EH> The one thing that was good was the demo of the Rogers Wave
 EH> internet service. it is FAST!
 MF> But is it secure?  After all, you're sharing that wire with other
 MF> Wave users, along with every house wired for cable!
Rogers engineering people claim that security is "no problem" between WAVE
users. Of course there IS a caveat to realise: your data is secure _while_
it remains within the WAVE system. Once sent to the Net, things _can_ unravel
fairly quickly !
If security - as in secure email - is a big concern, then you'd be best-off
to use text encryption tools. PGP would be a rather good start for this; it's
one of the best - and least expensive - of all similar packages available
today.
If you're asking about "security" with the thought of e-commerce in mind, 
hen
I'd say that Rogers' WAVE system has a bit of a ways to travel ! Again, it's
"not a problem" if all your on-line shopping takes place _within_ a 100%
Cable-sponsored and controlled electronic mall. There is concern to be
warranted if you're thinking about responding to advertisements from sources
such as The Shopping Channel via the Net: first, it's not yet been fully
realised. However, the banking community is really interested in expanding 
it's
horizons: it already has the secure channels - and the necessary software - 
o
faciliate on-line shopping BUT they want you to go through them _first_ 
ather
than for you to be able to place your orders any more directly... Smart lads,
those bankers: they _know_ how to make a Buck just by being Middlemen !
If you're thinking that Cable deliveries are insecure _because_ the system
employs what amounts to "coaxed radio" signals, then I urge you to think 
again:
while it's quite possible to intercept stray RF signals, it is not always an
easy task to fully break-down those signals. WAVE messages employ what boils
down to a radio modem, and sent/received information is automatically 
enveloped
within a unique datagram. Sure, the cable itself carries a multitude of other
signals (in a wholly bidirectional fashion, BTW. Cable companies have been
using this "feature" to control the converters and descramblers used by their
Subscribers for years...) but I defy you to be able to 
_distinguish_/reassemble
the information with readily-available _consumer_ devices (as opposed to the
_professional_ gear that is sold only to Bona Fide industry candidates) !
Besides, if you pay attention at all to WAVE engineering descriptions, you'll
find that the modems employ duplex switching schemes - faster rates of
transmission for info coming _downchannel_ (ie - from the Cable company) and
a slower transmission speed for the _upchannel_ info stream (ie - from you).
And don't forget about that thing known as "bandwidth". Coax is little more
than a copper core closely wrapped in a combination of low-loss foam
dielectric insulation, with closely-weaved strands of fine copper wire atop
to keep the signals _within_ the coax cable itself and a "kinda rigid" outer
jacket (perhaps aluminum or PVC): point is that copper, in and of itself, 
ill
"take" only so much abuse before IT becomes the main contributor towards
system overloads at peak (traffic) times. In other words, the more WAVE 
odems
thrown online at any given time, the slower the traffic is able to move (this
was but one of the reasons that the WAVE system uses duplex - or "split" -
transmission rates). This is a typical effect for _analog_-based systems that
attempt high data transmission rates that are rather more _digital_ by nature 
!
(The Telcos have been using FOs - Fibre Optics - for better than a decade, to
better realise enhanced bandwidths, echo attentuation/cancellations, and 
real
time" rates of transmissions whether voice, data or other forms of broadband
services, _without_ adjacent channel interferences or crosstalk effects. A
single strand of FO - several magnitudes smaller than copper conductor - can
carry quite a bit _more_ in the way of signal without the adversities that
copper lines produce !)
WAVE is good for the average Net-surfer, but not yet, I suggest, for regular
_commercial_ use. Perhaps before 2000, WAVE may become "business qualified"
and actually become a viable alternative communications method and cost
effective option to the offerings from Telcos where the Net is concerned.
Until then, you'll find the bulk of reliance upon T1/T3 and ISDN (or ADSL in
the near future) by the generic business community, and likely because these
technologies have been _proven_ time and again.
Semper Fi
RTP
~~~ PGPBLUE 3.0 
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