The digital dirt road

GoDigital Telecommunications has introduced a digital subscriber line system that can provide three lines of basic rate ISDN up to 120,000 feet over a single copper pair.

The company's GDSL BRI-3 is targeted at carriers that want to deliver high-speed access to markets previously too expensive to serve. "Once you get out past 30,000 feet, there is no way to deliver [digital] services," said David Sanford, vice president of marketing for GoDigital.

The BRI-3 offers a 544 kb/s transmission rate that can be provisioned into three ISDN lines. It uses existing copper and the 2B1Q industry standard.

Using the system, ISDN lines can be dropped at the end of a long loop or individually along the way using repeaters. By distributing multiple services off the same pair, carriers can support more lines in growing areas.

The central office terminal for the BRI-3 is the same as for GoDigital's GDSL-8, a previously released system that allows eight voice lines to be carried over a single copper pair.

"Anything that allows [carriers] to use existing facilities and offer long loop lengths would be very attractive," said Blaik Kriby, a principal at Renaissance Worldwide.

GTE is testing the BRI-3 system and has deployed the GDSL-8. According to GTE officials, offering high-speed Internet access to rural markets is the next step.

"Farmers have Internet access, and a lot of people are moving from the city to rural areas who want the same service that they get in the city," said Jim Duffy, manager of GTE Network Services.

Offering an inexpensive way to get into rural markets "lets telephone companies be more aggressive in reaching everybody," Sanford said.