Re: Request for input on the definition of Broadband

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

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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