| 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. |
