The FCC is set to announce a major development in U.S. Internet policy this week. The proposal would upgrade the nation’s broadband infrastructure by increasing users’ bandwidth speeds perhaps to 25 times the current average.
The U.S. is lagging (pun definitely intended) behind countries like South Korea and Japan in terms of Internet speed, as existing domestic broadband networks have been slow to adapt to heavy bandwidth usage for content like streaming high-definition video. —JCL
Reuters:
U.S. regulators will announce a major Internet policy this week to revolutionize how Americans communicate and play, proposing a dramatic increase in broadband speeds that could let people download a high-definition film in minutes instead of hours.
Dramatically increasing Internet speeds to 25 times the current average is one of the myriad goals to be unveiled in the National Broadband Plan by the the Federal Communications Commission on Tuesday.
The highly anticipated plan will make a series of recommendations to Congress and is aimed at spurring the ever-changing communications industry to bring more and faster online services to Americans as they increasingly turn to the Internet to communicate, pay monthly bills, make travel plans and be entertained by movies and music.
“This is a fairly unique event,” said Paul Gallant, an analyst with Concept Capital. “The FCC really has never been asked to design a broad regulatory shift like this. Broadband is important and difficult because it threatens every established communications sector.”
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It would be easy to sit back and criticize a country that is a world leader in so many other respects for allowing itself to fall behind in such an important and modern development as broadband internet, but one first must remember that unlike South Korea or Japan the United States are, at least in certain legal terms dis-united. Whereas the relatively small (geographically) nations mentioned above can restructure their entire broadband networks from door-to-door nationwide with one all-encompassing initiative Americans have 50 states to negotiate changes through, not to mention a bunch of purple mountains standing majestically between the two shining seas it separates.
Well, GW, I guess I was off by about $130,000,000,000.00, I
expect there is no way to stop this except to just forgo the
internet and phones and need I say TV?
Just as it was with the projects to get electricity and phone to rural america, the US government is going to have to play a pivitol (and expensive) role in getting broadband speeds throughout the nation up to the levels of our other G-20 compadres.
The biggest problem is that the major cable companies in the US are sorley lacking in the fiber optic infrastructure that it will take to provide consistent broadband speeds. Comcast and time-warner use fiber primarily as a trunk system, but still use coax and digital compression as their primary delivery system. While that can provide space for extra channels, it does not provide the consistent speeds that an all fiber network (what verizon and at&t are building in major urban areas)can. But as verizon could tell you, replacing your system with fiber can be very expensive in any economy, but especially this one. And the american “haves” are going to get their broadband far ahead of the “have-nots”
Keep this in mind, as america continues to falter, the rest of the world passes us in communications technologies. Information is the gold of the 21st century, and we americans are sorley lacking in it.
By Mobile Broadband, November 14, 2010 at 10:46 pm Link to this comment
It would be easy to sit back and criticize a country that is a world leader in so many other respects for allowing itself to fall behind in such an important and modern development as broadband internet, but one first must remember that unlike South Korea or Japan the United States are, at least in certain legal terms dis-united. Whereas the relatively small (geographically) nations mentioned above can restructure their entire broadband networks from door-to-door nationwide with one all-encompassing initiative Americans have 50 states to negotiate changes through, not to mention a bunch of purple mountains standing majestically between the two shining seas it separates.
Report thisBy samosamo, March 15, 2010 at 1:19 pm Link to this comment
Well, GW, I guess I was off by about $130,000,000,000.00, I
Report thisexpect there is no way to stop this except to just forgo the
internet and phones and need I say TV?
By GW=MCHammered, March 15, 2010 at 7:46 am Link to this comment
(Unregistered commenter)
Google “200 billion broadband scandal” or visit the
Report thissummary:
http://www.newnetworks.com/ShortSCANDALSummary.htm
By samosamo, March 14, 2010 at 4:29 pm Link to this comment
What is the cost, another $70,000,000,000.00 giveaway of
Report thispublic property to the corporate thieves?
By Big B, March 14, 2010 at 2:33 pm Link to this comment
Just as it was with the projects to get electricity and phone to rural america, the US government is going to have to play a pivitol (and expensive) role in getting broadband speeds throughout the nation up to the levels of our other G-20 compadres.
The biggest problem is that the major cable companies in the US are sorley lacking in the fiber optic infrastructure that it will take to provide consistent broadband speeds. Comcast and time-warner use fiber primarily as a trunk system, but still use coax and digital compression as their primary delivery system. While that can provide space for extra channels, it does not provide the consistent speeds that an all fiber network (what verizon and at&t are building in major urban areas)can. But as verizon could tell you, replacing your system with fiber can be very expensive in any economy, but especially this one. And the american “haves” are going to get their broadband far ahead of the “have-nots”
Keep this in mind, as america continues to falter, the rest of the world passes us in communications technologies. Information is the gold of the 21st century, and we americans are sorley lacking in it.
Report this