Broadband Developments

How Bad Is US Broadband Deployment? by Scott Bradner, Network World is worth a read - please support this. Scott has been writing about networking for as long as I can remembering reading Network World (which is a great trade magazine).

Face it we need better Broadband (hence the name of this blog - Broadband Developments).  As an aside I am looking for regular contributors to this blog in this area - please email me if you want to contribute information (no PR releases) - john at g mail dot com

Scott posts:
Congress has passed — and the president has signed — the Broadband Data Improvement Act. It may now be possible to get some useful information about where the United States sits in the world when it comes to the deployment and adoption of broadband Internet services. If this turns out to be the case, it will be the first time we would have any real idea.

For reasons best known to itself, the FCC has for years adamantly refused to collect the data necessary to understand the true state of the deployment of broadband Internet service in the United States. Earlier this year the FCC, under the threat that Congress would order it to change its ways, did say it would collect better data in the future.

(See “FCC: Consistent to a fault, but there is a (small) hope”.) Even with the somewhat better data there was no good reason to think that the FCC would produce more useful statistics, considering its track record. Now Congress has acted and there is some additional reason to hope.

The recently adopted law is aimed at improving “the quality of Federal and State data regarding the availability and quality of broadband services and to promote the deployment of affordable broadband services to all parts of the Nation.”

The law mandates some useful ways to attain the first goal but does not do anything useful towards the second other than enable regulators to shame broadband service providers that are not doing a good job.

The law requires the FCC to compile a list of poorly served parts of the country. I guess this is so carriers in those areas can be publicly chastised for their poor behavior.

Here are Congress’ findings where it is cited as the `Broadband Data Improvement Act’.

The Congress finds the following:

• (1) The deployment and adoption of broadband technology has resulted in enhanced economic development and public safety for communities across the Nation, improved health care and educational opportunities, and a better quality of life for all Americans.

• (2) Continued progress in the deployment and adoption of broadband technology is vital to ensuring that our Nation remains competitive and continues to create business and job growth.

• (3) Improving Federal data on the deployment and adoption of broadband service will assist in the development of broadband technology across all regions of the Nation.

• (4) The Federal Government should also recognize and encourage complementary State efforts to improve the quality and usefulness of broadband data and should encourage and support the partnership of the public and private sectors in the continued growth of broadband services and information technology for the residents and businesses of the Nation.