Additional Notes on Magix ADSL

Jul 20, 1999

Firstly, ADSL stands for "Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line". What's asymmetric about it is that downstream traffic (from network server to client) is one speed while upstream traffic (client to server) is another. Typically, as in the case of SingTel Magix, download speeds will be around 512kbps for broadband Internet access (and 2.5 Mbps on Singapore ONE), while uploads to the server would be capped at around 400kbps. Either way, these speeds are substantially faster than the fastest 56K modem connections today, by a factor of almost 10.

ADSL, ISDN, or Cable?

An ADSL connection also offers faster speed than a typical 128K ISDN one, but at lower cost. For instance, a 128K leased line might cost as much as $2,100 per month, but an ATM/ADSL dedicated circuit would cost only $1,500. However, the assured uptime for leased lines is still marginally superior to that of ATM/ADSL. So a leased ISDN line may still be more preferable for mission-critical applications, at a higher cost but lower bandwidth.

Cable modem services, like the one offered by Singapore Cable Vision, are evidently much faster, with theoretical maximum data transfer speeds of 10Mbps downstream and 768kbps upstream. However, real world performances presently fall short of these figures. Furthermore, the difference between ADSL and cable modems is that ADSL connections are dedicated and independent of the number of users connected, whereas for cable modems, the overall bandwidth is shared among subscribers. So the actual bandwidth you get on a cable modem connection depends really on the actual number of subscribers who are simultaneously online. Finally , of course, you need to have a cable connection to have access to the service, whereas ADSL just uses your existing telephone line.

ADSL vs Dial-Up

Besides raw speed, the SingTel Magix service differs from a dial-up service in other ways. Dial-up accounts with the various ISPs are typically time-based; the moment you establish a connection with your ISP, the clock starts ticking, and you pay for the time you're online until you close the connection.

With the Magix ADSL service (and similarly with cable modems) you're actually online round the clock, so you never need to 'dial up'. However, charges are only incurred when data packets are delivered via the connection. Hence, once you've completed downloading content off the Web, you can stay online and view the content onscreen at your leisure without incurring additional 'online charges'. What this means is that for the $60 you pay each month for the SingTel Magix service, you get 30 hours of actual data transfer time. Assuming a constant rate 512kbps access, that amounts to almost 7 Gigabytes (GB) of web content you could download per month, or the equivalent of about 270 'Phantom Menace' trailers of 25.4 MB each.

However, the real edge of a fast Internet connection is not really about the speed itself, but the rich multimedia content that you can now enjoy which the speed provides: fast-streaming movie and music clips, video-on-demand, and the like. Broadband will certainly change the face of the Internet.

An ADSL connection is also actually much more convenient than if you had to consciously remember to close the connection after you're done downloading content on a normal dial-up modem connection, and then maybe having to reconnect again later. An added plus is that you can continue to use your telephone even with your ADSL connection on, so you don't need a second phone line.

Information in this article was kindly provided by Top Communications Pte Ltd, authorized value-added reseller of SingTel Magix services. For further enquiries, you can contact Edwin Low of Top Communications at:

E-mail: topcomms@magix.com.sg
Tel: (65) 293-6515 Fax: (65) 293-6129
Mobile: 9-763-4745 Pgr: 9-308-1298

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