| Define a technical problem, I'll give you a technical answer This isn't a technical question - it's a political question. Broadband is "fast enough to sell the content you're trying to sell", and they haven't said what kind of content they're trying to help industry sell us. - If they're trying to sell us email, IM, and VOIP, >64kbps is good enough, though 384 is better, and 128-384's enough for video conferencing.
- If they're trying to sell us wireless non-tetherable data, the only thing that needs speed is uploading pictures so 200-300 is fine.
- If they're trying to sell us Youtube-quality video, 1-3 Mbps is enough.
- If they're trying to sell you another television feed in addition to your cable, satellite, and terrestrial broadcast, 10's sort of enough but 20+ is better.
- If they're trying to sell you running your own website at home - oh, wait, they're not - then usually 128k upstream is enough, unless you get slashdotted, in which case 50 Mbps isn't enough for 1-2 days, and then 128's enough again.
So what is the FCC trying to sell us? Probably "whatever it takes to keep the Democrats happy that Something is getting regulated." |
