Tag: broadband penetration

US broadband: still expensive, underwhelming

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Last week the OECD released its update on broadband metrics and the United States lags most developing countries in broadband speeds and price.  It is interesting to note that the cost per bit for Internet access is about 4 times higher than in countries that have more than two competitors in the market.  These figures once again validate the need for local access competition.  Our broadband penetration is respectable considering the population density, but we still lag countries with true competition.

The OECD this week released an update to its much-watched set of broadband metrics. The data set now extends through December 2009, and the US continues to look anemic on most OECD measures.

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The iPhone, Net Neutrality and the FCC

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Mr. Kessler hits the “nail on the head” by stating that competition will increase broadband penetration and solve net neutrality issues, but threatening regulation is not the way to achieve his goals.  Only by introducing more service providers in each market will the objectives be achieved.  The “beat them with a stick” approach does not work most of the time.

Regulatory uncertainty is spoiling the rollout of Steve Jobs’s latest inspirations.There’s a better way to spur broadband competition.

AT&T’s Picturephone, shown at the 1964 World’s Fair, was a huge flop. Apple’s new iPhone 4, announced this week, has a front-facing camera for video chats. It might succeed, except that AT&T isn’t providing enough bandwidth capacity.

First, the company won’t allow two-way video to work over its data network. Second, AT&T just made bandwidth-intensive video expensive by dropping iPhone and iPad’s $30 per month unlimited data plans and replacing them with a two-tiered plan of $15 a month for under 200 megabyte usage or $25 for two gigs. Not that I have a problem with AT&T charging me or the 2% of its customers who are heavy data users. I can always sign up with a competitor. Oh, wait. There are none. AT&T has an exclusive contract with Apple.

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Uh-oh, telcos: 93% of Australia getting gov’t-run fiber

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When the FCC issued its National Broadband Plan earlier this year, it set some modest goals for the nation: 100Mbps to 100 million homes by 2020, universal service of 4Mbps everywhere.

Australia plans to do things… a bit differently. Within the next eight years, the Australian government will spend AUS$43 billion (US$38 billion) to build its own “world-class broadband infrastructure” that will deploy fiber to 93 percent of all Australian homes and bring 12Mbps broadband to everyone else. The network will be wholesale only and will be open access, enabling every ISP to use the fiber to offer services.

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Rural Communities Still Lacking High Speed Internet

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Brian Larson / Jeff Nuttall (2010-04-22)
GREELEY, CO (KUNC) – Even in the 21st Century high-speed internet service is not a given in many parts of the state. But several groups are hoping to tap into federal stimulus money to fill in the gaps. KUNC’s Brian Larson spoke to Northern Colorado Business Report Publisher Jeff Nuttall about what’s driving the competition. © Copyright 2010, KUNC

Fact-checking Verizon’s CEO on US broadband awesomeness

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By Nate Anderson | Last updated a day ago

Verizon CEO Ivan Seidenberg sat down last week for a talk at the Council for Foreign Relations and talked about how mind-bendingly awesome the US broadband market is. Seidenberg all but put on a foam finger and started chanting, “We’re number one! We’re number one!”

All those studies you’ve read that suggest otherwise? The fact that Hong Kong residents can now get 1Gbps symmetric fiber for US$26, while New York City residents top out at 100Mbps and cost $100? Capping 3Mbps DSL at 5GB/month? All meaningless.

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FTTH Council survey shows widespread plans for FTTH networks

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APRIL 14, 2010 — Hundreds of small independent telecoms, broadband service providers, municipalities, and cable television companies have brought gigabit-enabled, FTTH-based services to a total of more than 1.4 million North American homes — about a quarter of all fiber to the home connections on the continent — according to a report released by the Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) Council. Even more service providers plan to join the trend, the study also reveals. (Download the report)
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