providers offered ADSL by 1998, many with the idea of installing neighborhood Optical Network Units (ONU) to provide virtual fiber to the curb (FTTC). DSL serves only customers who reside within 12,000-18,000 feet, or 2.25-3.4 miles, from their central office (CO) because signals on copper attenuate, or become corrupted over distance (IDSL will travel up to 26,000 feet). Carriers who must install digital repeaters to provide users with ADSL service must charge more for services. Video Communications: The Whole Picture Moreover, carriers who have enabled voice to transmit over longer distances by installing loading coils in the local loop must make expensive modifications to carry ADSL transmissions. Cable modems have eclipsed DSL in the US, but DSL is the wide leader worldwide. Because cable modems are a shared architecture, DSL provides performance and security advantages. Cable Modems Cable modems comprised 63% of the US broadband market; with nearly 17 million subscribers by April 2004, the US was the largest cable modem market. South Korea and Japan, respectively, boast five million and four million subscribers. Nevertheless, cable modem implementation has not been without its tribulations. Cable modems got a slow start compared to DSL because the network infrastructure required massive retrofitting, and because of an absence of standards. In 1997, only 10% of cable plants could accommodate two-way digital connectivity, but cable companies have since invested in hybrid fiber-coaxial networks. The IEEE 802.14 Cable TV Media Access Control (MAC) and Physical (PHY) Protocol Working Group was formed in May 1994 to develop international standards for data communications over cable. Their charter was to submit a cable modem MAC and PHY standard to the IEEE in 1995, but the standards were delayed until almost 1998. In January 1996, the Multimedia Cable Network System Partners Ltd. (MCNS), a limited partnership that was comprised of Comcast, Cox, TCI, and Time Warner, issued a RFP for a project management company to 