RE: PBXs

["Steve Morgan" <steve@xxxxxxx>]

Calum,

I don't buy this future-proofing with fibre argument at all. Businesses
aren't replacing copper with fibre at office level, they're using it for
the
backbone, particularly between buildings.

At home, though, what use is fibre? Copper is plenty fast enough for all
but
the most esoteric of uses and is far easier to interface to. How expensive
would KAT5 be if it used fibre rather than CAT5? And how do you carry power
over fibre?

I think your assumption that fibre is the future of domestic networks is
flawed. People have been saying that fibre is all things to all men for
years and there's no evidence to suggest that they were correct. I reckon
that by the time we reach the point that UTP has had its day, something
else
will be along to take its place and it probably won't be fibre.

If I was undertaking a new install now and wanted to future-proof, I'd look
to install ducting to allow me to install new media as and when. Putting
fibre into the walls now would just be pouring money down the drain.

Just my opinion, like.

Steve

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Calum Morrell [mailto:calum@xxxxxxx]
> Sent: 30 December 2001 22:25
> To: ukha_d@xxxxxxx
> Subject: Re: [ukha_d] PBXs
>
>
> or maybe I have and I'm just teasing Stuart :P
>
> Keith, what can be used on fibre at present? anything you design an
> interface for I believe the answer is. both cat5 and fibre have
> different limitations, and for the next few years at least it's still
> going to be a case of cat5 appearing the best option ... but
> since I was
> talking about future proofing, that's not really relevant.
>
> More and more business are moving their networks to fibre,
> the costs ARE
> REDUCING SHARPLY and will continue to do so as all products
> do the more
> they are used. At the moment I am still running cat5 as I have little
> other choice. If I was starting from scratch elsewhere, I would be
> seriously tempted to run primarily fibre, probably with some cat5 for
> current apps I need that hadn't been ported by that point.
> Then I would
> start hassling people to convert their products to fibre
> until they gave
> in, or stopped talking to me.
>
>
> Calum
>