Re: Request for input on the definition of Broadband

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: Peter Bachman <peterb () cequs com>
Date: September 2, 2009 5:17:42 PM EDT
To: dave () farber net
Subject: Re: Request for input on the definition of Broadband

Dear Dave,

Having just listened to the FCC panel on proposed measurement and
metrics of broadband, I could not help but
thinking of Edward Whitehouse, and the dogged perseverance of the
telegraph projectors to create global communications
infrastructure after the first cable failure. Far more extravagant
claims of social benefits were heard around the U.S. as to what would
happen with high speed global communications and society as a result in
the 1850s. Hubbell and Sherburne convinced only one senator that
volcanic activity had created a shell paved path across the Atlantic,
and did not get funded for their cable. (The Icelanders had already
figured out the connection with the first legal distance measurement for
round trips, the ping, or Pingvellir for their legislature at the site
of meeting of the two tectonic plate in 930).

Edward Whitehouse, electrician-projector Atlantic Cable, 1858

http://atlantic-cable.com/Books/Whitehouse/BJH/index.htm

-pb

peterb () cequs com

David Farber wrote:
> Begin forwarded message:
>
> From: Bruce R Koball <bkoball () well com>
> Date: September 2, 2009 1:22:32 PM EDT
> To: Dave Farber <dave () farber net>
> Cc: ip <ip () v2 listbox com>
> Subject: Re: [IP] Re: Request for input on the definition of Broadband
>
> Dave,
>
> On the premise that there are no stupid questions, I'd like to ask the
> IP collective whether services that are not directly mediated by the
> internet, like digital cable TV, considered part of "broadband"...?
>
> -brk-
>
> On Wed, 2 Sep 2009, Dave Farber wrote:
>
> > Begin forwarded message:
> >
> > > From: "David P. Reed" <dpreed () reed com>
> > > Date: September 2, 2009 11:46:39 EDT
> > > To: dave () farber net
> > > Cc: ip <ip () v2 listbox com>, Stagg Newman <lsnewmanjr () yahoo com>, Rob
> > > Curtis <robert.curtis () fcc gov>, Tom Brown <thomas.brown () fcc gov>
> > > Subject: Re: [IP] Re: Request for input on the definition of  
> > > Broadband
> >
> > > Here is a concise, precise, and I believe complete, definition that
> > > can serve as a good starting point. Readers may note that it is a
> > > definition that has served the Internet well. It is 3 sentences  
> > > long.
> > > Broadband is a low-latency and high-datarate access service that
> > > provides ability to send and receive IP datagrams to hosts on the
> > > worldwide public Internet, as defined by the full address space
> > > defined by the IP versions currently used. The broadband transport
> > > may use only the information placed into the IP header/envelope to
> > > manage delivery, does not use, record, or retain content information
> > > for any purpose other than law enforcement purposes. The public
> > > internet is defined as the reachable set of hosts on all autonomous
> > > systems that have agreed to exchange Internet traffic with one or
> > > more peer autonomous systems in the public Internet.
> > > Comments: this preserves technological evolvability, since it says
> > > nothing about the technology underlying the transport, nor does it
> > > say anything about the applications served.
> > > On 09/02/2009 04:55 AM, David Farber wrote:
> > > > Begin forwarded message:
> > > > From: Mary Shaw <mary.shaw () gmail com>
> > > > Date: September 1, 2009 6:01:00 PM EDT
> > > > To: dave () farber net
> > > > Subject: Re: [IP] Request for input on the definition of Broadband
> > > > Dave,
> > > > Yes, surely "broadband" should be parsed out into bandwidth,
> > > > latency, availability, and so on.
> > > > More significantly, though, a useful definition will not be stated
> > > > in terms of specific values for those properties but rather will
> > > > adapt with changing technology and expectations.
> > > > I would suggest this intuition for an adaptable definition: that a
> > > > "broadband" connection supports the vast majority of the currently
> > > > popular information resources on the internet with satisfactory
> > > > response time. That is, "currently popular" at the time the
> > > > definition is invoked. As new applications emerge, they up the  
> > > > ante.
> > > > For example, as people are induced to put their information into
> > > > "the cloud", broadband service should make that indistinguishable
> > > > from local storage, which means that fast uploads will be required
> > > > as well as fast downloads. Any form of offsite storage suffices for
> > > > this point -- I keep the master copies of my files on a university
> > > > server, so I really notice even brief service interruptions, and I
> > > > need symmetrical service rather than the common fast down/slow up
> > > > service because I need fast uploads for things like intermediate
> > > > file saves.
> > > > Mary
> > > > On Tue, Sep 1, 2009 at 11:07 AM, David Farber <dave () farber net>  
> > > > wrote:
> > > > The other day I had a conversation with a friend at the Federal
> > > > Communications Commission. He asked an interesting question. When
> > > > people talk about broadband they tend to talk about numbers bits
> > > > per second except for.
> > > > Something seems wrong with this approach. First it is very
> > > > sensitive to the advancement of technology any number will be
> > > > obsolete in a few years. Second of all, and maybe most important it
> > > > ignores other issues that would make any speed usable in many
> > > > applications -- -- like latency chair etc. He asked if there was a
> > > > "syntax" for broadband -- -- that is a deeper way of characterizing
> > > > when a system supports broadband and when it does not.
> > > > I offer to the IP community a chance to take a crack at this
> > > > interesting and potentially profitable challenge.
> > > > Dave
> > > > -------------------------------------------
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