Cable modems have reached well over 1 million users. The lack of a universally accepted standard could slow the spread of DSL, just as telephone companies and Internet service providers like America Online and Prodigy ramp up their marketing machines to push high-speed Net services across the country. One in the same Many industries push for technology standards, or rules, so that different companies create products that can work with each other. For example, VHS is a standard for videotape. In the communications world, standards are critical.
Analysts echo the industry concerns.
The Internet and computer industries coalesced around the G.lite standard for consumer DSL several years ago. It was ratified by the International Telecommunications Union as the worldwide set of official technical guidelines last June. The standard is aimed at making DSL relatively cheap, as it would allow a consumer to buy a modem and plug it into a PC, rather than wait for a phone company technician to install it. The challenge is to make sure that modems and other equipment made under the G.lite standard all work together. Under the auspices of the ADSL Forum, the University of New Hampshire has set up a lab where companies like Intel, Alcatel, Lucent, and others can test their modems against each other and against other products.