Let There Be Wi-Fi

[ericlp]

Text

the United States is poised to be a follower?not a leader?in the broadband economy.

What a shame. But it's pretty much the way the boosh admin wants it. Since having access to information and finding out how badly you've been lied too is just too much for most people to care about.

Information really is power and as for the boosh admin they would rather you not have it. So as we lack behind other countries are going to take the lead once again. I mean, we invented the internet and once again we letting it slide away as the rest of the world makes the new internet standards and we are left as usual holding the bag.

I am still paying about 60 bucks a month for cable. It's slow at times and it I really can't do anything about due to lack of options in my area. I?ve had cable way back in 2000 and have been paying the same price all these years? 5 years later service is now via Comcast and worse and slower in my opinion? I guess I could go back to dial up. I'm pretty pissed that we can't have a wide coverage and provide 80% of USA with a 10 Meg pipe. Or even 100 Meg pipe at a reasonable cost.

Oh well... Welcome to America.

 

[dexvx]

Its because some foreign governments subsidize technology. If this were done privately, I would not be surprised if it costs several hundred $'s per month. The fact is, having even a 10MBit connection is overkill for most consumers, and the consumers just do not want to pay extra. Only a minority of the population actually uses that much bandwidth on a regular basis (and most of it is usually illegal).

 

[dmcowen674]

Originally posted by: ericlp
Text

the United States is poised to be a follower?not a leader?in the broadband economy.

What a shame. But it's pretty much the way the boosh admin wants it. Since having access to information and finding out how badly you've been lied too is just too much for most people to care about.

Information really is power and as for the boosh admin they would rather you not have it. So as we lack behind other countries are going to take the lead once again. I mean, we invented the internet and once again we letting it slide away as the rest of the world makes the new internet standards and we are left as usual holding the bag.

I am still paying about 60 bucks a month for cable. It's slow at times and it I really can't do anything about due to lack of options in my area. I?ve had cable way back in 2000 and have been paying the same price all these years? 5 years later service is now via Comcast and worse and slower in my opinion? I guess I could go back to dial up. I'm pretty pissed that we can't have a wide coverage and provide 80% of USA with a 10 Meg pipe. Or even 100 Meg pipe at a reasonable cost.

Oh well... Welcome to America.

Topic Title: Let There Be Wi-Fi
Topic Summary: Broadband is the electricity of the 21st century?and much of America is being left in the dark.

Americans want and like being in the dark.

Edit: Oh and like paying extra for being in the dark too, just see quote from other Republicans in my sig below.

 

[Lemon law]

The point is that phone, telephone, and all other broadband options--now and inti the future can come in on just one pipe--and from one company----but that pipe needs to be a broad enough pipe. Otherwise the service will come in on multiple pipes--from multiple companies---and cost more.

If we trust the free enterprise system to deliver this in a fair and economical way--we Americans will be sadly disappointed---and we need look no futher than existing cell phones, existing cable, existing satallite TV, or the consumer inkjet printer to see how a disconnect between what the technology can do and the ability of shortsighted providers to screw up the benefits of the technology for short term profit.

What we have is a failure of government to regulate. Or we can wait for a future of Enron like companies everywhere.

 

[Rainsford]

You can't really compare US broadband access to other countries, especially the Asian ones that are so famous for high speeds and low prices. Mostly it's a density issue. I live in the Baltimore-DC metro area, one of the largest metro areas in the country (4th after Chicago, NY and LA I think), and broadband is excellent. It's not all that cheap, but the speeds are fast and it's fairly reliable. Where I went to school in Iowa was another story, broadband was slow and not available, and that was in a city centered around a high-tech university.

South Korea and the like can afford to have well developed broadband systems because of their higher population density, it's worth the fixed costs to put in a first rate setup all over the country. In the US, much of our population lives in the boonies (relativly speaking) and away from urban areas. This makes spreading broadband much more difficult. As the thread title suggests, wireless broadband will probably be the answer. In large metro areas, wired broadband makes sense, but for the rest of the country, wireless is probably the most efficient way to go.

 

[aswedc]

Broadband is not like electricity, and there is no such thing as the "broadband economy".

Personal access to broadband does not improve productivity any more than cable television. It's an entertainment luxury.

Now access at work and school is another matter. But that's not what the article is talking about.

<-- Had broadband. Cancelled it.

 

[Rainsford]

Originally posted by: aswedc
Broadband is not like electricity, and there is no such thing as the "broadband economy".

Personal access to broadband does not improve productivity any more than cable television. It's an entertainment luxury.

Now access at work and school is another matter. But that's not what the article is talking about.

<-- Had broadband. Cancelled it.

Improve productivity? That's not really the point, is it? The rise of broadband has opened up a huge source of economic activity that has further fueled the rise of the internet as an economic engine. Look at services like iTunes...do you think it would as widespread as it is if all the users had to wait for an hour to download a song? IPTV, VoIP, all the rest of the up-and-coming communication mechanisms, require some sort of broadband to function. Even basic tasks are done much faster with broadband, how much has the ability to QUICKLY browse shopping sites helped NewEgg and Amazon type stores? I don't think they'd be doing the business they are if the shopping experience was so slow you might as well hoof it over to the local Best Buy or Borders. And how about the huge increase in multiplayer games, probably the single biggest reason for the dramatic increase in the profits of the videogame industry? Playing Word of Warcraft over a dial-up is painful, nobody is going to do it.

Is broadband the same as electricity? Probably not, but it's not some sort of pointless luxury that really has no impact on the world as a whole. If all you do is post on ATOT, then maybe it IS pointless. But evidence suggests that the rise of broadband has been a HUGE driving engine behind much of the economic growth in computers and the internet in the past 10 years.

 

[charrison]

Originally posted by: Rainsford

Originally posted by: aswedc
Broadband is not like electricity, and there is no such thing as the "broadband economy".

Personal access to broadband does not improve productivity any more than cable television. It's an entertainment luxury.

Now access at work and school is another matter. But that's not what the article is talking about.

<-- Had broadband. Cancelled it.

Improve productivity? That's not really the point, is it? The rise of broadband has opened up a huge source of economic activity that has further fueled the rise of the internet as an economic engine. Look at services like iTunes...do you think it would as widespread as it is if all the users had to wait for an hour to download a song? IPTV, VoIP, all the rest of the up-and-coming communication mechanisms, require some sort of broadband to function. Even basic tasks are done much faster with broadband, how much has the ability to QUICKLY browse shopping sites helped NewEgg and Amazon type stores? I don't think they'd be doing the business they are if the shopping experience was so slow you might as well hoof it over to the local Best Buy or Borders. And how about the huge increase in multiplayer games, probably the single biggest reason for the dramatic increase in the profits of the videogame industry? Playing Word of Warcraft over a dial-up is painful, nobody is going to do it.

Is broadband the same as electricity? Probably not, but it's not some sort of pointless luxury that really has no impact on the world as a whole. If all you do is post on ATOT, then maybe it IS pointless. But evidence suggests that the rise of broadband has been a HUGE driving engine behind much of the economic growth in computers and the internet in the past 10 years.

Having broadband would also allow many people to effectivly work from home. Now if only i could get my to let me work from home. That would save me several hours a week.

 

[Rainsford]

Originally posted by: charrison

Originally posted by: Rainsford

Originally posted by: aswedc
Broadband is not like electricity, and there is no such thing as the "broadband economy".

Personal access to broadband does not improve productivity any more than cable television. It's an entertainment luxury.

Now access at work and school is another matter. But that's not what the article is talking about.

<-- Had broadband. Cancelled it.

Improve productivity? That's not really the point, is it? The rise of broadband has opened up a huge source of economic activity that has further fueled the rise of the internet as an economic engine. Look at services like iTunes...do you think it would as widespread as it is if all the users had to wait for an hour to download a song? IPTV, VoIP, all the rest of the up-and-coming communication mechanisms, require some sort of broadband to function. Even basic tasks are done much faster with broadband, how much has the ability to QUICKLY browse shopping sites helped NewEgg and Amazon type stores? I don't think they'd be doing the business they are if the shopping experience was so slow you might as well hoof it over to the local Best Buy or Borders. And how about the huge increase in multiplayer games, probably the single biggest reason for the dramatic increase in the profits of the videogame industry? Playing Word of Warcraft over a dial-up is painful, nobody is going to do it.

Is broadband the same as electricity? Probably not, but it's not some sort of pointless luxury that really has no impact on the world as a whole. If all you do is post on ATOT, then maybe it IS pointless. But evidence suggests that the rise of broadband has been a HUGE driving engine behind much of the economic growth in computers and the internet in the past 10 years.

Having broadband would also allow many people to effectivly work from home. Now if only i could get my to let me work from home. That would save me several hours a week.

That too. Mine isn't the kind of job where you can do that, but for a lot of people, this is certainly an alternative.

 

[aswedc]

Improve productivity? That's not really the point, is it?

Isn't that the point of the article?

That the US is in danger of losing its ability to compete based on the lack of universal broadband, and we should find ways to regulate it or sponsor it like South Korea or Japan?

Sorry, but I'd rather have my tax dollars be put to use on education, or crime. No one needs to download music on iTunes, or buy books on Amazon. Besides, I buy CDs on Amazon all the time on dial up. Saves me money over iTunes.

If iTunes and Amazon weren't as successful, traditional stores would have gotten the sales. No difference in economic impact. Same with WoW. The money would have been spent on other forms of entertainment.

Having broadband would also allow many people to effectivly work from home. Now if only i could get my to let me work from home. That would save me several hours a week.

Valid point.

 

[ultimatebob]

What people around here seem to forget is that there are huge portions of the US that are practically unpopulated. Setting up WiFi in those areas is a total waste of taxpayer money.

Countries like Japan and South Korea are far more densely populated, so universal broadband makes economic sense there. Here? Not so much.

 

[Wheezer]

bringing broadband to the masses just means that people will get thier p0rn faster...

 

[Rainsford]

Originally posted by: ultimatebob
What people around here seem to forget is that there are huge portions of the US that are practically unpopulated. Setting up WiFi in those areas is a total waste of taxpayer money.

Countries like Japan and South Korea are far more densely populated, so universal broadband makes economic sense there. Here? Not so much.

Not with new WiFi technologies. When you're using something short range like 802.11, that would be the case, but the newer broadban wireless technologies are actually perfect for those huge areas of the US. With a relativly small investment, you can cover hundreds of square miles with a level of broadband access that would be impossibly expensive with wired broadband. Japan and South Korea don't have this issue because of their higher population densities, but rural areas in the US do.

Wireless broadband to rural areas won't have to be payed for with taxpayer money, it's something that (unlike electricity) will be embraced by businesses because it's actually profitable to put up wireless towers in Afton, Iowa, even though you'll probably only get a few thousand customers if you are lucky.

 

[Rainsford]

Originally posted by: Wheezer
bringing broadband to the masses just means that people will get thier p0rn faster...

Seems like a worthy goal to me...