Path: utzoo!telecom-request Date: 20 Jun 91 19:45:44 GMT From: Jeff Carroll Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom Subject: Re: What The Heck is "Fiber Optic Quality" Anyway? Reply-To: Jeff Carroll Message-ID: Organization: Boeing Aerospace & Electronics Sender: Telecom@eecs.nwu.edu Approved: Telecom@eecs.nwu.edu X-Submissions-To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu X-Administrivia-To: telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 11, Issue 472, Message 9 of 11 Lines: 39 In article ivgate!macnet!jim.redelfs@ uunet.uu.net writes: > Mark Miller wrote: >> as I understand it, virtually all long distance calls are sent in a >> digital format. > I believe this is in error. Although AT&T is actively replacing the > analog facilities within their VAST system, I'm sure they have a LONG > way to go. This is certainly *not* the case in our corporate network, and I'd guess that AT&T is still some time away from being fully digital, as well. While Barry Margolin made a good point about noisy cable and error rates, I've never *noticed* any impairments on copper-carried digital lines, and I'd assert that you can't actually *hear* the difference. (The only digital call I can remember hearing problems on was overseas, and carried by satellite, I believe; there the error rates *can* be significant.) > As far as I know, ALL transmissions over fiber ARE digital, whereas > NOT all (at LEAST!) transmissions over OTHER type of plant is. Yup. And that's why I'm a Sprint customer (as bad as their customer service is). > Hear a pin drop? So what?!! A fat lot of good that kind of "quality" > means when there's a Sports Illustrated "SneakerPhone" on one end and > yet another CheapieChirper phone on the other!! And *that's* why all the phones at my house are genuine AT&T. Jeff Carroll carroll@ssc-vax.boeing.com