Interesting People mailing list archives
Internet Disconnect
From: David Farber <dave () farber net>
Date: Thu, 9 Nov 2006 09:16:11 -0500
Begin forwarded message: From: Dewayne Hendricks <dewayne () warpspeed com> Date: November 9, 2006 7:01:18 AM EST To: Dewayne-Net Technology List <dewayne-net () warpspeed com> Subject: [Dewayne-Net] Internet Disconnect Reply-To: dewayne () warpspeed com Washington Post-11/08/07 Internet Disconnect By Michael J. Copps Wednesday, November 8, 2006; A27<http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/11/07/ AR2006110701230.html?nav=rss_opinion/columns>
America's record in expanding broadband communication is so poor that it should be viewed as an outrage by every consumer and businessperson in the country. Too few of us have broadband connections, and those who do pay too much for service that is too slow. It's hurting our economy, and things are only going to get worse if we don't do something about it. The United States is 15th in the world in broadband penetration, according to the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). When the ITU measured a broader "digital opportunity" index (considering price and other factors) we were 21st -- right after Estonia. Asian and European customers get home connections of 25 to 100 megabits per second (fast enough to stream high-definition video). Here, we pay almost twice as much for connections that are one-twentieth the speed. How have we fallen so far behind? Through lack of competition. As the Congressional Research Service puts it, U.S. consumers face a "cable and telephone broadband duopoly." And that's more like a best-case scenario: Many households are hostage to a single broadband provider, and nearly one-tenth have no broadband provider at all. For businesses, it's just as bad. The telecom merger spree has left many office buildings with a single provider -- leading to annual estimated overcharges of $8 billion. Our broadband infrastructure should be a reason companies want to do business in the United States, not just another reason to go offshore. The stakes for our economy could not be higher. Our broadband failure places a ceiling over the productivity of far too much of the country. Should we expect small-town businesses to enter the digital economy, and students to enter the digital classroom, via a dial-up connection? The Internet can bring life-changing opportunities to those who don't live in large cities, but only if it is available and affordable. Even in cities and suburbs, the fact that broadband is too slow, too expensive and too poorly subscribed is a significant drag on our economy. Some experts estimate that universal broadband adoption would add $500 billion to the U.S. economy and create 1.2 million jobs. Future generations will ultimately pay for our missteps. Albert Einstein reportedly quipped that compound interest is the most powerful force in the universe. Investment in infrastructure is how a nation harnesses this awesome multiplier. Consider that 80 percent of the growth in fiber-to-the-home (super-high-speed) subscribers last year was not in the United States but in Japan. One does not need Einstein's grasp of mathematics to understand that we cannot keep pace on our current trajectory. I don't claim to have all the answers. But there are concrete steps government must take now to reverse our slide into communications mediocrity. [snip] ------------------------------------- You are subscribed as lists-ip () insecure org To manage your subscription, go to http://v2.listbox.com/member/?listname=ip Archives at: http://www.interesting-people.org/archives/interesting-people/
Current thread:
- Internet Disconnect David Farber (Nov 09)