Cable Modems and OS/2: Introduction

Cable modem? What's a cable modem?

ong ago, in the time of our fathers, when dinosaurs roamed the ARPAnet (sometimes referred to as the "ARPAzoic period"), members of the computer industry had a great idea: modulate a digital signal into an analog signal so it could be sent over a normal telephone line, and them demodulate it at the other end back into a digital signal so it could be read by another computer. The term "MoDem" was born and the path was laid for the future of end-user Internet and on-line services.

But, as most of you probably know, telephone-based modems suck. Every few months some company or another feeds the press and consumer masses a new string of buzzwords and the world is amazed at new speed records which seemed unreachable just weeks before. But, eventually, even 56.6K seems irritatingly slow. Such is the nature of the Internet -- it's always the slowest link between remote data and your video monitor.

If you're a bright person, you might realize that this tedious process of slightly-faster connections is a losing battle because Motorola, Intel, et al. are increasing the speed of CPUs in leaps and bounds, while modem manufacturers are inching ahead in limps and burps. The problem is, they're limited by POTS (the plain old telephone system).

And if you're equally bright, you might also ponder, "but what if someone found a completely different route to transmit data to and from my computer?" Well, luckily for us, a lot of people are just that bright (and ambitious). As they say, "the future is here." Right now, many North Americans can finally order Internet access from someone other than the old-fashioned telephone company: their local cable TV provider.

It's called "Cable Modem" service (although the use of the word "modem" is a bit inaccurate here, the word is more generic than literal these days), it's fast, it's got a handful of advantages over "normal" Internet access, it's fast, and, oh, did I mention, it's fast!

OK, enough with the preamble, get to the point.

Yeah, yeah, I know, cable modems aren't exactly new. Cable companies have been promising Internet service, along with interactive TV and a ton of other gadgets, for years. But early this month, the day finally came when promise turned into delivery, and my local cable company, a small operator named Access Cable, paid me a visit.

Cable modem service first appeared in Canada some time ago in limited test markets (notably in Newmarket, Ontario and a few other areas). Since then, companies from coast to coast have been struggling to get the kinks worked out of what is a very major update to their aging services. A similar process has been taking place in the US. Now, finally, customers are getting to put the hype to the test and see the Internet as they've always dreamed of it.

In an attempt to leverage name recognition, many cable companies in Canada are now marketing their services under a similar brand: "The Wave". The service varies from region to region, but the hardware and performance are basically similar, so if you have "The Wave" in your area, chances are the information in this article will apply to you too. Even if your service is named differently (for example, if you're in the US), don't give up. It may still apply. (By the way, the Wave consortium recently signed an agreement with the US-based @Home network and the two services are or will soon be linked via an extra-strong backbone.)

Naturally, the first question every one of you (at least, everyone who hasn't yet ordered a cable modem) is asking is, "can I get one in my area?" The answer to that is probably still, "maybe." Unfortunately, this is a slow and ongoing process and, at this time, large areas that may be geographically attached are light-years apart in terms of Internet access. For example, here in Dartmouth, NS, we have cable modem service, but across the harbour in neighbouring Halifax, NS, a different cable company reigns and the dark ages persist. Expect this to change over the next 1 - 2 years until cable modem access is as ubiquitous as the current crop of "ive_got_a_modem_and_linux.com" mom and pop Internet providers. For now, the only way to determine for sure if you can get access is to call your local cable company.

As an aside, C|NET recently published a fairly thorough article on cable modems. In it, there is a map which pretends to display areas where cable modem service is available. Somehow, they forgot to even draw the entire provinces of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland on their map (we all stick out into the Atlantic, a bit northeast of the state of Maine), so I guess we can forgive them for not listing us as one of the areas that is serviced. <g>

It's also interesting to note that both C|NET and PC Mag (vol. 16, no. 6, pp. 222, 227) were lukewarm on cable modem access, claiming or implying that the technology hasn't quite matured to the point of usefulness. The reality of this claim, like many other aspects of this service, varies from area to area. Once again, check with your local company.

Or, to discover the truth that OS/2 users have found out about cable modem access, read on!