No, broadband's doing fine, thanks
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Yesterday consumer groups released a study saying broadband policy in the U.S. was failing. Here's a counterpoint from the conservative Heritage Foundation. [Broadband blog]
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Plus: Verizon boosted by wireless, fiber...Nintendo outlook positive...Sun reports increased quarterly profit.
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While the total number of home internet users has reached a plateau in the US, those who do use the internet are adopting broadband at a rapid pace, according to Marc Ryan, senior director of analysis at the audience measurement company.
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Competition may not fix problems with broadband speed and cost in the United States, because of the high cost of entry into the market, the leader of a technology think tank said Friday.Many policymakers in Washington, D.C., call for competition to cure issues with broadband value and build-out, but they don&#39;t recognize that the cost of building out competing networks may make broadband a natural monopoly or duopoly, said Robert Atkinson, president of the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF).&quot;It&#39;s a mistake for policymakers to assume that if they simply &#39;push the competition lever,&#39; all the problems with broadband policy will be solved,&quot; wrote Atkinson, in an ITIF paper. &quot;The bottom line is that if policymakers want to maximize not only societal welfare but also consumer welfare, they must balance the push for more competition with the need to maintain and create an efficient broadband industry structure.&quot;Atkinson and some other speakers at an ITIF broadband policy forum argued that the United States may need more broadband regulations to achieve higher speeds and lower prices. Atkinson suggested a balance between competition and regulations that would mandate open pipes and create stronger enforcement of consumer protection and antitrust laws.Not everyone agreed that more regulation was appropriate. The suggestion that broadband is a natural monopoly or duopoly &quot;as an economist gives me the willies,&quot; said John Mayo, professor of economics, business and public policy at Georgetown University.A government-supported monopoly in the traditional telephone market didn&#39;t work, Mayo said. He recalled an old Bell Atlantic billboard saying something to the effect of, &quot;We don&#39;t sell you what you think you want; we sell you what we know you need.&quot;Broadband is still a relatively new technology and the broadband business model is still evolving, Mayo said. The industry doesn&#39;t need government regulation while it&#39;s still developing.Other speakers complained that U.S. residents get&#160;lower speeds&#160;for&#160;higher prices&#160;than many residents of Europe and the Far East. But Mayo noted that prices have been falling. &quot;No matter how you measure it ... it&#39;s more affordable today than it&#39;s ever been,&quot; he said.Speakers at the forum noted that broadband policy is becoming an issue in the U.S. presidential campaign. This month, Sen. Hillary Clinton, the Democratic presidential front-runner, outlined a broadband policy that would include tax incentives for broadband carriers to move into rural and other underserved areas. Clinton also called for public and private partnerships to help roll out broadband and for the U.S. Federal Communications Commission to develop better data about where broadband is available.Several other candidates have talked about broadband as well, including Republican front-runner Rudy Giuliani, noted Jonathan Sallet, a partner in the Washington communications firm, the Glover Park Group.But many policymakers in Washington have recently taken a hands-off approach to broadband, thinking &quot;let&#39;s create a neutral platform and just let stuff happen,&quot; added Steven Weber, a professor of political science at the University of California Berkeley. But just letting stuff happen isn&#39;t working to push broadband in many sectors, including health care, he said.&quot;I don&#39;t think that argument is completely adequate to most people,&quot; he said.
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The NYT has an optimistic overview on broadband over power lines, calling it "the ultimate plug and play." [Broadband Blog]
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54.5 million Europeans surfed the Web over a broadband connection, a 60 percent increase from 34.1 million 12 months earlier. AMSTERDAM: More than half of Europe&#39;s Internet surfers now have a high-speed broadband
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What looks good in broadband news for Dec. 9.
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Some Net phone users who are also broadband subscribers aren't receiving incoming calls. AT&#38;T plans to release patch.
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No, music fans, there isn't a problem with your Web connection -- it's just that many Internet radio stations are deliberately offline today.
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Take-up increasing, but progress is slow The mobile internet is more toll road than superhighway, but the logjam could clear up.â¦
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PC World reviewer says latest incarnation of the WebTV device is acceptable as a dial-up Internet device for some, but its broadband networking features will leave savvy users unimpressed.
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Price cuts and bundles have helped drive steady broadband growth.
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We&#8217;re showing ethernet going up and down on our server tonight. We&#8217;ve put in a ticket but it may not be resolved until tomorrow (Friday) morning. If the site is slow or unresponsive, please sit tight with us. Thanks! -Scott Share This
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A majority of US home Internet users now have broadband, according to a survey by NetRatings. While the total number of home Internet users has reached a plateau in the US, those who do use the Internet are adopting broadband at a rapid pace, according to ...
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In its list of "Best and Worst ISPs,"  PC World magazine* reported results last week from a recent  survey of 6,400 readers: Insight Broadband 10.0 outranks its Kentucky  competitors in overall satisfaction as well as both downstream and  upstream speeds and scores above-average marks.
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The driller's doing just fine, thanks.
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While ISPs advertise ever-increasing broadband speeds, download speeds for users in the UK don't match the claims.