Fiber to the Premises and DSL are aimed at small businesses, remote offices and consumers, but they have their differences.
FTTP
- Entirely new fiber infrastructures designed to bring carriers new revenue streams.
- Avenue for new services by affording 10 to 100 times more bandwidth than DSL.
- Applications possible: high-definition videoconferencing, PC backup, telecommuting, premises surveillance.
DSL
- Extensions of copper infrastructures to offer basic broadband at low cost to carriers.
- Little potential for new revenue but an incremental way to hold off cable competitors.
- Applications possible: some voice and video, though mostly speed improvements over dial-up services.
