Cable Modems

[Justin Hannah <sparc@inetnebr.com>]

  I am still confused as to how a cable modem is supposed to be
  bi-directional.  The way I understand most cable systems is that there are
  many amplifiers (in theory unidirectional), splitters, and other things in
  the way of a signal going uphill to the cable company.  Wouldn't this
  require modifications to the entire cable infrastructure?
  
  Perhaps a system similar to the UDBC satellite and DSS systems operate would
  be employed.  Supposedly, when internet connectivity is employed on these
  systems, a dialup modem (usually between 1200 and 9600bps) would call the
  satellite company to send data and the receive data comes thru the satellite.
  
  Another question; if "everyone" has this 10mbps bandwidth from the cable
  company, this would force the ISPs that carry web pages and other services
  that can be accessed remotely to employ a much higher speed connection.
  Perhaps 20x or more, just like how T1 lines (1.544mbps, the most common
  connection for ISPs) are compared to the standard (28.8kbps) modems used on
  the desktop.
  
  - sparc@inetnebr.com
    Justin Hannah