Gigabit Ethernet to Your Home
DOCSIS 3.0 allows cable companies to bond multiple channels together. This allows them to deliver as much as 130Mbps Internet access downstream.
But this is more about theory than practice. If a cable provider bonds (say) 6 channels together in order to offer fast Internet access, they forgo channels that could instead generate revenue by carrying entertainment programming.
Telephone companies are deploying various flavors of fiber to the X (where X may be a residence, or a business location). Today, almost all deployments use passive optical networking (PON) technology, An interesting alternative FTTx approach called “Active Star” runs dedicated fiber links to each end point. A few companies have been offering 100 Mbps active star FTTX. But soon it will be feasible to deploy Gigabit Ethernet as the dedicated fiber loop to each end point. Yes, it will be cost effective.
How cool is that?