Spain Declares Broadband A Legal Right > Sigh...What next?

Sigh...What next?

Pickles are not a utility. Electricity and water is a utility. Soon broadband will eventually be a utility. Example, When you move into a new house the first things you call is electricity to have light, Water to take a bath and most likely internet if you surf the net on a daily basis which alot of people do these days to connect with other people.

Time will only tell....
--
High speed internet is on my road thanks to Clear 4G! F$*% you AT&T and TWC!

All broadband may be internet but not all internet need be provided by broadband. This being said broadband is not a right, because if you truly NEED internet there is still dialup, whether it is fast or not is not the point but you don't have to have broadband to live. The idea that we are considering a service (a premium one at that) a RIGHT is unbelievably absurd.

Remember when electricity, water and telephone was a "premium service"? People were saying the same thing you are mentioning back then. These countries are trying to advance themselves other then staying in the stone age of dial up. If you like to stay behind with old technology, Thats your choice. If I like to advance with emerging technology, Thats my choice. Theres a lot of new technology out there in the world in the field of wireless and landline. Use. Invest in your country.
--
High speed internet is on my road thanks to Clear 4G! F$*% you AT&T and TWC!

reply to L00ker
Spaniard with 1 Mbps here.

In reply to L00ker, I consider that, in this time and age, 1 Mbps is the absolute bare minimum acceptable. The times of dial-up are gone (not long ago, but they're gone).

Having said that, here in Spain we have a peculiar case --I think. Until the mid-nineties, the only phone provider was government-owned Telefonica. Then, there was a privatization process and more telcos came with cheaper offers, but still using Telefonica's hardware on lease. Then, some telcos started spreading their own copper and/or fiber. They started in big cities, of course. This process is still ongoing. Where I live now, I have 1 Mbps because it's not profitable for companies to invest and give me and my few neighbors more speed. Just 3 Kilometers away, near downtown (downvillage, really) things are different. You can get 1, 3 or 6 Mbps with the DSL provided by Telefonica and by companies who lease those lines. Furthermore, there's a regional telco who dug their own brand new fiber. They offer ADSL Internet, phone, and TV. So you see, just 3 Km away things are different.

In big cities, there are even more telcos and, therefore, more choices. Some telcos offer "up to" 20 Mbps ADSL --the quotes make all the difference -- Most recent adverts I've seen, focus on 12 real Mbps.

Notice that I mention ADSL. Here, most DSLs are asymmetrical, highly asymmetrical. Hell! Even the fiber connections are ridiculously asymmetrical.

Oh, and Internet is hellishly expensive here. Although, again, prices vary wildly according to where you live --from 9 EUR to 44 EUR.

reply to Duramax08

How about this, Extend broadband to places with a decent population. If you live where theres a neighbor a mile away from you, I think you should go for satellite since its really not worth bring broadband to your location. If you live where theres a small but decent size community where there might be 20+ houses on a mile road, Broadband might be useful for a lot of people on that road.

Im not asking for fiber at my hunting cabin 20 miles from the gas station, Im asking to put broadband where it might be useful. Its a start. For me I was a mile away from city limits (so im considered rural) and I live on the edge of DSL but theres like 40 houses on this mile road. I think we would qualify for broadband if we went this route.
--
High speed internet is on my road thanks to Clear 4G! F$*% you AT&T and TWC!