Jeff, it doesn't have to be in-country...although a few thousand miles does add latency that a 300 mile-wide country doesn't have. By the way, that's our East coast to West coast problem.
Akamai provides nearly-modem-limit downloads for things like upgrades...for participants. Other than that, unless the provider has their own video servers on their fiber backbone, 20Mbps is sufficient for any server across the USA. This is certainly a subject to consider when contemplating the complexities of New Neutrality, by the way. . . . J o n a t h a n -----Original Message----- From: wireless-boun...@wispa.org [mailto:wireless-boun...@wispa.org] On Behalf Of Jeff Broadwick Sent: Monday, February 02, 2009 2:28 PM To: 'WISPA General List' Subject: Re: [WISPA] From Today's WSJ Agreed, I don't like the international comparisons because they are apples/oranges. It's not fair to compare a small country with a lot of people to the vast expanse of the US. There really isn't another developed country to compare to with the challenges we face for broadband deployment. There is also a question of who's numbers do you believe. Additionally, those blazing speeds tend to end at the nation's border. If you are downloading from a site in-country great, out of country, not so great. The reason I posted the article was for the info on the "stimulus" package and it's broadband component. Jeff -----Original Message----- From: wireless-boun...@wispa.org [mailto:wireless-boun...@wispa.org] On Behalf Of Jonathan Schmidt Sent: Monday, February 02, 2009 2:52 PM To: 'WISPA General List' Subject: Re: [WISPA] From Today's WSJ Most of the innuendos and descriptions were ill-defined making the conclusion flawed but it makes a good story yet pretty bad information. First, I'm in San Antonio and if I drive IH-10 to El Paso, I see nothing for 1,000 kilometers and I'm still in Texas. How do you compare that with the cheek-to-jowl population in Asian countries? Deployment problems are entirely different. Second, I get about 1Mbps on my Nokia browser virtually anywhere I've been in the country on AT&T's 3G MediaNet and it costs me $19.95 a month. I get that on my laptop using the same phone as a modem. AT&T makes money from this. Third, I've got plain old RoadRunner at home and get nearly 20Mbps which is nothing compared to what Comcast and others are rolling out but, with typical latency to various sources, it is rarely the limitation. I could have low-end DSL for $14.95 a month at home if price were a consideration. Both providers make money on this service. Geeze, WSJ, get the information right. . . . j o n a t h a n -----Original Message----- From: wireless-boun...@wispa.org [mailto:wireless-boun...@wispa.org] On Behalf Of rea...@muddyfrogwater.us Sent: Monday, February 02, 2009 1:30 PM To: WISPA General List Subject: Re: [WISPA] From Today's WSJ I'd like to ponit out that the article leaves out some information, and it leaves you with a false impression because of it. It made note of the "price" of broadband being cheaper in Japan and other places. That's true, but much of the infrastructure was funded by tax dollars, instead of the customers of the ISP's. I believe if this were properly acounted for, internet would be cheapest in the US, and more everywhere else. It's not the price, it's the COST that matters, and cost must include the publicly financed portions of the equation. Everyone pays for that, not everyone uses it, and that cost is rarely factored in these articles. That leaves a false impression of it being cheap, which it is not and has not ever been. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ <insert witty tagline here> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Jeff Broadwick" <jeffl...@comcast.net> To: "'WISPA General List'" <wireless@wispa.org> Sent: Monday, February 02, 2009 8:38 AM Subject: [WISPA] From Today's WSJ > Congress Approves Broadband to Nowhere Why the U.S. lags in Internet > speed. > > * > By L. GORDON CROVITZ > > > In Japan, wireless technology works so well that teenagers draft > novels on > their cellphones. People in Hong Kong take it for granted that they > can check their BlackBerrys from underground in the city's subway > cars. Even > in > France, consumers have more choices for broadband service than in the U.S. > > The Internet may have been developed in the U.S., but the country now > ranks 15th in the world for broadband penetration. For those who do > have access > to > broadband, the average speed is a crawl, moving bits at a speed > roughly one-tenth that of top-ranked Japan. This means a movie that > can be downloaded in a couple of seconds in Japan takes half an hour > in the U.S. > The BMW 7 series comes equipped with Internet access in Germany, but > not > in > the U.S. > The Opinion Journal Widget > > Download Opinion Journal's widget and link to the most important > editorials and op-eds of the day from your blog or Web page. > > So those of us otherwise wary of how wisely the stimulus package will > be spent were happy to suspend disbelief when Congress invited ideas > on how > to > upgrade broadband. Maybe there are shovel-ready programs to bring > broadband to communities that private providers have not yet reached, > and to upgrade > the speed of accessing the Web. These goals sound like the digital-era > version of Eisenhower's interstate highway projects, this time > bringing Americans as consumers and businesspeople closer together on > a faster information highway. > > But broadband, once thought to be in line for $100 billion as part of the > stimulus legislation, ended up a low priority, set to get well under > $10 billion in the package of over $800 billion. This is a reminder > that even > with a new president whose platform focused on technology, and even > with > the > fully open spigot of a stimulus bill, technology gets built by private > capital and initiative and not by government. > > The relatively small appropriation is not for want of trying. A > partial list of the lobbying groups involved in the process is a > reminder of how Washington's return to industrial policy requires > lobbying by all: the Information Technology Industry Council, > Telecommunications Industry Association, National Cable & > Telecommunications Association, Fiber-to-the-Home Council, National > Association of Telecommunications Officers and Advisors, National > Telecommunications Cooperative Association, Independent Telephone and > Telecommunications Alliance and Organization for > the Promotion and Advancement of Small Telecommunications Companies. > > The result was a relatively paltry $6 billion for broadband in the > House bill and $9 billion in the Senate, with each bill micromanaging > the spending differently. The bills include different standards, > speeds and other requirements for providers that would use the public > funds. This may balance competing interests among cable, telecom and > local phone companies, but it > doesn't address the underlying problems of too few providers > delivering too few options to consumers. > > Techies may be surprised by how these funds would be dispersed. The House > would give the Department of Agriculture's Rural Utilities Service control > over half the grants and the Commerce Department's National > Telecommunications and Information Administration control of the other > half. > Tax credits would have been a faster way to make a difference than > government agencies dividing spoils across the country. > > The House bill also calls for "open access." This phrase can include > hugely controversial topics such as net neutrality, which in its most > radical version would bar providers from charging different amounts > for different > kinds of broadband content. Now that video, conferencing and other > heavy-bandwidth applications are growing in popularity, price needs to be > one tool for allocating scarce resources. Analysts at Medley Global > Advisors warn that if these provisions remain in the bill, "it will > keep most broadband providers out of the applicant pool" for the funds > intended specifically for them. > In Today's Opinion Journal > > More fundamentally, nothing in the legislation would address the key > reason that the U.S. lags so far behind other countries. This is that > there is an > effective broadband duopoly in the U.S., with most communities able to > choose only between one cable company and one telecom carrier. It's > this lack of competition, blessed by national, state and local > politicians, that keeps prices up and services down. > > In contrast, most other advanced countries have numerous providers, using > many technologies, competing for consumers. A recent report by the Pew > Research Center entitled "Stimulating Broadband: If Obama Builds It, Will > They Log On?" concluded that for many people, the answer is no, often due > to > high monthly prices. By one estimate, the lowest monthly price per > standard unit of millions of bits per second is nearly $3 in the U.S., > versus about > 13 cents in Japan and 33 cents in France. > > We're told that we now live in an era of more regulation and more > government spending, but neither approach is how problems get solved > in technology. > Government mandates on how networks should be operated and subsidies > administered by USDA aren't going to ensure broadband access, make > connections faster, or lower prices. > > What we need to get the U.S. back into the top ranks of wired > countries is > more competition, not taxpayer handouts. That would be a real stimulus. > > Write to information...@wsj.com > > > > > > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------ > WISPA Wants You! Join today! > http://signup.wispa.org/ > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------ > > WISPA Wireless List: wireless@wispa.org > > Subscribe/Unsubscribe: > http://lists.wispa.org/mailman/listinfo/wireless > > Archives: http://lists.wispa.org/pipermail/wireless/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------ WISPA Wants You! Join today! http://signup.wispa.org/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------ WISPA Wireless List: wireless@wispa.org Subscribe/Unsubscribe: http://lists.wispa.org/mailman/listinfo/wireless Archives: http://lists.wispa.org/pipermail/wireless/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------- -- ---- WISPA Wants You! 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