US West Inc, as reported briefly (CI No 2,101), is committed to spending $13,200m over the next decade to build a broadband network targetting its residential customers. The company has issued a request for proposals to network equipment suppliers and expects to award the first contracts this summer. In addition to voice and high speed data, the company says that it will offer a video dialtone service to third party services providers – including existing cable television companies. Technical trials will begin late this year, with 100,000 customers connected by the end of 1994. After that, the company says that a further 500,000 or so customers will be added to the network each year. US West has decided against a full fibre-to-the-lounge approach in favour of hybrid technology with a mixture of optical fibre and coaxial cable feeding neighbourhood junction-boxes, linked to the customers by a mixture of twisted-pair and coaxial cabling. The company reckons that consequently the construction costs of the new infrastructure will be comparable with those for its existing system. The company is adamant that it will concentrate on its residential rather than business subscribers, saying that the latter are already well catered for.
