Mar
25
The looming broadband war
Posted by Dirk Avery at 9:59 am under Internet.
Google’s recent FCC filing brings to mind our US broadband shortcomings. The basic problem US Internet users face is in the “last mile.” Our Internet access is far slower than many first world countries because of this last mile bottleneck. Rumor has it (though little information is available) that the Internet backbone is relatively clear sailing but consumers are unable to get to it without going through one of the current broadband oligopoly.
Those in the oligopoly have a substantial interest in precluding any new last mile entrants. Google proposes using the “white spaces,” or unused TV spectrum to provide wireless broadband. I think the idea is fascinating but certainly Google will face an uphill battle even if initial white space offerings don’t directly compete, in terms of service, with existing wired and wireless offerings. The chance of new technologies developing that could cheaply provide last mile service would be too great for the oligopoly. Susan Crawford has more.