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Internet and Intranet Developments for the UfI

Professor Paul BacsichHead of the Virtual Campus Programme

UfI, 22-23 October 1998

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The Requirement (2002)from a customer viewpoint

To connect 2.5 million enquirers per year occasionally to UfI Info Services

To connect 600,000 learners per year on a more permanent basis to organised programmes of learning

These parameters define the scale of the Network

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Some requirements (2005) 200,000 people per year in Basic Skills -

via Learning Channels, DVD and WebTV? 200,000 people per year in ICT - via PCs,

CD-ROMs and Internet? 100,000 start-ups and 50,000 SMEs - low-

cost low-bandwidth temp. connections? 500 multimedia companies - MANs? These parameters further help to define

the types of Subnetworks

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Networks

Ways of linking people to people and resources

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Parameters of networks

Bandwidth/speed/bit rate Distance (cf. twisted pair) Quality of Service: latency, jitter etc Coverage Mobility COSTS

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Speed of networks (bit/s)

0,000,032,000 - modems, dial-up data

0,000,064,000 - speech, audio

0,000,128,000 - quasi-video, music

0,002,000,000 - good video, WANs

0,010,000,000 - Ethernet (old)

0,100,000,000 - ATM, Ethernet, MANs

1,000,000,000 - in labs and dreams

More bandwidth Better education

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Internet: 2000there and stable

From nerdy&US to potentially ubiquitous information highway world-wide

Available dial-up in most developed countries, no time charge

Leased lines typical 64 kbit/s to 2 Mbit/s Also on mobile networks but slower Some use via satellites (cf. JANUS) Marvellous self-extending (plug-ins) and

self-enhancing (IPv6) powers

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Access from home and SMEs

Modems: 33.6 or 56 kbit/s ISDN=Home Highway: 64 or 128 kbit/s ADSL over copper: 2 Mbit/s Cable modems, share of 10 Mbit/s Radio, mobile Satellite, digital TV Other minority systems, eg power lines

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Modems

Routinised at 28.8 or 33.6 kbit/s Stretched to 56 kbit/s by various methods “End of the road” - no better in 2005

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ISDN - Home Highway (v1)

Big advantage - uses phone line (digital) 64 or 128 kbit/s Telephone tariffs But not much faster than modems At last, quite simple and cheap In reality an old technology - 20 years Wrapped in politics

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ADSL - blip now, relevant from 2002

Big advantage - uses phone line Asymmetric: 64+ kbit/s up, 384+ down Where Home Highway should be now

and will be by 2002 Many US trials or quasi-services,

some European trials Potentially UK-wide (rural lines?) But tariffing dilemmas May kill “true” ISDN stone dead

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Cable modems - good theory, relevant by 2002 in

cities

Good in theory: “just” broadband Ethernet over coaxial cable TV

Reality is much harder Many US services Several European trials Problem: is this an interim technology? Tariffing, again Tends to be city-oriented

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Radio: 2002 but only blip? mobile: 2002 but costly

Fixed link» Ionica etc» Little used for data as yet» Obscure future?

Mobile» GSM - slow but a data service» UMTS: much faster, still R&D phase and EU

lobby: 2002» Very active research area - ACTS

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Satellite:2000&never for large-scale

use

One-way:» Return is usually terrestrial» First service was Hughes DirecPC» Now Eutelsat/BT and others» Relevant from 2000, but niche for England

Two-way: VSAT» mostly still R&D phase: ACTS etc; suspect in UK

context even in 2002» dreams of “USAT” in studies: 2005?

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Digital broadcasting: 2000

Hybrid Internet via DB and phone lines Attractive in theory, not so popular with

engineers (cf satellites) Scalable? Perhaps more oriented to information

distribution than “true” Internet Central to some UfI audiences by 2002

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Power lines

Communication over power lines goes back to “carrier current” of 1940s

Problems are noise and transformers Destined to remain a minority system -

technically harder than phone lines; unless regulatory distortions re-intrude

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ATM over fibre to the home?>2005

Foreseen over 10 years ago- Mackintosh studies

Will be a long time until every UK home has a fibre connection and ATM

And high cost to get there Thus “interim” solutions (so-called by

engineers) remain important for years Still not there universally in 2005

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Conclusions“Enough to be going on

with” IDSN and ADSL - existing copper Cable modems use “existing” cable Radio and satellite - remote areas Digital data broadcasting

- good potential, but scalability? Tariffs and protection of existing services

are the main problems (for suppliers) Long term outlook is bright for purchasers

of network services

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Further study ADSL Forum - http://www.adsl.com Information also at http://www.xdsl.com/ Cable Modems - http://www.catv.org/ ACTS information site (from InfoWin)

http://www.infowin.org Telecoms Virtual Library -

http://www.analysys.com/vlib/

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Issues

Technology issues Pedagogic issues Organisational issues National issues International issues - regulatory etc

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Acknowledgements

EU ACTS - for InfoWin work EPSRC - support of IGDS course on

“Networked Information Engineering” http://www.shu.ac.uk/schools/cms/nie/

An earlier version of this presentation was given at the European School Net launch

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Thank you for listening

Paul Bacsich

Professor of TelematicsHead of Division of Computing & Networks

Head of the Virtual Campus Programme