In the midst of the distracting pseudo-battle between DSL and cable modems, it is hard to remember that FTTH is still the broadband endgame. Despite the pall of failure around early-1990s interactive TV, the supremacy of fiber has been clear as glass for over a decade. St. Arnaud believes that this design can be extended into the home. But WDM has not yet hit the local loop. St. Arnaud thinks it's because established providers are tangled in reuse of their own nets.
Cable companies have cable modems so data service can run on existing broadcast-oriented networks.
Telcos have DSL, which is backward compatible with twisted pair. The same goes for networking protocols. ATM's goal was a single protocol for handling voice, video and packet services. DSL, somewhat cheaper, delivers even less. The step from 2.5 gigabits down to 1 gigabit Ethernet might seem wasteful.