FAQ/DSL Forum

1. What is the DSL Forum?
2. What companies belong to DSL Forum?
3. What is the role of the DSL Forum?
4. Does the DSL Forum produce subscriber numbers or industry reports?
5. Does DSL Forum develop industry standards?
6. How is the DSL Forum involved in equipment interoperability?
7. How would you describe the state of DSL right now?
8. Why has DSL growth been slower in some countries than others?
9. Is there any breakdown between different types of DSL in the marketplace?
10. Why are the majority of DSL services available relatively slow compared to the potential speeds of xDSL?
11. Different services and applications need different levels of Quality of Service. How is the DSL Forum facilitating QoS for the customer?
12. Do we really need all the variations of xDSL?
13. What does the Forum think about competing technologies such as Ethernet in the First Mile (EFM) over Copper and the question of ATM or over Ethernet/IP?
14. How is Fibre to the Home [FTTH] competition to DSL?
15. What does the DSL Forum think about wireless broadband and series over powerline?
16. What do you think about the potential of VoIP?
17. What are the key things that influence the development of DSL take up and penetration in a market?

1. What is the DSL Forum?
DSL Forum is an international industry consortium of over 200 leading service providers, equipment and component manufacturers and other interested parties, focused on developing the full potential of broadband DSL to meet the needs of the mass market. Established in 1994, the Forum’s vision is a mass market for broadband DSL in every region of the world and our mission is to develop technical specifications and marketing materials that enable the promotion, delivery and support of those profitable broadband DSL products and services.

The DSL Forum works to streamline processes, develop specifications and share best practices that set the stage for effective deployments, and continuing global DSL growth. By developing new standards and embracing new applications, the DSL Forum is tailoring DSL to meet the needs of the next generation of multi-media services and the online community. More information about the DSL Forum is available from its industry site http://www.dslforum.org.

2. What companies belong to DSL Forum?
DSL Forum is a global consortium of nearly 200 leading companies covering the telecommunications, equipment, computing, networking and service provider sectors. Associate members include academics and nonprofit organisations with an interest in DSL. Members are listed on the DSL Forum website at: http://www.dslforum.org/about/members.php.

3. What is the role of the DSL Forum?
We develop, through consensus, Technical Reports on the capabilities, testing, management and network architecture for the most effective deployment and operation of DSL from the network itself through to the home. We share information, experience and best practices inside the industry, with end users and provide inputs to standards bodies through formal liaisons. Our members have the opportunity to frame and contribute to all of our work through our quarterly meetings, the continuing activities of our working groups, interoperability testing events and demonstrations of broadband DSL as well as the formal voting processes that lead to the publication of our Technical Reports.

We are the recognised international source for key market data, generic information on DSL technology and its role in the world’s rapidly developing broadband economies. Our website, Ambassador speakers, media relations, industry analyst relations, trade shows participation and various end-user and regulatory education activities are key elements in our industry outreach.

4. Does DSL Forum produce subscriber numbers or industry reports?
Industry analyst, Point Topic of London, produces quarterly, global DSL subscriber statistics for the DSL Forum that are published via press releases and on the Forum’s website at: http://www.dslforum.org. We provide executive summaries of other third parties’ reports, which are available with a discount to our members, on various aspects of the global market at http://www.dslforum.org/dslnews/analystreports.shtml.

5. Does DSL Forum develop industry standards?
The Forum contributes to global industry standards by developing Technical Reports and through formal liaisons with global standards bodies such as ANSI, ETSI, ATIS and ITU. Our Technical Report TR-048 was specifically referenced in the ITU document standarising ADSL2 and ADSL2+ in 2003. Completed DSL Forum Technical Reports cover the technology itself, network operations and management, interoperability and integration of DSL technology into existing infrastructures. A schedule of those reports and their full text is available at: http://www.dslforum.org/techwork/treports.shtml.

6.How is the DSL Forum involved in equipment interoperability?
The DSL Forum has established a series of Technical Reports that define the core testing and interoperability criteria for network and customer premises equipment. These continue to be developed to address the needs of newly defined and standardised versions of DSL such as ADSL2+. Interoperability activities include ‘plugfests’ for equipment manufacturers and a number of independent testing laboratories (ITLs) around the world that have been recognized to undertake robust testing to the DSL Forum’s test plan specifications. The primary focus of these tests is to check the ability of a product to co-exist in a multiple vendor environment and operate with other products so that network and service providers as well as end users are assured of the capability of equipment to deliver standards-based broadband DSL services, effectively. At major trade shows, the DSL Forum presents demonstrations of DSL technologies and broadband applications that deliver benefits to business and residential users of these services, using multi-vendor equipment working interoperatively.

7. How would you describe the state of DSL right now?
Broadband DSL is a dynamic market all around the world and, globally, is the fastest growing telecommunications sector. It is the leading broadband technology in the world, increasing its global market share each quarter. As recently as December 1999, there were less than one million subscribers to broadband DSL services. Just four years later, at the end of 2003, there were 68 million – a growth curve that is even faster than mobile phones – and around the end of 2004, 100 million subscribers should be reached. The DSL Forum has set a target of 500 million DSL subscribers by 2010. See the latest deployment statistics updated on a quarterly basis: "DSL Deployment Charts" that can be downloaded at: http://www.dslforum.org/dslnews/presskit.shtml.

8. Why has DSL growth been faster in some countries than others?
Fixed line telephone service penetration, household and business densities, computer ownership, internet access take-up and regulatory framework are all considerations in developing an efficient business model for broadband DSL services. In some countries decisions have been made, primarily, on a commercial basis as telephone network operators are listed companies. In other territories, where telephone networks remain in public ownership, decisions on when and where to deploy DSL, were made by Governments. What is clear is that every quarter, additional countries introduce DSL services with around 60 currently offering the benefits of broadband DSL to their business and residential communities.

9. Is there any breakdown between different types of DSL in the marketplace?
ADSL is the most prevalent type of DSL in the world at present. A variation on that, ADSL2+ that can provide greater reach, higher bit rates and added Quality of Service (QoS) facilities, is coming on stream as new equipment meeting that ITU standard is deployed in networks. Symmetric DSL [standardised by the ITU as SHDSL] is being deployed primarily for business users and VDSL is providing very high-speed services to deliver entertainment services in various countries. With ADSL the dominant type of DSL in service, there is currently no robust data to provide region-by-region, country-by-country breakdowns of deployment by type.

10. Why are the majority of DSL services available relatively slow compared to the potential speeds of xDSL?
The first, most popular application of any new consumer technology drives the product and service offering in the early years. High-speed internet access was, and continues to be, the initial market driver of broadband DSL and speeds of up to 2 Mbps are appropriate and adequate to deliver that benefit. Once a national market is established, service providers tend to gradually offer customers a greater choice of speeds and bundled services to deliver a wider variety of benefits and applications at a range of prices. With the introduction of ADSL2+ equipment and its potential for grater reach and speed, services in the range of 3-6 Mbps downstream using ADSL are becoming available in some countries and others have or are now introducing services of at least 20 Mbps, using VDSL. Meanwhile symmetric services, primarily for businesses, are being introduced using SHDSL.

11. Different services and applications need different levels of Quality of Service. How is the DSL Forum facilitating QoS for the customer?
We are continuing to develop Technical Reports that allow equipment and service providers to build in a range of management and operational facilities that deliver flexible and specific quality of service levels. For example, using the QoS mechanisms of TR-58 and 059, specific services now being offered with, for example, bit rate on demand – vital for video services; lower latency – important for gaming services; and less jitter – for packetised voice services.

12. Do we really need all the variations of xDSL?
One size never fits all. Service flexibility to meet the specific needs of individual customers and the full range of application opportunities is essential for the overall broadband market so that customers have real choice and can select services – and prices – that match their requirements and expectations. DSL technology can provide that flexibility. While we see a clear trend towards demand for higher speeds, there are very different speed needs for small businesses, wireless hotspots, those who telework, people who want their broadband to deliver entertainment, an internet connection for browsing and shopping, Voice over IP services or all three, and those who want home or business security surveillance, for example. It is always important to be able to provide service and price flexibility and choice.

13. What does the Forum think about competing technologies such as Ethernet in the First Mile (EFM) over Copper and the question of ATM or over Ethernet/IP?
Service providers are using the same ADSL, SHDSL and VDSL physical technology to carry both ATM and Ethernet based services. Regardless of whether it is ATM or Ethernet, these are all DSL-based technologies and services. There is a growing prevalence of Ethernet-based services today, and this growth is partly enabled by the newly developed QoS mechanisms for IP transport over DSL.

14. How is Fibre to the Home [FTTH] competition to DSL?
FTTH or fibre close to the customer is envisioned by many as the preferred media of the future – but that is clearly a very long-term future. A decade ago, some predicted that in many countries the significant investment in that infrastructure would have been made by now. That is far from the case in most parts of the world, although there is a gradual increase in fibre in existing networks. Newly developed residential and business sites where fibre may be installed as part of the construction, constitutes a very small proportion of the total property stock in any country so it is unlikely to impact on FTTH penetration in the near future. It is feasible to place fibre close to the customer - within a fraction of a kilometre – and to use copper for the last several hundred meters [fibre to the curb or cabinet]. VDSL technology on this short loop can provide downstream service rates of approximately 30 Mbps, matching the service speeds that the customer would have received from FTTH. Even that level of infrastructure investment will take time to realise and meanwhile – for many millions of homes and businesses for many decades – DSL will continue to be the most efficient and effective method of delivering broadband services.

15. What is the main benefit that will be achieved through new standards efforts in auto-configuration, and what impact is it expected to have on future DSL deployments?
A wide and increasing range of technologies may be capable of delivering broadband services to homes, businesses and public sector organisations around the world. A number of different technologies may be used in each community to make the benefits of broadband available to everyone. DSL holds by far the largest share of the global broadband access market, outstripping all other technologies by two to one. As newer access technologies emerge, to compete they will need to demonstrate to service providers and end users alike that they can match the reliability, scalability, interoperability, flexibility, safety and efficiency of DSL.

16. What does the Forum think about the potential of VoIP?
Voice over Internet Protocol [VoIP] services are increasingly available and popular, globally, and are becoming an integral part of broadband service offerings from a wide range of service providers, including large Telcos.

17. What are the key things that influence the development of DSL take up and penetration in a market?
One major factor that influences broadband DSL market penetration is the existence of a clear and stable regulatory policy that creates an attractive business environment for ISPs.

A second factor is the physical infrastructure and profile of the business and residential community of the country. In many Asian countries, for example, a large percentage of potential customers live in multi-occupancy buildings which can be served with broadband DSL very efficiently with a network unit placed in or near the building. In areas where a ubiquitous copper infrastructure does not already exist, it may be necessary to seek support for the necessary investment in that infrastructure.

A third factor in generating a mass market is education of potential customers into the newest applications and opportunities of broadband DSL in the home and in business. A combination of educational and communication techniques need to be used, but nothing is more effective in generating demand than showcasing exciting online services, or providing individuals with personal experience of what DSL can do and deliver. That experience may be given in schools, libraries, the workplace or even in exhibitions, but one thing is certain – once always available broadband DSL is experienced, nobody wants to go back to life without it.