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DSL has emerged as the primary broadband technology that people will use to drive the next wave of Internet applications. As the chairman of Dallas-based Efficient Networks Inc., Mark Floyd is helping to drive the adoption of DSL through a broad range of partnerships and alliances. In an interview with InfoWorld Editor in Chief Michael Vizard, Floyd makes the economic case for DSL and outlines the impact it will have on the enterprise as the technology continues to evolve.
Vizard: How widely adopted are your DSL products at this point?
Floyd: We have products in over 68 different networks, worldwide. Our largest customers in the United States are SBC Communications and Covad, so we have a major ILEC [incumbent local exchange carrier] and a major data CLEC as the top two customers here. Internationally, we're allied with British Telecom and Telefonica Deutsche Telecom as well as all the major PTTs [postal, telegraph, and telephone companies] in Europe and Southeast Asia.
Vizard: What is the one big hurdle that needs to [be] overcome to make DSL proliferate?
Floyd: I think one of the biggest hurdles we've [crossed] is the self-installs, because these guys can't roll trucks to every installation. The numbers are so large.
Vizard: What's your take on the battle between DSL and cable?
Floyd: I think both technologies will co-exist. I don't think one eliminates the other. In the business marketplace, DSL will be very dominant in that space because most cable networks don't go around business parks or around the business areas. If you moved to residential broadband, that's where the...