Hi Phil, yeah its good to be back! Been very busy at work with the federal election lately, but thank the lord it's all over!<br /><br />Hi Jason,<br /><br />The fibre will be terminated in a box outside off the customers house in which only telstra staff will be able access for exactly those safety reasons. From here, it is converted into an electrical signal, RG6 for TV, Cat 5 for broadband and I think KRONE connections for the telephones. (I need to double check). FTA signal for the local TV stations will also be put into the pay TV stream at the local head-end. A STU will still be required to view these channels. Fibre optic cable per metre does not really cost much, but you are right, it is time consuming to splice, terminate and test.<br /><br />Telstra already pushes 2.5G/bit down a fibre for there intercaptical city networks (SDH - Synchronous digital hierarchy) and there is research to prove that it will go faster. It uses Dense Wave Divison Multiplexing (DWDM). Basically using different light spectrums or wave lengths. I also think they push 2.5G/bit on broadband cable (Again, I will have to double check).<br /><br />SDI for digital TV is 270Meg (you can also put ASI in a 270 meg container and ASI is basically MPEG2 within a 270Meg stream) and (SDI) is pure video and audio with NO compression but it has a distance limitation of 200M electrically and 40Kms optically. The transport streams to take digital TV (foxtel and some TV networks) to the different cable head-ends and studios around Australia are on 45 Meg SDH links (DVN Intercapital network). The 270 meg is compressed into MPEG2 and you can get around about 6-10 programs depending on the compression factors and the video quality you want into a 45Meg stream.<br /><br />Again, the only place to have this technology installed is in Queensland. Trust me, I work for Telstra in Media Services and I maintain the ageing analogue network and the Digital Video Network. Although there is no cable network in Canberra (almost was once!) our section also looks after Broadband Cable.<br /><br />If this technology does come to Canberra, and I am hopeing it does at some time in the future, as I will also be working on it.<br /><br />I'll see what pubically released information I can obtain in relation to how the technology works when I get back to work this Tuesday.<br /><br />Also try www.telstra.com and do a search on "Fibre to the premises". I have seen the Tech docos but I suspect that they still maybe Confidential. I'll do may best.<br /><br />Cheers,<br />Col.<br /> <br /> <small>[ 08. November 2004, 08:19 AM: Message edited by: Colin T ]</small>