High bit rate digital subscriber line: a copper bridge to the network of the future

It is argued that the high bit rate digital subscriber line (HDSL), permitting low-cost 1.5 Mb/s copper access, will ease the transition to fiber access by accelerating the use of higher speed services. Copper will dominate over fiber customer access for at least the next ten years. During this period, the success of high-speed switched services will depend on the connectivity provided by both fiber and copper access. HDSL will initially be used to serve private-line DS 1, ISDN primary rate access, and digital loop carrier feeders. Later, the HDSL will be applied to switched services such as metropolitan area networks (MANs) and circuit switched DS1s