somebody has to get the rookie installer and/or the installer who had too many appointments and too little time.  The result tends to be U-verse problems that were probably avoidable with more care and/or training.  We are all human, and while it is easy to point the finger we are not going to take that route.  Rather we are going to take the high route here and simply say that some installations end up being sup-bar, but that does not necessarily mean that all U-verse problems that fall into this category are permanent.

Before covering solutions and methods to tell if you have U-verse problems related to wiring/installation issues, you need to understand that a botched installation or sub-standard wiring can also cause a DVR/STB to overheat.  Why?  Because the STBs and DVR boxes used by AT&T were designed to operate under very specific conditions, and those conditions do not include constantly reacquiring network addresses and/or requesting data to be re-transmitted.  Basically, a bad install and/or bad wiring is the equivalent of your boss dumping a whole pile of work on your desk at the last minute and telling you that he or she needs it done by the time you go home; you get a little hot under the collar with all the extra work, right?  Well, a DVR or STB may not have feelings, but it generates more heat when more compute cycles are being used.

If this seems to be what is happening with your U-verse setup, then here is what you do:

• Go to your menu and look for the Broadband Link/Detailed DSL Stats menu
• Look for high amounts of corrected blocks, uncorrected blocks, the number of seconds where the DSL was unavailable for, the number of link retrains, DSL training errors and timeouts, and the number of signal failures.  In an ideal world, all of these figures would be zero.  If any of these numbers other than corrected blocks has reached 10 or more in the last 24 hours, then you probably have a bad connection.  Corrected blocks can sometimes be as high as 10,000 per day, but that number should ideally be zero.
• If this happens, contact AT&T’s U-verse tech support crew and explain the situation.  They will probably transfer you to a second-tier tech support representative.
• If you get a particularly intelligent, friendly, and helpful rep (Which most 2^nd tier reps at AT&T call centers are), ask them to explain what is happening, and it may be worth suggesting that they ‘bounce your port’ and then wait for it to ‘zero out’ before they unlock your port again.  Sometimes this process will allow a ‘noisy’ line the time it needs to allow a signal to propagate itself into heat.

In Closing

We hope that this guide has proved useful, and if you have any requests, ideas, feedback, or just want to comment, then use our comments section.  U-verse problems, FiOS troubleshooting, whatever it takes.  If you have a question and we happen to have an answer, we would love to share it with you.  Please know that we take all comments and e-mails seriously, so be sure to stay in touch if you honestly have problems and/or questions.  If you have a guide or troubleshooting tip you want us to cover, then by all means let us know!

$2.7 billion dollars.  That is a lot of the proverbial cheese, and it is the current number of U.S. Dollars being dedicated to revitalizing the nation’s flagging broadband infrastructure by the Obama administration.  On Friday, President Obama announced a new round of grants, loans, and other government programs that were expected to comprise approximately $1 billion of that $2.7 billion figure, and add a projected 5000 desperately needed jobs.  These jobs could prove to be a godsend for those that have been laid off from industries that look as if they will be outsourcing as the shaky economy continues to recover.

Broadband is America’s Future

America is a country that is increasingly moving towards an economy based on the exchange and licensing of intellectual property, and broadband plays a major role in this.  After all, how can the next generation of backup software or IPTV be developed in a nation that suffers from dismal broadband performance?  In short, falling behind now will mean giving up entire avenues of research and development on American soil and that could result in catastrophic long term damage to the economy and future of America.

The Washington Post quotes Obama as saying “And once we emerge from the immediate crisis, the long-term economic gains to communities that have been left behind in the digital age will be immeasurable.”

Whether you are a-political, ultra-partisan, or on the political fence, it would be hard to disagree with that observation.

Political Divide and Broadband

While few politicians would debate the merits of shoring up the nation’s flagging broadband infrastructure, the ultra-polarized partisan conflict in Washington D.C. has led to many picking Obama’s plan apart.  The Washington Post has criticized this effort as being nothing more than a continuation of a previous effort that did not generate a significant increase in jobs.  Whether or not the statistics used by the Washington Post as genuine and unbiased is debatable, but it is certainly not debatable that both parties disagree strongly with how the money should be spent.

For example, the Miami Herald offers this interesting Obama quote on the subject of broadband stimulus: “We’re competing aggressively to make sure the jobs and industries and the markets of tomorrow take root right here in the United States. We’re moving forward. And to every American who is looking for work, I promise you, we are going to keep on doing everything that we can.”

This quote seems in line with current FCC programs to help ISPs hit the 100/100 by 2020 standard as well as in line with previous comments made by Obama about the economy.  Unfortunately, all politicians are given to speaking out of both sides of their mouth.  Whether or not the $2.7 billion will help generate new jobs or have a tangible effect is a big question.

How Much Broadband Will $2.7 Billion Buy?

Obama’s newest broadband stimulus plan offers loans and grants under a number of conditions.  Companies that retrain out of work individuals can receive a substantial grant for doing so, though there is some debate as to whether or not the amount of money in grants on a per-individual basis is enough to entice large ISPs.  Smaller ISPs may also benefit from the new round of stimulus money in the broadband sector, but it would seem that they would be at a slight disadvantage unless they already had relatively deep pockets.

The problem is that smaller companies lack the financial means to go out on a limb and wait for the government repayment to kick in, at least in many cases.  This could be a signal that the government is backing off of its previous stance that seemed to favor giving startups a decided edge over larger broadband providers.  While small companies may not benefit as much as they were hoping, there are still plenty of incentives for smaller and medium sized broadband providers that are willing to hire workers and expand their reach.

So, just how much will $2.7 billion in broadband stimulus buy?  If measured by jobs, the estimate is that the number will be around 12,000 over 3 years with the new round of budget increases accounting for nearly 5,000 of those in the next 12 months.  Schools, libraries, and other public places should also receive tangible benefits from incentives that specifically target fiber optic deployments.

What Will $2.7 Billion in Grants Get You?

The big question that just about everyone has whenever the government starts talking about spending money on programs is something along the lines of: “What’s in it for me?”  Fair enough question to ask, yet a difficult one to answer.  For those living in big cities, the answer is likely to be little to nothing as big cities are already places where there are strong incentives for broadband providers to compete.  The first round of broadband stimulus did see more ‘middle mile’ fiber deployments that brought fiber a few miles closer to many big-city residents, but it is widely believed that actually FTTH deployments due directly to the government broadband stimulus have been few and far between.  This trend is likely to continue as the government’s motives are rather clear: get broadband to people who are being under-served.

This is bad news for satellite broadband providers, but it could be excellent news for anyone living in an area that is under-served by broadband providers.  How can you tell if you are under-served?  Here are some guidelines:

• You have no broadband options at all.  Hello dialup!  You have mail!
• You have a single broadband option.
• Your only broadband option is ISDN or a T-line.
• You have two or three options, but they are all slow.  20 Mbps is on the cusp of being considered slow, and will be incredibly slow by the end of 2011.

Feedback

We’d like to know how the new stimulus package sounds to you.  Do you feel that it will help increase broadband availability and/or quality in your region?  Will it bring about more jobs?  Or is this just another case of politicians blowing smoke?  Let us know what you think in our comments section.

Fiber optics have been claiming the spotlight recently, but recent efforts by DSL providers are showing that metal wires are not entirely out of the race just yet.  The latest news is that coaxial wires used to deliver digital cable services might soon be providing 400 to 800 Mbps of broadband performance.  Is this is a move to stave off the inevitable onslaught of high-performance fiber optic broadband solutions?  Certainly, but that does not mean that the new technology and specifications to reach those lofty performance goals even have their roots in the broadband competition arena.

Where Do These Insanely Fast Specs Come From?

The Multimedia over Coax Alliance, better known by its trendy MoCA acronym, defined the new standard in June in order to provide enough bandwidth to handle the inevitable transition to 3D HDTV standards, both existing and the inevitable refresh that will bring higher resolutions to customers.  The additional bandwidth will be required in order to bring not only the future of high-definition television to the homes of consumers, but it will also help placate major studios.

Studios are pushing cable companies hard to adopt the newest MoCA standards because they feel that a 3D-only platform is an anti-piracy measure that will dramatically reduce losses.  With big studios pushing digital cable providers and fiber optics pulling in the same direction, it seems very likely that an upgrade to the new standards is in the cards for most major markets.  The question is: just how far will they go?

A Tale of Two Standards and a Cap

There are actually a pair of standards being released, a 400 Mbps and 800 Mbps “super speed” standard.  Both standards use very similar technology, with distance between repeaters/signal strengthening stations being one of the key factors in determining just which standards can be rolled out to which areas.  Customers that live in valleys or other difficult areas to trench and deploy cable are likely to find themselves ‘stuck’ at 400 Mbps more often than not.  The same is also true of sparsely populated regions that rely on longer loops and distances between signal strengthening.

Both standards are related, but the 800 Mbps deployments are likely to be few and far between at first.  There may be a chance that the 400 Mbps standard will be the top-end offering from most (or all) providers until they are pushed harder by studios and/or customers lured by the appeal of fast fiber optic broadband services.  Of course, critical applications will probably be essential to driving adoption and creating wide demand for the 800 Mbps service, though broadband performance freaks like us are already chomping at the bit for 800 Mbps and more.

Broadband caps are also another issue that are likely to become more important as speed continues to increase.  With various providers implementing hard- or soft-caps, performance increases are a mixed blessing.  Chances are good that the price per performance will remain tied to caps, and that both the ratio and cap will increase in accordance with monthly premium.  In short, even though this technology will not cost cable companies much, and they may actually have part of their costs offset by studios, the end result is likely to be only modest decreases in prices for normal broadband services while ultra-broadband services start to create entirely new price points that compete with high-end offerings from the competition.

When Will These Systems be Deployed?

The good news is that the new cable modem standards are allegedly quite cost-effective to deploy, and may require minimal infrastructure investment.  Some cable providers have pledged to start trials before the end of the year, but it would seem that with the 100/100 by 2020 standard looming, most digital cable companies will be more forthcoming with deployment plans in the near future.  At the very minimum, it would seem logical to expect that the deployments would not begin in earnest until at least the fall of 2011 in select markets.  Full scale deployment in the majority of markets may not come until fiber optic services or the high-end DSL offerings begin to truly press broadband providers unless the pressure from studios alone proves sufficient.

What Would You Do With the Extra Bandwidth?

There are many possibilities that become viable when broadband speeds increase.  HD movies (even 3D) could begin streaming almost immediately, IPTV could take off in ways that nobody would have thought possible only a few scant years ago, and online backups could go mainstream.  We know some of the things that we would do if we were blessed with a devilishly fast Internet connection that was rated in the hundreds of Mbps, but what about you?  What would you do if you could sign up for such a service?  Download every episode of Lost and 24 in less than a day?  Start using online backup solutions?  Would there be any real change at all to your online/connected lifestyle?

It is no secret that we here at High Speed Experts have been impressed with Verizon FiOS broadband performance, but what truly amazes us is the fact that services such as Verizon FiOS and AT&T U-verse manage to continually innovate and change the way we look at service providers.  This is due primarily to the fact that all of the data going to or from a property can be managed from a single, central point: the broadband connection.  Verizon holds a significant lead in performance and future overhead thanks to its use of fiber optics.  So, what will Verizon FiOS do with this overhead?  Expand their feature offerings.

What is Next for FiOS Customers?

While most people might expect Verizon FiOS to expand its channel offerings or increase the percentage of HD channels in relation to its total number of channels, the truth is that Verizon may be attempting to break into uncharted territory with home security and home management offerings.  Why is Verizon considering these services?  If rumors are to be believed, the home energy management offerings should greatly increase the perception of Verizon as a green company and may also allow the company to compete for government grants and other programs relating to the smart(er) grid.

Being tied into the entertainment, communications, and electrical aspects of any given property sounds like the perfect way to introduce customers to security options as well.  After all, having a home tied to a smart grid and super-fast broadband connection is great, but it would be even better if those two things could be used to alert the police whenever a prowler cuts the power to only a single house on the block, or send a light-speed signal for help whenever an alarm is tripped or panic button pushed.

Verizon Could Signal the Start of a New Smart Grid Push

When government programs get off to a slow start, it often helps to have a little helping hand from a single entity that shows others that the path is worth taking.  Verizon could very well become this poster child, and it may not be long before people stop thinking of Verizon as communications-oriented company first, and a broadband/digital entertainment provider second.  In fact, Verizon could soon become synonymous with the smart grid, and that could also reshape Verizon’s opportunities in markets that it has limited access to thus far.

The largest problem with deploying Verizon FiOS to new areas is that it costs a lot of money for Verizon to secure permits, hire work crews, and handle all of the political and legal legwork required to even start deploying fiber optics.  With Big Metal standing in the way, Verizon’s attempt to tie its efforts into power-grid reform might prove to be an end run around anti-fiber obstructionists.  Claiming that digging and deploying fiber is problematic is one thing, but standing in the way of both broadband and power reform is a very different issue altogether.  If anything, those political bodies that continue to stay in Big Metal’s pocket will be more costly for it, and that will continue to tilt the balance in favor of affordable fiber optic options.

Why Smart Grid?  Why Now?

The Smart Grid has been talked about for a long time and is comprised of many different aspects and ideas.  One of the ideas that Verizon will probably use is the idea of a smart metering system.  A smart meter can be used to monitor in real time the electrical usage of a property as well as the current projected price based on the going rate for power.  Imagine a Verizon FiOS app that could show you real time savings based on how much money you could save my shutting off the lights in rooms that aren’t being used, or by learning how to use multi-zone temperature control systems.  This level of interactivity does require constant updates and communications between the power grid, utility companies involved, and the end user.  In the past, electricity traveling over wires would have carried this data at a price, but fiber optics can transmit data at a fraction of the cost of electricity, which makes FiOS and similar networks ideally suited to this particular task.

When it comes to the question of why reform needs to happen now, one only has to look at global events to realize that sooner or later there will be a struggler for fossil fuels.  Hopefully that struggle will only be limited to politicians posturing, but the end result is that many researchers and experts believe that conservation needs to start immediately in order to give humanity enough time to find alternative power sources.  The longer we wait, the fewer options we are likely to have when supplies start becoming scarce.  A smart power grid not only reduces the chance of an all-out conflict, but it delays that potential crisis while simultaneously managing to reduce the nation’s dependence upon foreign supplies of fuel sources.

A system that could automatically dim and/or turn lights and appliances on and off, and manage a home remotely could save individual families anywhere from 10 to 15 percent according to experts.  Knowing Verizon, we would expect a lot of additional features and customization options all made easy to manage via a web connection or set top box.

Security Too?

While power savings are certainly impressive, they may also be tied into the security functionality.  If there is one thing that we find ourselves saying over and over again about Verizon FiOS services (and AT&T U-verse too) is that they are more than the sum of their parts; there is a fusion that occurs that is impressive, and we would expect to see that in the security system offered by the nation’s largest consumer-oriented 100% fiber optic network.  With that said, there really is no end to the speculation as to just what security-related features will be available and how those figures will interact with other FiOS offerings.  One thing is for sure: if Verizon does roll out a FiOS security plan, it will not a be a bolt-on option, but will obviously integrate with the other FiOS services.

Verizon FiOS will be going month to month in what amounts to a trial service before customers sign up for a contract.  Let nobody say that Verizon does not listen to its customers, especially when it comes to the backlash that customers have to offer when they feel disrespected.  Such a situation recently happened when Verizon raised its early termination fees, but Verizon has made up for it and more with their newest offers: customers can now (or will soon be able to, depending on location) try Verizon FiOS out on a month to month basis and decide before they buy.  This is no small feat, and it certainly shows the confidence that Verizon has in its 100% fiber optic FiOS network.

In Case You Missed It

In case you missed it, Verizon FiOS is a 100% fiber optic network dedicated to bringing consumers unparalleled broadband performance as well as top-notch digital cable and amazing VoIP (digital telephone) services.  What makes Verizon FiOS unique, other than its forward looking fiber optic infrastructure, is the fact that these individual services work together to create a complete digital entertainment experience.  There are a number of applications that run on the set top box, remote DVR management and scheduling, caller ID/call management on the screen (TV or computer), and so on are just the beginning.  By keeping all of the data digital and delivering it point to point, Verizon FiOS has ensured that communications and entertainment will be combined at some point in the future.

Verizon constantly adds and updates features, but it is not at the point where only AT&T U-verse serves as an honest competitor in terms of feature parity, and even that parity is slowing fading.  AT&T is trying to catch up in many ways, as are other carriers, but the bottom line is that the performance offered by a 100% fiber optic network puts other competitors at a strong disadvantage.

The Cost of Installation

All of these features come at a price, and while customers pay that price in their monthly premiums, the new pricing structure might change that business model significantly.  Verizon is going out on a limb with this particular experiment, at least in the short run.  Different figures indicate that the average cost for Verizon to deliver fiber optics to customers is anywhere from around $890 to just over $1300.  The reason for this wide difference in what should be a uniform statistic might include overhead related to deploying Verizon FiOS hubs to neighborhoods versus connecting individual properties.  Regardless, the simple fact is that Verizon does spend a lot of money to connect every single property.

At first blush, this might seem like a high-risk proposition for Verizon, but that may not truly be the case.  It is entirely possible that Verizon has realized that the average consumer will eventually want to transition over to fiber optics, so their investment will pay off at some point in the future.  This shows the level of commitment that Verizon has made to its FiOS network, and that seems like a solid investment from where we sit.  In short, it is only a matter of time until fiber takes over the broadband world.

While there is no official word just yet on pricing, we will keep you informed as information starts rolling in.  It would seem reasonable to expect a small premium for month to month users, but we have yet to hear any official word on the subject.

The Best News

The best news may not necessarily be that Verizon FiOS services are now (or will shortly be) available on a trial basis, but that this could signal a shift in the practices of an entire industry.  While Big Metal will probably have to follow Verizon, the smaller and/or newer fiber optic providers will probably be in the same boat.  Verizon has blazed a fiber optic path that we have all come to appreciate for its own merits, but it seems that we might all owe Verizon FiOS execs a hearty thank you if this shift signals a new way of shopping for broadband and/or digital cable services.

While there have been products designed to help users secure their computers for years now, these same products are now proving insufficient to meet the challenges of a new age.  It is not that the products are not good, because they generally are.  Nor is the problem such that malware has become a serious business, which it has.  The problem, simply put, is that there are so many devices that are being connected to home and office networks that were not being connected even a few short years ago.

Devices Everywhere!  Both a Blessing and a Curse

The problem with having so many devices is that…well, there are so many devices to secure.  Not all of these devices even run user-accessible operating systems, but that does not stop hackers from developing malware that will target everything from un-secured handheld devices to almost impossible to secure set top boxes and even television sets.  After all, these devices typically run some sort of embedded OS, and any OS has its flaws for those willing to take advantage of them.  This means a lack of security, and that means an open door for hackers, hoodlums, and worse.

Just think of everything you have in your home that is connected to the Internet via a broadband connection, either directly or via a router of some kind.  Here are just a few possibilities:

• Computer
• iPad/Tablet
• Smartphone
• Set Top Box (STB)
• Gaming Console
• HD TV set+
• Netflix/Boxee Box/ Apple TV/etc.
• VoIP hardware
• Blu-Ray player
• A router
• Network Attached Storage Box
• A server

This particular problem has been coming down the pipe for some time, but yet there are very few solutions available.  Virtually all of these devices use a broadband connection or are capable of using broadband technologies, and that puts them at risk whenever they are on and connected.

The Profit Motive

The biggest question many might ask is: why would anyone bother to hack a set top box or iPad?  Well, the answer varies depending on who is doing the hacking, but the bottom line is that malware is very big business.  Unprotected operating systems that were not meant to be hacked because they are theoretically ‘closed’ to OS-level and even application-level modifications are particularly vulnerable simply because there are no aftermarket protection systems that can be installed.

A good analogy would be to imagine that you are out of work, which may not be hard to do depending on how the economy is when you read this, and have to make a living by sneaking into houses and buildings.  Luckily, you have discovered that every single door on the planet with a round handle uses the exact same key, a key which you happen to have because you also have that exact same door handle at home.  Your job is a lot easier now, isn’t it?  The same thing is true of set top boxes that run custom embedded OSes and cannot have third-party malware protection/firewalls installed.

So, Do We Just Surrender Then?

While few of these devices can be protected on an individual basis, there is a possibility: a hardware firewall.  The first problem with a hardware solution is that a decent hardware firewall costs at least a few hundred dollars, though there are some routers that have relatively weak internal firewalls that will not necessarily do everything that is needed.  What is needed is a firewall that has a complete online management system that can be managed from a single HTTP-enabled device, as this allows a single computer to protect nearly every device on the network after a lengthy setup.

The setup process itself can be difficult, lengthy, and may cause problems with certain types of NAT-resolution systems that are used by gaming consoles, many smartphones, and some tablet computers such as the iPad.  Additionally, there are some routers and NAS boxes that have problems with certain hardware firewalls, and the less expensive hardware firewalls are more likely than not to be the source of many headaches and compatibility problems.  Add to this the fact that it costs several hundred dollars for a hardware firewall capable of keeping up with a fast fiber optic connection, such as a Verizon FiOS 50 Mbps connection, and the situation seems sadly unresolved.

Time Warner Cable has recently lost a claim it filed with the BBB’s national advertising division.  In the claim, Time Warner Cable says that Verizon’s use of the term ‘100% fiber optics’ is disingenuous, and a misrepresentation of the facts.  We are going to explore these claims and the eventual outcome, but before we go further it is worth pointing out that High Speed Experts has great admiration and respect for services offered by both Time Warner Cable and by Verzion FiOS.  We are not going to be comparing these services, because they both serve their own markets and needs, but rather we are going to look into the claims of what does it take to really be 100% fiber optic.

A Recap on Fiber Optics

Time Warner Cable, like all other major data network owners, already has a substantial investment in fiber optics.  These fiber optic connections form the basis for the backbone of the Internet itself, and most local carriers extend fiber optics a great distance from their central offices.  Just how far fiber goes from each office may vary from one city to the next and/or one provider to the next, but it really becomes a question not of how far fiber runs from a central company office; instead, it is an issue of how close that fiber gets to customers.  In order to understand this a little bit better, consider how large-scale networks that deliver broadband work.

Starting with a customer’s business or home, a wire or fiber optic cable of some kind usually links to a node somewhere in the neighborhood or office park.  In some cases this may not be a very substantial distance, but in other cases it could be around a mile in terms of wire/cable length.  In fact, many industry insiders refer to this as the last mile, and currently most broadband providers offer traditional metal wiring for the last mile.  While the term mile is almost certain to be a misnomer in almost every case, the point is that fiber optics could very well be within a very short distance of any given consumer that has a DSL or cable modem connections.

From here, the data travels along a much thicker bundle of wires or cables capable of greater performance until it meets up with other similar nodes, at which point in time those nodes are bundled into even thicker volumes of wiring or fiber optic cables to bring the data closer to the local provider’s main switch onto the backbone of the Internet itself.  This bundling/grouping may happen many times over, and relay stations that strengthen signals are often used whenever metal wiring is the medium.  These relay stations are expensive to build and maintain, which is why fiber optics are a medium of choice for large companies such as Time Warner Cable, at least until they get to (or near) the last mile.

Problems at the Last Mile

What separates Verzion FiOS from DSL and providers that offer cable modem services is simple: the last mile is pure fiber optics right up to the property line.  Other providers have their own reasons for not putting using fiber for the last mile, but most of those reasons boil down to cost: metal wires were an infrastructure of choice for so long that they were affordable, easy to deploy, tried and true, and the reasons just go on and on.  Unfortunately, metal wires are nearing their limits with current data speeds and are in danger of holding America back in terms of broadband performance.

The problem with metal wires is that the standards that they conform to for the last mile are really not significantly different than those that are used for long distance wiring.  This means that the wires running from the last fiber-optic stop on a digital telephone or digital cable network are designed to be used both for relatively short distances as well as much greater distances; this is certainly a cost effective approach, but it is also an approach that limits performance and has allowed fiber optic services to gain significant ground.

Back to the Claim

This brings us full circle back to the claim that just because fiber optic solutions such as Verizon FiOS deliver fiber to the property line that they are not entirely fiber optic in nature; at some point, metal wiring is going to be used.  This claim is true some of the time, but not always; there are some instances where a FiOS connection goes into a box on the property and then a metal wire comes out of the back and goes into a router.  This metal wire is not at all like the metal wires used to cover great distances.  Instead, it is thicker and designed to efficiently allow massive amounts of data to flow over a very short distance.

In short, TWC’s claim has merit only in the most technical of senses, but the argument  lacks in technical merit.  The bottom line is that metal wires are used to conduct electricity and/or data in many ways, such as high performance Ethernet cables.  If TWC wanted to offer an affordable alternative to fiber optics, perhaps they could demonstrate this by using a last mile solution that used Ethernet wiring with the necessary repeaters/signal strength boosters.  There are viable short-term solutions such as this to fiber, but the bottom line is that fiber is the future and an argument that metal wires conducting data for a few meters means that FiOS is 99.999999999% fiber optic are as absurd as saying that Dodge is a Chinese car company because they have a shifter on some of their cars that was made in Shenzhen.

One of the most common broadband-related e-mails we get here at High Speed Experts has to deal with security, and in particular the question of whether faster broadband connections mean more vulnerability.  It does indeed stand to reason that a much more narrow window exists to secure a computer or other device from infection or data loss, but that does not mean that this is a primary concern or even a reasonable concern.  After all, what is the difference between a hundredth of a bat of an eyelash truly worth to a human operator?  The answer is simple: none whatsoever.  This means that faster broadband connections are not a culprit worth worrying about.

Most Hacks Occur Because

There is plenty of propaganda floating around about the security of one operating system versus another or which type of broadband connection is more secure than another, but not a single one of these factors has anything to do with why most of the security breaches happen in the first place.  Most hacks or digital break-ins occur due to user error or malfeasance.  That’s right, the problem is still nothing short of users who do not follow the rules required to stay safe in an increasingly insecure digital environment.

Here Are Some Basic Tips for Staying Safe Online:

Do not answer instant messages from unknown parties – When unknown people start sending e-mails, watch out!  These people are certainly up to no good, but are almost always going to say otherwise.  It does not matter if they want to have an adult encounter with you or assist you in securing some unclaimed funds, the advice remains the same: STAY AWAY.

Opening e-mails from people you do not know – This one should be fairly obvious by now, but unless you truly know some deposed leader of an African country then do not bother replying.  This particular scam ends up with you being asked to pay a few thousand dollars to secure a locked drop box allegedly filled with millions; you might think you come out on top, but when the courier is gone and the keys do not show up, you are left with a cheap metal box likely filled with nothing but scratch paper inside.  Other scams work differently, but almost nobody will ever receive an honest plea from a party that they do not know.

Avoid bouncing e-mails, just delete them – Bouncing, unless done within a few seconds of receiving an e-mail is a good way to send a signal to an e-mail tracking package that an address is indeed valid.  Think of it this way: if you called a phone number and immediately got a notice that the number was disconnected, then you would probably not call back.  If you called the first time and it rang endlessly and you decided to call back later in the day only to find a disconnected number or a transfer directly to an answering machine, you might take it personally.  Human perception of time is much slower paced than computer equivalent.

Never open attachments without scanning them – By now this should only be common sense, but nobody should ever open any attachment from anyone without inspecting it with an updated malware/anti-virus package.  This is true even if the e-mail came from a trusted source.  After all, their computer could be infected without them even knowing or intending to pass on the infection.

Signing up for websites – A good idea would be to keep a fake e-mail on hand for websites that are likely to send spam messages.  Try signing up for a free Yahoo! or Hotmail account to receive all of your junk mail; a clean inbox is only a few clicks away and all of that wonderful spam is simply gone.

Staying Proactive

It is entirely possible to take a proactive stance in this day and age.  This does include ensuring that an operating system is up to date and routine malware inspections are done.  There are no real security concerns that can be alleviated by going to slower ISPs or by choosing fiber over DSL or cable or any other technology.  A connection is a connection, and they are only as secure as the computers on the other end.  Only you can make your computer secure and keep it that way, and nobody should ever allow themselves to be convinced that one connection technology is inherently better than another from a security standpoint, least of all on an argument that a split second counts when it comes to preventing hacking.