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Levin Wants To Wire 97% Of U.S. For $10 Billion
Of course once you get it, no competition means you'll overpay for it...

Former FCC employee and recently-departed broadband plan adviser Blair Levin was one of the major reasons the FCC decided not to pursue open access competitive policies, despite the fact the FCC's own studies suggested that countries with such policies see lower prices, more competition, and better service. Levin, now at the Aspen Institute think tank, is now busy pushing a new proposal (pdf) to expand broadband coverage to 97% of the country in 10 years for $10 billion. Says Levin:

quote:
the paper proposes setting a target of assuring that all Americans have access to a network capable of delivering 4 Mbps actual download speed and 1 Mbps actual upload speed. To do so requires a fund of approximately $10 billion over 10 years. This money can be obtained by repurposing existing money from the Universal Service Fund, which is no longer efficiently serving the goal of connecting Americans to the universal communications medium.
That $10 billion is less than previous estimates, as Levin's plan has a stronger reliance on satellite. USF funds are currently slated to be used for rural phone service and broadband for schools and libraries. But despite consumers having dumped tens of billions into the plan, a recent study suggested that 60% of libraries still lack adequate bandwidth to serve visitors. That's in part because the USF has traditionally seen poor oversight, resulting in some of that money going to schools -- but much of it going right back into the back pocket of major carriers.

AT&T's fighting public release of recent audit data for just that reason. Carriers have also been lobbying hard to have the USF "reformed" so that they get more of this money, and small carriers get less.

Shifting the USF so that it applies to rural residential broadband is already on the FCC radar. Re-purposing some USF funds to give wireless carriers money to expand 3G service is also one of three major topics to be discussed at the next FCC meeting. In fact, since Levin was a major driver of our national broadband plan, most of this paper's proposals echo that plan. However, just like said plan, Levin doesn't really seriously tackle a lack of competition -- the sector's biggest problem -- outside of some occasional fleeting lip service.

On the plus side, Levin does take time to suggest that States shouldn't ban towns and cities from wiring themselves even if carriers won't (more than a dozen States have passed such laws at the behest of phone and cable lobbyists).
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ArrayList
DevOps
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join:2005-03-19
Mullica Hill, NJ

ArrayList

Premium Member

only $10b?

by the time the project would be done it'll be at least 10x that.

baineschile
2600 ways to live
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join:2008-05-10
Sterling Heights, MI

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baineschile

Premium Member

Re: only $10b?

We are constantly discussing 100mb connections TODAY, and they think a 4/1 connection in 10 years will be viable?

Any stats on what percentage of the US has cable/dsl available (assuming the fiber overlays in most of those towns)

P Ness
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P Ness

Premium Member

Re: only $10b?

said by baineschile:

We are constantly discussing 100mb connections TODAY, and they thing a 4/1 connection in 10 years will be viable?

Any stats on what percentage of the US has cable/dsl available (assuming the fiber overlays in most of those towns)
4/1 is more then enough for the 'needed' uses of the internet.

why on earth do people need 100mb connections even in 10 years?

why do taxes and fees on current paying customers have to pay for everyone else to have 100mb connections when anything about 1.5m is gravy.

oh wait thats right we want everyone in the country to be able to stream 1080 hulu/netflix anywhere in the country...paid for by taxpayers.

sigh, if they want movies tell them to freaking get cable or sat TV.

tell me 3 things you NEED more then 3mb bandwith for.

ArrayList
DevOps
Premium Member
join:2005-03-19
Mullica Hill, NJ

ArrayList

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Re: only $10b?

10 years ago 3mbps was unheardof today you can easily use that.

who knows what is in store 10 years down the road. there is no reason to artificially stop growing.

P Ness
You'Ve Forgotten 9-11 Already
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way way out

1 edit

P Ness

Premium Member

Re: only $10b?

said by ArrayList:

10 years ago 3mbps was unheardof today you can easily use that.

who knows what is in store 10 years down the road. there is no reason to artificially stop growing.
again what do you need 3mbps for that is so important that the whole world needs it.

what does a farmer need 100mbps for now or in the future besides things like video streaming. what does anyone need 100mbps for that is a necessity on the internet?

the same 3mb pipe i got from @home 10 years ago is more then enough power even today to do anything i really NEED on the interent. i actually downgraded to 1.5mb and i am still fine

TELL
ME WHAT
YOU NEED 3Mbps FOR.

??
patcat88
join:2002-04-05
Jamaica, NY

patcat88

Member

Re: only $10b?

Youtube 1080 HD is 5 mbitps.....

P Ness
You'Ve Forgotten 9-11 Already
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P Ness

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Re: only $10b?

said by patcat88:

Youtube 1080 HD is 5 mbitps.....
i really hope you are just pushing my buttons

well thats important enough to spend taxpayers money and 50k per house to get these people broadband.

hell sign me up for another 10% tax increase and a HSF increase of 50%!!

EVERYONE IN THE UNITED STATES NEEDS 1080 STREAMING ABILITY.

ArrayList
DevOps
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Mullica Hill, NJ

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ArrayList

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Re: only $10b?

what do you need internet for at all then? and does it matter?! you don't need a car, or electricity either.
patcat88
join:2002-04-05
Jamaica, NY

1 recommendation

patcat88

Member

Re: only $10b?

Why do you need law enforcement in the boonies anyways? Thats your problem, not the governments.

P Ness
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P Ness to ArrayList

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to ArrayList
said by ArrayList:

what do you need internet for at all then? and does it matter?! you don't need a car, or electricity either.
really?

the internet as important as electricity and a car.

i would also like to argue that we are not paying for everyone to have a car and electricity but i guess after the cash for clunkers i guess we are.
patcat88
join:2002-04-05
Jamaica, NY

patcat88

Member

Re: only $10b?

said by P Ness:

i would also like to argue that we are not paying for everyone to have a car
.......
but i guess after the cash for clunkers i guess we are.
yes we are »www.ibrc.fhwa.dot.gov/bu ··· ion4.htm
Expand your moderator at work

ArrayList
DevOps
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join:2005-03-19
Mullica Hill, NJ

ArrayList to P Ness

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to P Ness

Re: only $10b?

said by P Ness:

really?

the internet as important as electricity and a car.
god gave you 2 legs. use them. you can start a fire to light your home and cook with, right?
i would also like to argue that we are not paying for everyone to have a car and electricity but i guess after the cash for clunkers i guess we are.
and you do pay for the roads that EVERYONE uses. my friend you need to learn what infrastructure is. that is what this article is about. its not about service. its just about putting in the pipes. nothing more. if the customer wants water to run through them that is their decision.

P Ness
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P Ness

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Re: only $10b?

said by ArrayList:
said by P Ness:

really?

the internet as important as electricity and a car.
god gave you 2 legs. use them. you can start a fire to light your home and cook with, right?
i would also like to argue that we are not paying for everyone to have a car and electricity but i guess after the cash for clunkers i guess we are.
and you do pay for the roads that EVERYONE uses. my friend you need to learn what infrastructure is. that is what this article is about. its not about service. its just about putting in the pipes. nothing more. if the customer wants water to run through them that is their decision.
sigh i give up. compairing broadband to electricity and roads.

ArrayList
DevOps
Premium Member
join:2005-03-19
Mullica Hill, NJ

ArrayList

Premium Member

Re: only $10b?

We can agree to disagree then. I think that the world would be better off because of a higher quality product that will live well into the next decade fostering innovation in more areas than we can possibly comprehend.

Lagz
Premium Member
join:2000-09-03
The Rock

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Lagz to P Ness

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to P Ness
Eighty years ago some people thought the same way about electricity. Why should they have lights at night, they are only farmers after all and need to be up at the crack of dawn anyways. Farmers shouldn't be able to have the luxuries that you have, because, well, they are farmers? Piss on the rural people. They will NEVER have services that you enjoy if everyone had your attitude.
88615298 (banned)
join:2004-07-28
West Tenness

1 edit

88615298 (banned) to P Ness

Member

to P Ness
said by P Ness:

said by patcat88:

Youtube 1080 HD is 5 mbitps.....
i really hope you are just pushing my buttons

well thats important enough to spend taxpayers money and 50k per house to get these people broadband.

hell sign me up for another 10% tax increase and a HSF increase of 50%!!

Please more hyperbole. $10 billion divided by 310 million Americans is $32 each. And that's over 10 years so it's $3.20. Small potatoes to insure the US remains relevant.

P Ness
You'Ve Forgotten 9-11 Already
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P Ness

Premium Member

Re: only $10b?

said by 88615298:
said by P Ness:
said by patcat88:

Youtube 1080 HD is 5 mbitps.....
i really hope you are just pushing my buttons

well thats important enough to spend taxpayers money and 50k per house to get these people broadband.

hell sign me up for another 10% tax increase and a HSF increase of 50%!!

Please more hyperbole. $10 billion divided by 310 million Americans is $32 each. And that's over 10 years so it's $3.20. Small potatoes to insure the US remains relevant.
well i have 3 people so my cost is 96 dollars, on top of the 40-50 a month people already pay for internet a month.

hey keep spending MY money..on things FOR OTHER PEOPLE. i don't mind paying for things that people need to live or protect themselves but paying for other people to have internet is a tad crazy. hell i am even willing to let my HSF funds go to give these people 1.5-3mb internet through the cheapest means....but fiber? 100mb? geeze i can't even get this and now you want me to pay for farmer joe to get it.
patcat88
join:2002-04-05
Jamaica, NY

patcat88

Member

Re: only $10b?

said by P Ness:

hey keep spending MY money..on things FOR OTHER PEOPLE. i don't mind paying for things that people need to live or protect themselves but paying for other people to have internet is a tad crazy. hell i am even willing to let my HSF funds go to give these people 1.5-3mb internet through the cheapest means....but fiber? 100mb? geeze i can't even get this and now you want me to pay for farmer joe to get it.
There is no difference today in the necessity of having landline POTS and having internet. Would you say people don't need landlines? Was the government crazy by forcing the phone companies to run phone lines to every farm decades ago by making city dwellers with POTS pay for it?

toby
Troy Mcclure
join:2001-11-13
Seattle, WA

toby to P Ness

Member

to P Ness
said by P Ness:

well i have 3 people so my cost is 96 dollars, on top of the 40-50 a month people already pay for internet a month.

hey keep spending MY money..on things FOR OTHER PEOPLE. i don't mind paying for things that people need to live or protect themselves but paying for other people to have internet is a tad crazy. hell i am even willing to let my HSF funds go to give these people 1.5-3mb internet through the cheapest means....but fiber? 100mb? geeze i can't even get this and now you want me to pay for farmer joe to get it.
Who paid the taxes for your children's education? or your fire dept, police, etc.

P Ness
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P Ness

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Re: only $10b?

said by toby:
said by P Ness:

well i have 3 people so my cost is 96 dollars, on top of the 40-50 a month people already pay for internet a month.

hey keep spending MY money..on things FOR OTHER PEOPLE. i don't mind paying for things that people need to live or protect themselves but paying for other people to have internet is a tad crazy. hell i am even willing to let my HSF funds go to give these people 1.5-3mb internet through the cheapest means....but fiber? 100mb? geeze i can't even get this and now you want me to pay for farmer joe to get it.
Who paid the taxes for your children's education? or your fire dept, police, etc.
lol now internet is just as important as education, fire dept and police?

fdgsg
@shawcable.net

fdgsg

Anon

Re: only $10b?

Yes it is! The internet is essential in universities and places of learning. The textbook is just not enough anymore because we are always evolving in development. Think of it as the compilation of all human knowledge and thoughts. We are much more cerebral than we were 100 years ago, heck even 25 years ago. If you don't know something, you look it up, its as easy as pie..

If you still don't get it, you can watch it. Trust me, you want everyone to be connected; its a good thing.

Fiber for all!

PS. The world is not all about you and only you. Everyone pays into the public good so everyone can get the benefit out of it. Its logical. If YOU only need 3Mbps, great! Congrats! I am truly happy for you. However, I desire 1Gbps and we should strive to get that kind of a capacity to everyone... TV is becoming IPTV anyway, say goodbye to your archaic ways of thinking, the world doesn't work that way anymore.

Smith6612
MVM
join:2008-02-01
North Tonawanda, NY

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Smith6612 to patcat88

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to patcat88
Not necessarily. Depending on the video the bit rate can and will shoot up to the 8000-11000kbps range. It's "Variable."
hottboiinnc4
ME
join:2003-10-15
Cleveland, OH

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to P Ness
i kicked my 3/384 to the curb and went 15/2 with WOW. Mine is more of 3 people sharing it and 2 are full time grad students and I work from home. So yah. I need the power. But even if not. I still don't want to wait around for something that I don't have to.

And if the farmer is an ATT customer the most they'd ever see would most likely be 1.5mb x 128 knowing T.

Metatron2008
You're it
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join:2008-09-02
united state

Metatron2008 to P Ness

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to P Ness
said by P Ness:

said by ArrayList:

10 years ago 3mbps was unheardof today you can easily use that.

who knows what is in store 10 years down the road. there is no reason to artificially stop growing.
again what do you need 3mbps for that is so important that the whole world needs it.

what does a farmer need 100mbps for now or in the future besides things like video streaming. what does anyone need 100mbps for that is a necessity on the internet?

the same 3mb pipe i got from @home 10 years ago is more then enough power even today to do anything i really NEED on the interent. i actually downgraded to 1.5mb and i am still fine

TELL
ME WHAT
YOU NEED 3Mbps FOR.

??
Examples like this redneck is why America is falling behind. We used to want to lead, now we have to hope people FOLLOW.

P Ness
You'Ve Forgotten 9-11 Already
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join:2001-08-29
way way out

P Ness

Premium Member

Re: only $10b?

said by Metatron2008:
said by P Ness:
said by ArrayList:

10 years ago 3mbps was unheardof today you can easily use that.

who knows what is in store 10 years down the road. there is no reason to artificially stop growing.
again what do you need 3mbps for that is so important that the whole world needs it.

what does a farmer need 100mbps for now or in the future besides things like video streaming. what does anyone need 100mbps for that is a necessity on the internet?

the same 3mb pipe i got from @home 10 years ago is more then enough power even today to do anything i really NEED on the interent. i actually downgraded to 1.5mb and i am still fine

TELL
ME WHAT
YOU NEED 3Mbps FOR.

??
Examples like this redneck is why America is falling behind. We used to want to lead, now we have to hope people FOLLOW.
red neck. really? never lived outside of a major city but ok i did have a couch out on my front lawn for 3 weeks while i re-did my floors....

falling behind on what? streaming HD movies to your computer? having low pings so you can play world of warcraft?

WHAT exactly are we falling behind on?
is it that bad to fall behind on?

i can see if you would like to make the arguement that these rural people having 100mb interent would create jobs for them, increase their income or somehow help them survive like water, electricity and the automobile.....anymore then 3mb internet would...but instead you just decided to call me a red neck.

hmm
hottboiinnc4
ME
join:2003-10-15
Cleveland, OH

hottboiinnc4

Member

Re: only $10b?

a couch in the front lawn? LMAO! i see that every year and i live in a rich upscale community where 95% of my neighbors are Jewish. so yah..
iansltx
join:2007-02-19
Austin, TX

iansltx to P Ness

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to P Ness
So...what internet options are available to you? What tier do you subscribe to?

P Ness
You'Ve Forgotten 9-11 Already
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way way out

P Ness

Premium Member

Re: only $10b?

said by iansltx:

So...what internet options are available to you? What tier do you subscribe to?
i just signed up for the 1.5 att dsl only option.

i work from home whenever i can for a large corporation.

let me add i also used to work at home through Sat internet service too before my town got @home a whole bunch of years ago.

before that my mother worked for the same company and used to dial in on a 33.6k modem with that norton product...damn i forgot the name.
iansltx
join:2007-02-19
Austin, TX

iansltx

Member

Re: only $10b?

Hunh, so you're in the same boat and yet don't want anyone to get tax-funded upgrades, even though you'd just be repurposing the USF that you're paying now...

fg8578
join:2009-04-26
San Antonio, TX

fg8578 to P Ness

Member

to P Ness
said by P Ness:

red neck. really? never lived outside of a major city but ok i did have a couch out on my front lawn for 3 weeks while i re-did my floors....
Another ad hominem attack expressly reserved for those with the temerity to disagree with the official company line . . .

•••
Expand your moderator at work
flbas1
join:2010-02-03
Fort Lauderdale, FL

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flbas1 to P Ness

Member

to P Ness
Not trying to push your buttons . . .

In the very near future, i CAN see home security, home automation, and service providers (power, water, etc) utilizing this line. these services might consume - what - 1Mbps (burst) or less. This reduction in service might be enough to upset some people, so there is some justification for a bigger pipe.

I think you might be upset about the price hike. I would be too. But, think about what would happen if we stopped expanding the roads (from 1 to 2 lanes, or to 18 lanes). the traffic is still there - but now it takes forever to get there.

And, just because you and I don't know of any huge mega ultra utilitarian uses for the bandwidth, that doesn't mean that they aren't being developed.

However, here are 3:
1) Google OS. cloud based operating system, immune from local viruses. doesn't appeal to me, but i know that it does to some.

2) cloud-based backups. keep your financials off-site, and keep them backed up automatically and immediately. think DropBox.

3) eCommerce. yes, you can go to Amazon, and the pages are fast. but, what if you want to buy software for your computer. it is ecologically better to just download it than print it on a DVD.

In case you didn't like those 3, here are some you can swap out for some that you like
4) software updates. Windows gets updated monthly. some homes have a couple of computers. some of the patches are large. And not everyone knows to setup a central home server to distribute the patches. The people who do understand how to distribute software are probably using P2P (since they understand the benefit of "sharing" a file rather than "downloading"), which is becoming a banned technology.

5) VOIP/Skype/Progress in this area. yes, VOIP takes a little bandwidth, but if you cut down to just 3Mbps, and using VOIP, the QOS will affect the downloading of patches. And, this argument falls outside of your HULU/youtube concerns

6) the new cars with onboard GPS/sync functionality need to sync back to the mothership. that will take some bandwidth, and here are more updates.

Again, in case you didn't like those 3, here are some you can swap out for some that you like. if you can't find anything responsible in this list, then you are just complaining.
7) online medical records. Look at Google Health and Microsoft HealthVault. those might be considered as a simple webpage for browsing, but what about the equipment that uploads your current real-time vitals. not to mention the images and animations that go with health studies

8) reviewing legislative changes. those documents end up being 1+ MB. and these are the changes that are spending your tax dollars.

9) porn.

oops- forgot rich advertising.

runzero
join:2005-09-16
DC

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runzero to P Ness

Member

to P Ness
said by P Ness:
said by ArrayList:

10 years ago 3mbps was unheardof today you can easily use that.

who knows what is in store 10 years down the road. there is no reason to artificially stop growing.
again what do you need 3mbps for that is so important that the whole world needs it.

what does a farmer need 100mbps for now or in the future besides things like video streaming. what does anyone need 100mbps for that is a necessity on the internet?

the same 3mb pipe i got from @home 10 years ago is more then enough power even today to do anything i really NEED on the interent. i actually downgraded to 1.5mb and i am still fine

TELL
ME WHAT
YOU NEED 3Mbps FOR.

??
What do you need electricity for? You can always light a candle or something to brighten your house. What do you need phone lines for? You can just yell across the street to your neighbor or send some smoke signals in your backyard.

You build the road first, not wait for the traffic jam. I blow through 3 Mbps easily, and I can barely stand 6.

jhacker
join:2001-12-11
Peoria, IL

jhacker to ArrayList

Member

to ArrayList
said by ArrayList:

10 years ago 3mbps was unheardof today you can easily use that.

who knows what is in store 10 years down the road. there is no reason to artificially stop growing.
Wrong! 10 years ago, my true cable ISP (@Home) speed was at least that. Usually it was 4mbps. At that time, DSL speed was only 768kbps though.
dfxmatt
join:2007-08-21
Crystal Lake, IL

dfxmatt to P Ness

Member

to P Ness
way to derail the thread with a useless question.

There are TONS of uses that need more than 3mbs for, you trollop.

where shall I begin?

remote desktop.
emailing photos at anything faster than pigeon speed.
telecommuting (see remote desktop)
file transferring from pc to pc
hosting a blog/service of any kind
watching youtube videos while having an instant messenger running (good luck with that on 3mb/s). you do realize 3mb/s = 375KB/s download maximum, approximately? Even checking email while watching youtube will be too much for your bandwidth like that.
browsing the web - yes, that should be done at higher speeds.

Hell, smartphones can handle 4mb downstream nowadays (almost).

So let's ask the reverse. Why do you need to make asinine comments about things in a fashion that's essentially a sh**post?

•••••
iansltx
join:2007-02-19
Austin, TX

iansltx to P Ness

Member

to P Ness
HD video streaming.

Also, taking less than a few hours to download stuff like Need for Speed World (~800 MB).

Also, OnLive.

MonkeyLick78
join:2002-01-27
Hixson, TN

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Member

to P Ness
said by P Ness:

said by baineschile:

We are constantly discussing 100mb connections TODAY, and they thing a 4/1 connection in 10 years will be viable?

Any stats on what percentage of the US has cable/dsl available (assuming the fiber overlays in most of those towns)
4/1 is more then enough for the 'needed' uses of the internet.

why on earth do people need 100mb connections even in 10 years?

why do taxes and fees on current paying customers have to pay for everyone else to have 100mb connections when anything about 1.5m is gravy.

oh wait thats right we want everyone in the country to be able to stream 1080 hulu/netflix anywhere in the country...paid for by taxpayers.

sigh, if they want movies tell them to freaking get cable or sat TV.

tell me 3 things you NEED more then 3mb bandwith for.

Our cars should also be the most basic models with no extras. We really don't need a paint job since what color we like is completely irrelevant when buying a reliable car. When we make dinner, we should only eat whats good for us (and ignore taste completely) and only eat just enough to live off of. We should only use the amount of electricity we need to live. We should only use basic OTA TV and only watch the news and weather. We should also only use the amount of water we need for cooking and drinking. We really don't need to bathe every day so we can save big on water with that. We really don't even need broadband when you really think about it. If they built everything close together, I'm confident we could walk every place we needed to go.

It's fun to pick and chose what luxuries are relevant and which ones are unnecessary.

In 10 years, 4/1 internet will be like trying to surf today's internet on a 33.6 modem, if not worse.

••••••

aaronwt
Premium Member
join:2004-11-07
Woodbridge, VA
Asus RT-AX89

2 edits

aaronwt to P Ness

Premium Member

to P Ness
said by P Ness:

said by baineschile:

We are constantly discussing 100mb connections TODAY, and they thing a 4/1 connection in 10 years will be viable?

Any stats on what percentage of the US has cable/dsl available (assuming the fiber overlays in most of those towns)
4/1 is more then enough for the 'needed' uses of the internet.

why on earth do people need 100mb connections even in 10 years?

why do taxes and fees on current paying customers have to pay for everyone else to have 100mb connections when anything about 1.5m is gravy.

oh wait thats right we want everyone in the country to be able to stream 1080 hulu/netflix anywhere in the country...paid for by taxpayers.

sigh, if they want movies tell them to freaking get cable or sat TV.

tell me 3 things you NEED more then 3mb bandwith for.
twelve years ago I had a 5mbs/1mbs connection. I certainly would not want those speeds now. And in ten years I'm sure I would not want my current 35/35 connection.

I know several families with multiple people online concurently. if they had a 4/1 connection it would be unusable. You need enough speed for multiple people to do multiple thing sconcurrently.

batterup
I Can Not Tell A Lie.
Premium Member
join:2003-02-06
Netcong, NJ

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Premium Member

to P Ness
said by P Ness:


tell me 3 things you NEED more then 3mb bandwith for.
3 flavors of Linux distros.
88615298 (banned)
join:2004-07-28
West Tenness

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Member

to baineschile
said by baineschile:

We are constantly discussing 100mb connections TODAY, and they thing a 4/1 connection in 10 years will be viable?

Any stats on what percentage of the US has cable/dsl available (assuming the fiber overlays in most of those towns)
Considering I have friends whose only option is dial-up they would take 4 Mbps in a heartbeat.

••••••••

FFH5
Premium Member
join:2002-03-03
Tavistock NJ

1 edit

FFH5

Premium Member

$10 billion vs $32 billion

One thing I think his plan highlighted is that to reach the last 250,000 homes the cost jumped from $10 billion to $32.4 billion. He suggests those extreme rural homes get coverage thru satellite instead.

$32.4B - $10B - $8.9B revenue recovered = $13.5 billion to cover those 250,000 homes. That is $54,000 per home.

••••••••••••••••••••••
Mr Matt
join:2008-01-29
Eustis, FL

Mr Matt

Member

Simple comparison!

How many miles of fiber can be installed for the price of one mile of interstate highway or one F-117 Fighter? Just pull out the Rural Electrification Association maps. I do not see the problem with installing fiber anywhere a power line is located. I guess only the incumbent ISP's and lawmaking douche bags that support them continue to parrot the constant concern that it costs to much, "babble", to wire America! Just check the earmarks that our lawmakers use to funnel Trillions of Dollars of our tax money to useless projects and and other special interests, like the late Senator Stevens did with the bridge to nowhere.

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MrStanFan
join:2010-09-19

MrStanFan

Member

10 billion just a cheap figure

we all know it's going to cost more to wire 97% but you ask for 10 billion start on it and then ask for more saying " we didn't know it was going to cost more " typical scheme

beb
@rr.com

beb

Anon

Give VZ & T More Spectrum Too

these guys are killing our country, they also want to give them 500 MHz of more spectrum without once mentioning Femtocells or more backhaul to towers in the bb plan...status quo policy, protect incumbents...America will never be in the top 10 in BB ever again!
chgo_man99
join:2010-01-01
Sunnyvale, CA

1 edit

chgo_man99

Member

Doesn't russian Yota

pumps money into wimax rollout in rural areas in Russia, Eastern Europe and Latin America?

They are known as the largest Wimax provider in the world.

Get a fixed antenna and modem with line of sight and its possible to achieve high speed and little lower ping times.

But capacity and cost is another issue, I don't know how they would play.

UPDATE: Correction. I see they only serve big cities. They also probably censor internet as well since well you know *caugh* caugh* red army

runzero
join:2005-09-16
DC

2 edits

runzero

Member

Re: Doesn't russian Yota

said by chgo_man99:

They also probably censor internet as well since well you know *caugh* caugh* red army
Last I checked, the Soviet Union collapsed almost 20 years ago. The Russian Federation is a representative democracy just like any other Western country. Just a little heads-up
chgo_man99
join:2010-01-01
Sunnyvale, CA

1 edit

chgo_man99

Member

Re: Doesn't russian Yota

Theoretically yes, but in practice not very. Their Putin represents them like a czar.

And according to Wikipedia, they were blocking access to some chechnyan news website probably due to the government intervention.

Also during Bush administration, when the U.S and Poland wanted to install missile defense system in Central Europe, Russia barked accusing us of provocation.

bandit8623
join:2004-09-08
Minneapolis, MN
Calix 803G
(Software) OPNsense
ZyXEL NWA210AX

bandit8623

Member

people choose

to be fair i grew up in the country. and we had dial up. i now live in the city, and have 20 meg internet.

i still dont think anyone else should pay for someone elses speed increase.

also someone made the point earlier that its not payign for there internet and just paying for the pipe. well that is true, but that doesnt mean when that person has the availability to get the internet, they will buy it. so in that case whoever is buying the internet in the end will pay more or in thsi case taxes go up.

people choose where they live most of the time, and this means if internet is important in your life move to be able to use it.

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trainwreck6
join:2010-09-21
off track

trainwreck6

Member

What the...

Why have the USF, if it cannot be used to redistribute the wealth from the rich carriers to the common people?

aussie
@optusnet.com.au

aussie

Anon

Way to cheap...almost scam like

Yeah I find $10 billion for 250 million people completely impossible.

Australia right now is doing fiber to the home for 97% of the country at a speed of 1 gigabit for $43 billion. And that's just for 20 million people, and we have similar land mass size to boot but far less homes to connect.

I can't see infrastructure for over 10 times the people costing only a quarter that amount...