posted at http://www.wirelesscommunity.info/2006/03/15/stop-using-
broadband/
Stop using Broadband
No, I don't mean that you should cancel your high-speed internet
connection. What I mean is: Stop using the term "broadband".
I think that we need to change how we argue our points against the
teleco and cable monopolies. You see, "Broadband" isn't the internet.
Its just a way to get access to the internet. Most other countries
understand this, but in the USA, we're so blinded by the marketing
and PR of our Telco and Cable companies, that instead of pushing for
high-speed access to the internet, something that should be available
to everyone (you should especially know this if you read this blog!),
we're talking about "Universal Broadband".
"Universal Broadband" has a great ring to it. But its wrong.
Broadband is a marketing term that has been co-opted by Telco and
Cable companies to mean whatever "high-speed" network *they* provide.
And this is where things get confused. We're starting to see
legislation that promotes "Universal Broadband", which is good in
theory. But when we phrase it like that, we're implicitly promoting
certain ways to get high-speed internet access. In effect, we're
using legislation and our own PR efforts to market for the type of
crappy, slow, restricted internet access that our Telco and Cable
companies offer.
*Instead, we should be pushing for and talking about "High-speed
Internet", high-speed connections to that cloud of services and
content that we're all providing for each other, in whatever form
makes sense to you, the end user.* In many cases, it will be
broadband dsl and broadband cablemodem service. But it might also me
your local municipal or private Wi-Fi network, or satellite-based
service. Or something we haven't thought of yet.
Dana Spiegel
Executive Director
NYCwireless
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
www.NYCwireless.net
+1 917 402 0422
Read the Wireless Community blog: http://www.wirelesscommunity.info
--
NYCwireless - http://www.nycwireless.net/
Un/Subscribe: http://lists.nycwireless.net/mailman/listinfo/nycwireless/
Archives: http://lists.nycwireless.net/pipermail/nycwireless/
