Fast internet facts corrected

[Dave Farber <dave () farber net>]

Delivered-To: dfarber+ () ux13 sp cs cmu edu
Date: Wed, 17 Mar 2004 11:03:37 -0800
From: Dewayne Hendricks <dewayne () warpspeed com>

[Note:  This comment comes from reader Dave Burstein.  DLH]

At 13:55 -0500 3/17/04, Dave Burstein wrote:
> Date: Wed, 17 Mar 2004 13:55:06 -0500
> To: dewayne () warpspeed com
> From: Dave Burstein <dave () dslprime com>
> Subject: Fast internet facts corrected
>
> Dewayne
>
> Enough inaccuracies in the power line note to be worth a correction, 
> unfortunately. Power line is interesting, but
>
> 1- Broadband U.S. homes are just hitting 25M, not the 50M cited.
> 2- Lots of internet service is faster than 3 Mbps. 40,000 in Phoenix Qwest 
> have VDSL, many SBC subscribers are now getting 6M (if they are lucky on 
> distance), several cable companies routinely deliver 6-7 Mbps. All cable 
> modems originally were designed for up to ten meg on uncongested nodes, 
> and only recently have many shaped traffic down to lower.
> 3- "Pretty soon, you'll be able to get broadband Internet over your power 
> lines." is very misleading. The technology is just in early trials, and no 
> where in the world is it available to even 5% of the population in a large 
> area. In particular, while they are solving the technical problems, no one 
> has proven the economics works well, so no providers have gone wide. So 
> the odds are "you'll (mostly likely not) be able to get ... anytime soon, 
> because deployment in volume is years away in most places.
>
> Personally, although I write about DSL and fiber, I'm anxious for more 
> choices and competition and hope power line works out. But it shouldn't be 
> used, as the FCC Chair does, as an excuse not to do anything to actively 
> protect consumers from oligopoly control.
>
> Dave Burstein

Archives at: <http://Wireless.Com/Dewayne-Net>
Weblog at: <http://weblog.warpspeed.com>


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