Where is the market demand for broadband?

["Dave Farber" <dave () farber net>]

------- Original message -------
From: Andy Oram  <andyo () oreilly com>
Sent: 26/4/'05,  20:35

Where is the market demand for broadband?
http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/wlg/6938

   URL: [91]http://www.onpointradio.org/shows/2005/04/20050426_a_main.asp
   ...
   The NPR radio show [92]On Point had an in-depth discussion this
   evening of the lagging adoption of broadband in the U.S., which is
   certainly increasing but not at a rate matching advanced Asian
   economies. One caller raised a formalistic and rigid version of
   standard free-market economic arguments: if there is slow growth in
   broadband, it must be because there aren't that many people who want
   it. Where, he asked, is the demand?
   
   In a situation like this where oligopolies in the local loop use
   political and market muscle to hold back competition, one has to look
   for other signs of the need. For instance, the rural areas of this
   country are emptying out. Even many cities are doing poorly as
   population piles up in a few megalopoli, particularly along the
   coasts.
   
   This has all kinds of negative social ramifications: a crisis in
   affordable housing, increasing ecological damage and traffic snarls,
   exposure to flooding, and so on.
   
   Basically, people are leaving the rural areas and the middle of the
   country because they can't get jobs. They also find themselves
   disadvantaged when it comes to educational opportunities and other
   amenities. High-speed Internet access, with opportunities for
   telecommuting, distance education, medical videoconferencing, and
   other modern applications, can help restore a healthy balance to the
   country.
   
   In short, demand is masked by flight.
   
   The show was quite valuable in its discussion of the suppression of
   competition in last-mile access. The baby Bells squashed the hundreds
   of small Internet providers that tried to get a foothold in local
   markets in the 1990s and then told the FCC (with the desired results)
   that competition would be aided by having less competition--that is,
   that the FCC should let the Bells and cable companies duke it out
   without harrassment from small innovators.
   
   Now, as mentioned on the radio show, the telecom companies and cable
   companies are using the same argument to hold back municipal networks:
   supposedly, holding back competition is good for competition. The
   irony is that municipalities step in to take on the big job of
   building out a network only when the private companies have stayed
   away. And a government-run fiber network can lay the groundwork for
   competition at higher layers.
   
   Let's have some real competition, and then the hidden demand will
   reveal itself.
   
   [93]Andy Oram is an editor for O'Reilly Media, specializing in Linux
   and free software books, and a member of Computer Professionals for
   Social Responsibility. His web site is [94]www.praxagora.com/andyo. 

     _________________________________________________________________
   
   [101]Creative Commons License This work is licensed under a
   [102]Creative Commons License.

References

  91. http://www.onpointradio.org/shows/2005/04/20050426_a_main.asp
  92. http://www.onpointradio.org/
  93. http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/au/36
  94. http://www.praxagora.com/andyo/
 101. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/
 102. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/

--
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Andy Oram  O'Reilly Media                     email: andyo () oreilly com
Editor     90 Sherman Street                       voice: 617-499-7479
           Cambridge, MA 02140-3233                  fax: 617-661-1116
           USA                         http://www.praxagora.com/andyo/
Stories at Web site:
The Bug in the Seven Modules     Code the Obscure     The Disconnected
----------------------------------------------------------------------

-------------------------------------
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/