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Comments on news posted 2008-01-11 13:06:11: You may have heard of "Connect Kentucky," a plan developed to bring broadband services to rural areas of Kentucky that's being revamped as a national broadband cure-all under the name Connected Nation. ..
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JasonD
@comcast.net | Completely understandable Telco's get beaten over the head on a daily basis for not providing broadband to areas we all know don't make good business sense. So is it any wonder they are trying to protect and insulate themselves from all this crap? | |
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gaforces
United We Stand, Divided We Fall
join:2002-04-07
Santa Cruz, CA
4 edits | Re: Completely understandable said by JasonD :
Telco's get beaten over the head on a daily basis for not providing broadband to areas we all know don't make good business sense. So is it any wonder they are trying to protect and insulate themselves from all this crap?
That's fine, but actively opposing municipality's who are attempting to deploy in rural area's is going too far.
Deploying in rural area's will give incumbents competition, as the municipality's will have infrastructure in area's of the incumbent, that they have no control over.
When and if they decide to deploy, it will already have established service, making it less profitable for them.
As far as this connect nation thing, town's that try and deploy without thier help and control of the incumbents, get heavy opposition. Even if they have no plan's for deploying in thier area's. Seem's to be a conflict of interest in there somewhere's.
How bout if those municipality's start connecting together, and bypass incumbents altogether? Aye? 
--
‘Do ye, quieting in your bosoms your strong hearts,
Who of many good things have had your fill even to surfeit,
With what is moderate nourish your mighty desire; for neither will
We yield, nor shall you have all else as you wish.’
Solon | |
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pnh102
Reptiles Are Cuddly And Pretty
Premium
join:2002-05-02
Mount Airy, MD
 ·Comcast
| Re: Completely understandable said by gaforces  :That's fine, but actively opposing municipality's who are attempting to deploy in rural area's is going too far. Each time a Bell stops a municipally funded Internet project it should be given a medal. These projects have a solid reputation for turning into huge money pits. Local governments have more important things to spend money on than providing Internet.
There is nothing stopping private citizens from investing their own money, without the help of government, to roll their own Internet.
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Only SHATNER is Kirk. | |
| | | | Nuts
join:2006-04-27
Forest, OH | Re: Completely understandable Just the Bells and Cable Co's that drive them out of business | |
| | | | Ahrenl
join:2004-10-26
North Andover, MA | Thanks for the FUD.
Local governments should get to decide what to spend THEIR money on. | |
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pnh102
Reptiles Are Cuddly And Pretty
Premium
join:2002-05-02
Mount Airy, MD
·Comcast
| Re: Completely understandable said by Ahrenl :Thanks for the FUD. FUD? Go search this website and you will see many stories about municipal internet failures and boondoggles.
said by Ahrenl :Local governments should get to decide what to spend THEIR money on. It isn't their money. That money belongs to the taxpayers and the government has a responsibility to spend it on things that are needed, not on toys.
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Only SHATNER is Kirk. | |
| | | | | | Ahrenl
join:2004-10-26
North Andover, MA | Re: Completely understandable Local money in local governments is very much controlable by locals.
Leave out of the search wifi/wimax and get back to me. Municpal wired networks have done just fine... | |
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pnh102
Reptiles Are Cuddly And Pretty
Premium
join:2002-05-02
Mount Airy, MD
·Comcast
| Re: Completely understandable said by Ahrenl :Leave out of the search wifi/wimax and get back to me. Why? These are perfect examples of why governments need to stay out of the Internet racket.
said by Ahrenl :Municpal wired networks have done just fine... Of course they have. It is very easy to be successful when you have the taxpayer teat, or funds coming in from another municipally run service, from which you can leech.
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Only SHATNER is Kirk. | |
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Karl Bode
News Guy
join:2000-03-02 | Re: Completely understandable quote:
It is very easy to be successful when you have the taxpayer teat
I'm sorry, just to be clear, are you talking about muni operators or incumbent operators? | |
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james
join:2001-02-26
antarctica | Re: Completely understandable Both obviously, because both do so. The funny thing is that taxpayers can either spend the money on their own infrastructure, or they can spend the money propping up some investors portfolio. | |
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pnh102
Reptiles Are Cuddly And Pretty
Premium
join:2002-05-02
Mount Airy, MD
·Comcast
| said by Karl Bode :I'm sorry, just to be clear, are you talking about muni operators or incumbent operators? Who's fault is it when any private company gets any taxpayer money?
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Only SHATNER is Kirk. | |
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pnh102
Reptiles Are Cuddly And Pretty
Premium
join:2002-05-02
Mount Airy, MD
·Comcast
| Re: Completely understandable said by fatness :You didn't answer him. Here's your statement and his question again: said by Karl Bode : said by pnh1102 :
It is very easy to be successful when you have the taxpayer teat
I'm sorry, just to be clear, are you talking about muni operators or incumbent operators? My bad.
Both do quite well (financially) when getting taxpayer money. We see the same examples when taxpayers build stadiums for professional sports teams and such.
And that's why it is always wrong, and it is always the fault of the government when these things are allowed to happen.
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Only SHATNER is Kirk. | |
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fatness
subtle
Janitor
join:2000-11-17
fishing | Re: Completely understandable Thank you. | |
| | | | xsiddalx
join:2005-03-11
Chicago, IL
 ·AT&T Yahoo
| With all of the talk about how much the cable and telcos rates are, what makes your believe the muni projects are money pits? Maybe their money pits are less? (I don't know)
The internet today is not the internet of yore. It is now where we get access to government, private company bill payments, news, video, radio and good old fashioned plain old discussion via ad-block required web sites. Wait around,
it'll be more or a pita to converse in ten years unless you accept the ads and willing to participate with shills.
In 94 the bells wanted nothing to do with the internet.
They have now taken out the ISPs
There is something to prevent us from investing our own money...we can't get right of way access as individuals or anything other than spending a fortune to be declares cable tv or telephone companies.
You have a profitable idea (or even break-even)?
said by pnh102 :Each time a Bell stops a municipally funded Internet project it should be given a medal. These projects have a solid reputation for turning into huge money pits. Local governments have more important things to spend money on than providing Internet. There is nothing stopping private citizens from investing their own money, without the help of government, to roll their own Internet. | |
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S_engineer
join:2007-05-16
Chicago, IL
·Comcast
| Well then why stop others from trying to deploy into those areas that they themselves don't serve!
Anything that the Deathstar and friends try to do is 99% of the time not consumer friendly. Is anybody surprised by this?
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Let's pluck 'im and see if he's ripe!"
- Larry (MEN IN BLACK, 1934) | |
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Karl Bode
News Guy
join:2000-03-02
Host:
Road Runner
PC gaming GAMES
PC gaming Tech
| Picture this: an independent State-based effort to improve the lives of regional locals is hijacked by a group of massive corporations, who in turn use this new and freshly budgeted organization as a lobbying front to do the exact opposite of its originally proposed mission statement. They now take taxpayer dollars in order to mislead and confuse the public into thinking positive change is happening, while under the surface consumer interests are trampled.
Yes, that sounds like a perfectly reasonable reaction to getting picked on by a handful of increasingly marginalized consumer advocates because you think rural ROI isn't worth your time. | |
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TKJunkMail
Enjoy the sun
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join:2002-03-03
Avalon, NJ
 ·Sprint Mobile Broa..
·Comcast
| Re: Completely understandable said by Karl Bode :Picture this: an independent State-based effort to improve the lives of regional locals is hijacked by a group of massive corporations, who in turn use this new and freshly budgeted organization as a lobbying front to do the exact opposite of its originally proposed mission statement. They now take taxpayer dollars in order to mislead and confuse the public into thinking positive change is happening, while under the surface consumer interests are trampled. According to Art Brodsky!! Seems like most others disagree that that is what is happening.
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gaforces
United We Stand, Divided We Fall
join:2002-04-07
Santa Cruz, CA | Re: Completely understandable There are some county's in Kentucky that agree with him too.
They didnt get on the connect Kentucky bandwagon, fought them and the imcumbents, and deployed thier own fiber. | |
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TKJunkMail
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Avalon, NJ
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·Comcast
| Re: Completely understandable said by gaforces :There are some county's in Kentucky that agree with him too. They didnt get on the connect Kentucky bandwagon, fought them and the imcumbents, and deployed thier own fiber. Any links?
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zachary1
you talkin' to me?
join:2004-03-07
right here | Why the heck would a bunch of hick Kentucky rednecks need the "internets" anyway? Don't they have coons to chase and pickups with shotgun racks to drive? | |
| | axus
join:2001-06-18
Washington, DC
·Verizon Online DSL
| One can defend one's self without hurting other people. The ends don't justify the means.
Nobody is forcing AT&T to deploy broadband where they don't want to. Yet, as soon as "the government" looks for a way to fill in the gaps, AT&T gets involved and tries to prevent the gaps from being filled, or try to monopolize it themselves and then continue ignoring it. | |
| | xsiddalx
join:2005-03-11
Chicago, IL
·AT&T Yahoo
| said by JasonD :
Telco's get beaten over the head on a daily basis for not providing broadband to areas we all know don't make good business sense. So is it any wonder they are trying to protect and insulate themselves from all this crap?
If it doesn't make sense for them, why do they consistently fight off any efforts of government entities that believe a business case can be built? | |
| | | sonnybadbutt
join:2001-05-11
Elizabethtown, KY | Re: Sounds like Art is jealous he is not getting that Fed money Now that sounds like somebody who has no concept of what is really happening and probably a Bell employee. Being right in the middle of this mess in KY with Connect Kentucky I have seen first hand what Bell is doing and it is not pretty. | |
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catswin
@bgmu.com
 from:
TKJunkMail
| Thanks, TK, for being reasonable.
Below is a memo from Connected Nation's CEO (whose congressional testimony you point out above) refuting the premise of Brodsky's post. It is lengthy, but worth the read.
MEMORANDUM
TO: Telecommunications Professionals
FROM: Brian R. Mefford, CEO, Connected Nation, Inc.
DATE: January 11, 2008
SUBJECT: Rebutting Misrepresentations and Inaccuracies from Art Brodsky’s Recent Post Regarding ConnectKentucky and Connected Nation
Art Brodsky recently published a supposed “exposé” of ConnectKentucky and Connected Nation on his Public Knowledge policy blog. It is full of and predicated on inaccuracies and misrepresentations. The post is disappointing in terms of its lack of factual correctness and balance but not altogether surprising either. I recognize that, clearly, Brodsky has supporters who need this message conveyed, regardless of the accuracy. This sort of blogging posing as journalism contradicts the site’s stated goal of promoting full public knowledge.
Part of my disappointment is that Art failed to mention the fact that my staff and I provided him with full and open access – with a willingness to provide detail and clarity around process, history, etc. For instance, as much as he makes of our relationship with BellSouth/AT&T, he fails to mention that we told him during his “research” that never has Bellsouth/AT&T’s contributions accounted for more than one half of one percent of ConnectKentucky’s modest annual revenues. I realize this fact doesn’t support the case he attempted to make, but I would like to think that in his quest to inform public knowledge, he would include all uncovered facts provided. Perhaps his view of public knowledge is limited to the version of the truth that he can create to benefit those who pay his salary.
Our organization operates on the premise of full transparency and accountability – with no secrets, nothing to hide. We don't claim to be perfect – we seek to grow and improve as time passes. Likewise, we're proud that we can bring together disparate interests from various groups. We don't aim to take credit for their accomplishments. Our intent is to make those accomplishments easier to achieve so that citizens ultimately benefit – and then to celebrate the progress that results.
Nearly all of his “significant” points in his post are either inaccurate or altogether false. For instance, we have never mapped satellite for the reasons obvious to anyone with any industry familiarity. And we don't offer satellite as part of a community-wide solution but rather to individuals who need something better than dial-up immediately. In some cases, we have born the cost of this higher cost solution to assist those who desperately need the service in their homes. In some of those cases, access to satellite broadband has been life-altering.
ConnectKentucky has worked with every type of provider – especially fixed wireless carriers – in the hardest to reach areas. Take for example the ConnectGRADD project, where we have supported a seven county public-private wireless solution that will cover 95% of the previously unserved homes in that region. The broadband service providers in this case consist of a partnership of wireless entrepreneurs, electric utility companies, water districts, and local governments.
Further, our maps and local planning recommendations account for every single service provider willing to participate in the process. In Kentucky those providers number in the 80’s – a far stretch from the one or two providers Brodsky claims that we engage solely. Our local work has included nearly 4,000 volunteers – working to use technology to make their community a better place.
Among all those companies and volunteers, is it possible that there are a few individuals who aren't happy with the process? Sure it is. There are plenty of ways we can improve our work and in fact we account for the type of feedback Brodsky cited to make the process better, more inclusive.
At the same time, we rely on people to assume the courage of their convictions – to own their dissatisfaction so that we can work with them as a known entity to improve the process. We welcome honest feedback, even negative critique. With it, we have improved and found ways to be even more effective for communities.
His use of unidentified "sources" who claim to be afraid of retribution is interesting. It is a convenient method of avoiding ownership of the falsities conveyed. But again, it's an acknowledged reality from our view point that there remain individuals and entities that have a vested interest in disrupting the progress being made and to whom Brodsky reports. In Kentucky, those individuals who are reporting “sour grapes” decided in the beginning of the project (in his version 1.0) that they didn’t want to participate. Now that much progress has been made, they are apparently desperate to prove themselves correct.
His report references various national studies that would dispute our claims of progress. Art should have also disclosed the facts in the footnotes of the studies he cited. You will find (like I assume he did) that those reports use data that date to 2003, 2004 and 2005. The metrics that we report deal with the years 2005, 2006 and 2007. The data he has used is outdated and so therefore shouldn’t be expected to mirror more recent data that track to the time period in which our broadband-focused efforts have occurred in Kentucky.
It is curious that Brodsky chose to invoke the divisiveness of partisanship in his assessment. The challenge of providing technology to previously underserved people is not and should not be impeded by politics. His post accurately demonstrates that the ConnectKentucky concept evolved in Kentucky over two governorships of different parties. Both can claim equal credit because the hearts of both were correctly placed – in recognizing that technology growth is key to economic development.
Likewise, the current Congress has acted in a bi-partisan manner to identify similar efforts as a model for how results can be achieved nationally. Where others have failed to find broadband consensus, this Congress has chosen a bias for action to ensure that those who are in greatest need of access to technology will finally be afforded true solutions. His attempt to use the veil of “public knowledge” to insert the wedge of partisanship is unfortunate and transparent.
In terms of his accounting for my role in the organization, Brodsky failed to report that my involvement traces back to the previous Democratic administration. I was hired to direct ConnectKentucky’s research operations under Governor Patton (D). I was graciously invited to assist Governor Fletcher’s (R) administration in transition with the idea that I could help account for the needs around technology policy for the new administration. For a brief time, I had the pleasure of learning the art of management under a friend and mentor, Jim Host, the founder of the NCAA’s original sports marketing firm, Host Communications. When my ConnectKentucky predecessor retired due to a death in her family, I was offered the opportunity to direct the organization. Though the job requires an extraordinary amount of hours and travel as well as too much time away from my young family, it has been and continues to be a true blessing as I’m able to personally witness the life changing impact that technology can have on individuals and communities across the previously overlooked parts of our great nation.
In terms of his comments about Joe Mefford, I provide the following comments from one of the original visionaries who conceptualized ConnectKentucky: Doyle Friskney, Associate VP of Information Technology and CTO at the University of Kentucky.
“I have been with the early efforts and initial meetings of people who wanted to see broadband throughout Kentucky. About five of us (university and state) people worked to get the initial group organized, then worked with the state for the initial seed funding. I can assure you that AT&T has never and will never be the policy maker or influencer for “ConnectKentucky” or “Connected Nation.” Joe and Brian came long after the group was established.
Early on I used to say Joe Mefford was an impediment to networking in Kentucky – only later to learn that he is the best resource for the average Kentuckian needing any form of communications and on many occasions has opposed issues AT&T would like to have supported. I consider Joe the “heart” of communications change in Kentucky and I only hope people would view me as a similar change agent.
Bottom line is the chronological development of the organization (in the Brodsky article) is generally correct, the suggestion it favors AT&T is totally incorrect. But, I fully expect this from groups that frown on others successes. There are far more individuals who would rather criticize than there are individuals who are willing to become change agents and risk failure.”
There are a multitude of accurate accounts that contradict the views Brodsky presented throughout his blog post. In fact, he interviewed some of them in developing this story – yet he failed to include those references. For instance, why did he not include the interviews he conducted with the local officials who provided positive assessments? I understand these views were presented to him during his “research.” Why not include that side of the story? Again, I recognize that it doesn't support the version of the truth his backers prefer, but if public knowledge is his goal, he should have included even the contradictory findings of his “research.”
And what about his inquiries with the variety of broadband providers with whom we partner? From some of those entities I understand his “research” uncovered positive reviews, yet he doesn’t include those exchanges. Ultimately, Art’s form of reporting is cowardice, choosing to sacrifice fact for a biased version of the truth. Plenty of other reporters with integrity have covered our story by actually visiting Kentucky’s rural communities (see The Economist article, “Wiring Rural America,” September 17, 2007). Perhaps he should consider venturing into the areas about which he writes, stepping out from the confines of his beltway office.
In closing, I plan to make this memo available to anyone who has read Brodsky’s post and is curious about the true set of facts that can be attributed and that represent the accurate version of the Connected Nation story. Since the full rebuttal to this post would be uninteresting to most reasonable people, I invite anyone who reads this to reach me directly to discuss further. My e-mail address is bmefford@connectednation.org.
I am willing to personally meet with anyone interested in discussing these claims and criticisms in person, with the goal of engaging in a truthful and constructive exchange. Because truly, our goal is to participate in this space in a way that ultimately empowers people and communities. If we can find ways to better assist wireless entrepreneurs, municipal providers, traditional providers in a way that improves opportunities for America's communities to be more competitive and attractive then we are more than willing to learn.
I always welcome constructive dialogue but what Brodsky has published here only serves to tear down the efforts of so many throughout Kentucky and other states who have been hard at work to make their home a better place. But such is the luxury of his DC-based opining. If I can interest Brodsky and all detractors in engaging in the trenches in rural and inner city America I would welcome them to join us at any time. | |
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gaforces
United We Stand, Divided We Fall
join:2002-04-07
Santa Cruz, CA | Re: Sounds like Art is jealous he is not getting that Fed money OMG he wants Kevin Martin's job Looks like propaganda to me, and self serving political spin doctoring. Way too many I's in there. | |
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Karl Bode
News Guy
join:2000-03-02
Host:
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| Re: Sounds like Art is jealous he is not getting that Fed money You know, if you walked up to Verizon's CEO and asked him if the company funded artificial consumer advocacy groups tasked with lying to consumers, he'd tell you that's a total fabrication, too.
That said, it will be interesting to see Brodsky's response to some of these claims.
All of this is definitely something to track.... | |
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ieolus
Support The Clecs
join:2001-06-19
Duluth, GA
| said by TKJunkMail :Whether Connected Nation has any merit at all is certainly up for debate. I am suspicious of any group that depends on Federal funds for its success. So AT&T and Verizon's tax breaks make you suspicious too? Finally you said something reasonable.
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"Speak for yourself "Chadmaster" - lesopp | |
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Mark McElroy
@bgmu.com | Re: Sounds like Art is jealous he is not getting that Fed money Sorry folks for the redundant post. | |
| | nasadude
join:2001-10-05
Rockville, MD
·Comcast
| said by TKJunkMail :Testimony before Congress on their broadband mapping initiative.... just because someone says something before congress doesn't mean it's true. God knows that's been proven beyond all doubt. | |
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TKJunkMail
Enjoy the sun
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Avalon, NJ
·Sprint Mobile Broa..
·Comcast
| Re: Sounds like Art is jealous he is not getting that Fed money said by nasadude :said by TKJunkMail :Testimony before Congress on their broadband mapping initiative.... just because someone says something before congress doesn't mean it's true. God knows that's been proven beyond all doubt. Did I say it was true??
All I did was play devils advocate and provide a link to their side of this story.
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| | | | nasadude
join:2001-10-05
Rockville, MD | Re: Sounds like Art is jealous he is not getting that Fed money and all I did was point out that he could be lying through his teeth. | |
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technologist
@charter.com
from:
disc
| Connected Nation...the saga continues I am the Vice chairman of a Legislative sub-committee that deals with communications and technology. Mr. Medford appeared before our committee and made a presentation about the "successes" of Connect Kentucky. The presentation was professional, but that was about where the professionalism ended.
He informed our sub-committee that he could do the same thing for our State for $2.5 million a year over a five year span ($12.5M)!! As a technology professional, I nearly fell out of my chair. (the vice chairman is not a Legislative Member, basically a civilian)
My Chairman, who is a Legislator nearly had a stroke. I was able to ask Mr. Medford a single question and that was "Am I to understand that your company is advocating a single "cookie cutter" solution to every state in the US?" His response caught me off-guard.
"He said that no one had done as much work in fashioning a solution to the problem of rural broadband and that YES he thought a single national solution would be in order. And that he thought that DSL speeds were all that was needed since the FCC recognized broadband as anything larger than 200kbs"
A scam is too nice a word for what this is!!!! | |
| | sonnybadbutt
join:2001-05-11
Elizabethtown, KY
1 edit | Re: Connected Nation...the saga continues Remember that Mr. Medford was a Bell South employee in his former life. So this shouldn't be such a big shock. This kind of thinking leads to "give everything to the Bells that they want screw the rest." | |
| mshewitt
join:2007-05-19
Sarasota, FL
| What makes you think there is a choice Somewhere lost in the noise of profit and regulation is the small fact that we grant telecommunication companies use of our “Public” easements and airwaves to conditionally use our highly successful capitalistic model to deliver critical infrastructure to our nation.
Just because a farm house or rural community doesn’t have the density to meet the same economic return as a more dense city doesn’t mean that economically they don’t need infrastructure to succeed. Part of the cost of becoming a “Common Carrier” is also to carry the burden of spreading the costs across an entire service area.
We have lost track of these critical requirements over the years – it’s time to put us back on track | |
| | nasadude
join:2001-10-05
Rockville, MD
·Comcast
1 edit | Re: What makes you think there is a choice said by mshewitt :.... We have lost track of these critical requirements over the years - it's time to put us back on track track has not been lost of these critical requirements; they have been willfully and purposely ignored. I agree we definitely need to get back on track.
what a lot of people don't seem to grasp is that our nation, at the current time, is for the corporation, by the corporation and of the corporation. The public (consumers) get short shrift and will lose out every time a decision has to be made between the rights of consumers and the desires of corporations. With very few exceptions, congress and the courts continue to side with corporations over the public.
until that is fixed, this nation will continue to go to hell in a hand basket - there is a very real reason why over 80% of those polled say this country in going in the wrong direction, and this is one of the reasons. | |
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Karl Bode
News Guy
join:2000-03-02
Host:
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| Re: What makes you think there is a choice quote:
what a lot of people don't seem to grasp is that our nation, at the current time, is for the corporation, by the corporation and of the corporation.
Oh I think plenty of people grasp that, they're either apathetic and thereby disinterested in the political process, or so focused on their own financial welfare that they've convinced themselves that everything in the pursuit of wealth (even if it tramples other basic human rights) is a-ok. This either has to be addressed, or the latter bunch of humans will lead this civilization into nose-dive decline (which clearly has started IMHO). | |
| | | | mshewitt
join:2007-05-19
Sarasota, FL
|  Re: What makes you think there is a choice
Today countries like Japan have national goals of reaching Gig service throughout the country while we are often lucky to have 200 Kbps
See the thread from Digital Cities »w2i.com/resource_center/the_w2i_···_/id_187 | |
|
technologist
@charter.com
| A challenge....a lost post but worth reading I find it strange that Connected Nation seems to embrace the same "minimalist" broadband philosophy as the telco's themselves. I have included an article with proper acknowledgment to author and source about how, just this week, the large telco's/providers have publicly stated the US has enough bandwidth.
Mr. Mefford, if your company is what it says it is I challenge you to stand with the rest of the Nation and say aloud that "200kb is not enough and that the broadband threshold should be raised to a minimum of 10Mb BOTH WAYS"
Additionally, public support an effort to raise the broadband minimum to 100Mb by 2015
I am not holding my breath.
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January 8 2008 US PROVIDERS SAY U.S. HAS ENOUGH BANDWIDTH….Mark Sullivan PC WORLD
The public policy bigwigs from major broadband providers including Verizon, AT&T, Sprint and Comcast gathered in a posh meeting room at the Venetian Hotel here in Las Vegas to ponder the question "How much bandwidth is enough?" Outside the room, this year's CES show is buzzing with devices that are connected, so a panel on broadband availability and speeds seemed especially relevant.
The big broadband providers have been a bit on the defensive since a November Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) report put the U.S. 15th among developed countries in broadband availability. As such, every person on the panel today did what he could to discount the OECD report.
"The idea that the U.S. has lost its leadership position in global broadband is greatly exaggerated," said Bruce Mahlman of the Internet Innovation Alliance. "Finland is not about to eat our lunch economically."
True, Finland has better broadband than the U.S., but
some bigger and more competitive countries also out rank us in broadband: Mahlman's statement was barely out of his mouth when a voice from the audience yelled out "What about France? What about Germany and the UK?"
Jim Ciccione, AT&T head lobbyist (and former George H.W. Bush chief of staff), said with the Internet growing so fast, companies like his can't possibly keep up with demand for broadband.
Ciccione says AT&T poured $18 billion into souping up its network over the past year or so, but complains that the regulatory environment in the U.S. is making it hard to increase broadband speed and availability, and still make a profit. Meanwhile, the AT&T broadband available on my street maxes out at less than 1.5 Mbps. (In Japan, you can buy a 100 Mbps connection for about 10 bucks a month.)
Tauke, I was told, wanted a word with me about an article I'd written a few weeks back in which I said Verizon and AT&T were among the most "anti-tech" organizations in the country.
By this I meant that the big U.S. telephone companies' failure to offer faster broadband is hindering the emergence of a whole new wave of innovative, connected devices, and applications--things like telemedicine apps, advanced teleconferencing and 3D interactive TV.
In a more immediate way, I wrote, our broadband providers are failing to keep us apace with EU and Asian nations, which could have real economic consequences. A Broadband Gap!
Needless to say, Tauke and the other Verizon people I talked to here weren't thrilled about being called anti-tech. After the session, Tauke took issue with the OECD data I cited, saying that U.S. broadband growth can't be measured the same way it is in other smaller, more densely populated countries like Korea and Japan. Also, Tauke points out, the OECD study didn't count Americans whose broadband connections are wireless, or through their work connection. Tauke said during his panel remarks here that U.S. providers have made "fantastic" progress in providing more and better broadband.
Tauke, however, didn't discount the OECD report altogether. "I'm not saying there aren't issues; there are some very serious issues, and we are continuing to expand our [broadband] coverage." In truth, of the big broadband providers in the U.S., Verizon has probably been the most aggressive at pushing up speeds—the company's FiOS service has reached download speeds of 50 Mbps in some parts of New York, and 20 Mbps in various other markets in the East. That sure beats the maximum speed of 1.5 Mbps I can buy in my neighborhood from AT&T.
I only wish Verizon and AT&T (along with the cable companies) were competing in the same markets for broadband customers. Then we might reach that 100 Mbps threshold in a matter of years, not decades. | |
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Sounds like Art is jealous he is not getting that Fed money