Wireless providers, the cable TV industry and telephone companies are positioning themselves to battle for market share in the emerging home market for broadband multimedia communications. At the heart of the battle is the question of reuse of existing media, such as coaxial cables and twisted-pair copper wires, versus additional investment in RF spectrum, fiber-to-the-curb and hybrid alternatives. Of high interest to the circuit community is the extent to which integrated circuit technology appears in the balance between the competing technologies, and how IC-based terminal/modem technology will affect the intermediate stages and final outcome of competition.
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