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Report says 1Gbps internet needed for US to stay competitive

25 June 2008 16:31 by Rich "vurbal" Fiscus | 28 comments

A report commissioned by the e-NC Authority in North Carolina has dire warnings for the future if the US continues to fall behind other western nations in broadband internet deployment. It explains how the US has fallen behind so many other countries and characterizes it as a necessity for competing in the modern world rather than being a luxury along the lines of cable television.

"If the United States wants to preserve its high standard of living and quality of life, it must rapidly prepare its workforce to move up the value chain to knowledge-based jobs that can command the high wages that Americans have come to expect. This will require improvements in many areas, especially to our educational system and our advanced communications infrastructure," says the report.

The document proposes a remedy to the US' leadership void. It suggests the country needs a national plan to make 100Mbps internet connections available across the country by 2012, and 1Gbps connections by 2015.

Additionally it suggests that local governments be encouraged to establish their own networks if telecommunications companies don't step up to the challenge. They use the example of early deployment of electric service, when privately owned utilities didn't consider many small towns or most rural areas worth serving. Communities were forced to create public utilities of their own to fill the gap.

This last point in particular has been a major point of contention for the telecommunications industry. In some cases they've even gone so far as to sue municipalities to keep them out of the broadband internet business.

However, as the report accurately points out companies who aren't facing serious competition from newer services like Verizon's FiOS don't seem to see any compelling need to improve their networks. If you believe the report's conclusions on the importance of the internet you almost have to agree that ISPs aren't doing enough.

As the report states, addressing the issue requires thinking big, adopting high goals, and acting boldly. Anything less seems like a waste of precious time and resources.

Permalink to this article | Topic: Lawsuits & Legislation

FiOS TV launches in New York City this week (28 July 2008)

Bell Canada has some explaining to do - to the public this time (23 June 2008)

That video you're watching just might break the internet (18 June 2008)

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Kraut1 (Newbie) 25 June 2008 18:10
Almost everyone in Germany (for example) has at the very least 100mbps But the average is like 600mbps. [ + quote]
ZippyDSM (AfterDawn Addict) 25 June 2008 18:11
*Originally posted by Kraut1:* Almost everyone in Germany (for example) has at the very least 100mbps But the average is like 600mbps. even in the middle of no where? the US has alot of no where, we just got 1.5MbpsDSL a year ago. [ + quote]
chaos_zzz (Junior Member) 25 June 2008 18:29
i think 2mb is enough, 4mb tops. rapidshare stuff downloads in a flash, online video also, videocalls everything going above that is a luxury for now at least [ + quote]
canuckerz (Senior Member) 25 June 2008 18:39
*Originally posted by Kraut1:* Almost everyone in Germany (for example) has at the very least 100mbps But the average is like 600mbps. You've got your stats very confused http://speedtest.net/global.php?continent=3&country=27 [ + quote]
ZippyDSM (AfterDawn Addict) 25 June 2008 18:39
*Originally posted by chaos_zzz:* i think 2mb is enough, 4mb tops. rapidshare stuff downloads in a flash, online video also, videocalls everything going above that is a luxury for now at least is that 200 or 2000KBPS? [ + quote]
Kraut1 (Newbie) 25 June 2008 18:47
canuckerz I don't know about these statistics but we have Versatel, Alice, 1&1,GMX,etc and the average starting package is 100mbps. Now there are some rural areas in Germany that don't have a service like this at the moment, but its a question about months not years. [ + quote]
canuckerz (Senior Member) 25 June 2008 19:07
*Originally posted by Kraut1:* canuckerz I don't know about these statistics but we have Versatel, Alice, 1&1,GMX,etc and the average starting package is 100mbps. Now there are some rural areas in Germany that don't have a service like this at the moment, but its a question about months not years. That dosent make any sence, because the adverage is no where near 100mbps and even the fastest ip in germany dosent come close to touching that. [ + quote]
Kraut1 (Newbie) 25 June 2008 19:13
canuckerz I tell you from what I have or my neighbor, but check the Scandinavians they have even more. [ + quote]
Stu_dent (Newbie) 25 June 2008 20:34
*Originally posted by Kraut1:* canuckerz I tell you from what I have or my neighbor, but check the Scandinavians they have even more. Versatel Product Info ger: gro�e symmetrische Bandbreiten von 2 MBit/s bis zu 2,5 GBit/s eng: large symmetrical bandwidth of 2 Mbps up to 2.5 Gbit / s I do understand what canuckerz is saying because although they advertise those speeds most people never really see them [ + quote]
jony218 (Senior Member) 25 June 2008 22:43
What good is 1gb broadband speed, if your monthly limit is 30gb? or for "poor people" 5gb? Most ISP are looking into adopting these monthly limits. It's only a matter of time before everyone in the US is "throttled" with no real benefit to the user. [ + quote]
ZippyDSM (AfterDawn Addict) 25 June 2008 23:02
*Originally posted by jony218:* What good is 1gb broadband speed, if your monthly limit is 30gb? or for "poor people" 5gb? Most ISP are looking into adopting these monthly limits. It's only a matter of time before everyone in the US is "throttled" with no real benefit to the user. In a since we need some limits cheap plans under 300KBPS/20$ with 5-15GB limits that when met halve your up/down max speeds. for the mid range double or triple the speed and caps for 20-60, at 60 and above start it out around 900KBPS no caps and end it at 120$ for 2000KBPS, the as fast as you can get for as cheap is bad for both consumers and ISPs. [ + quote]
dappy123 (Newbie) 25 June 2008 23:09
What ever happened to the concept the the US LEAD. No, it's not a matter of beating any other country but just simply being a leader. When we started to compare our speed with others, that was the beginning of the "end". The real "speed" should be one of innovation. Unfortunately, ISPs (the big masters) are more concerned with draining the consumer for all they can rather than being true leaders. All of this business of file sharing would disappear if the so called music industry would price music in such a way that everyone would just buy. Problem is that music should be treated as an ART and not an industry. This model would do so well in ISPs if they just got down to business and PROVIDED and stopped bleeding the consumer. They cry that "downloaders" are pigs. What a master reframe!! If they gave what they PROMISED from the very beginning at a reasonable and fair price, the digital divide would not exist. More would be at the table sharing in the bounty of creativity. None of them haven't created a thing except to figure out their best price plans. IF they stopped being the real pigs, the artists would eat better and contribute so much more. The old model of distribution is dying and needs to die sooner. [ + quote]
ZippyDSM (AfterDawn Addict) 25 June 2008 23:13
*Originally posted by dappy123:* What ever happened to the concept the the US LEAD. No, it's not a matter of beating any other country but just simply being a leader. When we started to compare our speed with others, that was the beginning of the "end". The real "speed" should be one of innovation. Unfortunately, ISPs (the big masters) are more concerned with draining the consumer for all they can rather than being true leaders. All of this business of file sharing would disappear if the so called music industry would price music in such a way that everyone would just buy. Problem is that music should be treated as an ART and not an industry. This model would do so well in ISPs if they just got down to business and PROVIDED and stopped bleeding the consumer. They cry that "downloaders" are pigs. What a master reframe!! If they gave what they PROMISED from the very beginning at a reasonable and fair price, the digital divide would not exist. More would be at the table sharing in the bounty of creativity. None of them haven't created a thing except to figure out their best price plans. IF they stopped being the real pigs, the artists would eat better and contribute so much more. The old model of distribution is dying and needs to die sooner. Where have you been? the US has not lead anything in 20+ years the corporations have circumvented American ingenuity and chained it down so as only they may make a profit off it and their not even American! [ + quote]
mspurloc (Member) 26 June 2008 0:35
This is what I've been ranting about, folks. Thanks to the greedy, lazy ISPs that so many of you seem content to feed, we are behind every other industrialized country. One of many reasons our economy is so easily manipulated. [ + quote]
BludRayne (Junior Member) 26 June 2008 12:08
Faster speed is good, but how much will it cost? I'll be damned if i have to pay more than $15 a month for dsl! [ + quote]
ZippyDSM (AfterDawn Addict) 26 June 2008 13:24
*Originally posted by BludRayne:* Faster speed is good, but how much will it cost? I'll be damned if i have to pay more than $15 a month for dsl! you pay for what you get so 15$ would bring you 100-200KBPS with a 5-10GB a month cap before speed is halved :P [ + quote]
IPRFenix (Newbie) 26 June 2008 18:20
You're forgetting the fact that the entire US already has fiber laid down. Its been there in the ground un-used for the past 8-10yrs (depending on the state). The entire US SHOULD have been on ~45mbps fiber connections since 1998-2000 (again depending on the state). On another note, Japan may soon be taking the lead in internet speed by UNGODLY amounts. Japanese researchers have made over 100tbps (yes, 100 terabits per second!) connections possible using.. STANDARD FIBER! http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/internet/japa...tics-323748.php Good ole US chugging along on shitty cable/dsl connections, our ISPS utterly refusing to use the 45mbps fiber we have in the ground, and here comes Japan, already making 100tbps+ connections possible.. Wow do we suck. [ + quote]
ZippyDSM (AfterDawn Addict) 26 June 2008 19:22
*Originally posted by IPRFenix:* You're forgetting the fact that the entire US already has fiber laid down. Its been there in the ground un-used for the past 8-10yrs (depending on the state). The entire US SHOULD have been on ~45mbps fiber connections since 1998-2000 (again depending on the state). On another note, Japan may soon be taking the lead in internet speed by UNGODLY amounts. Japanese researchers have made over 100tbps (yes, 100 terabits per second!) connections possible using.. STANDARD FIBER! http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/internet/japa...tics-323748.php Good ole US chugging along on shitty cable/dsl connections, our ISPS utterly refusing to use the 45mbps fiber we have in the ground, and here comes Japan, already making 100tbps+ connections possible.. Wow do we suck. fiber has only be laid to a few main cities it costs 100K plus to get it out to each house after that. And japan is a tiny country with huge populated areas making it easy to pipe and sell services. [ + quote]
area_51 (Newbie) 26 June 2008 23:41
Phuck a gig, lets talk terabytes. [ + quote] This message has been edited since posting. Last time this message was edited on 26 June 2008 23:42
carp624 (Newbie) 27 June 2008 0:06
We Pay 46.00 u.s. dollars Per Month , for WHAT is SUPPOSED to be 7 mbps. upload is actually 568kbps. would love to hear about better service [ + quote]
Gnawnivek (Newbie) 27 June 2008 12:17
*Originally posted by carp624:* We Pay 46.00 u.s. dollars Per Month , for WHAT is SUPPOSED to be 7 mbps. upload is actually 568kbps. would love to hear about better service Totally agree... paying pretty high already, but not getting the service's worth! I just realized that from time to time my DSL is slow as hell (less than a meg per sec) and often disconnect (maybe bad weather). However, after few phone calls, the service is back to "normal." Maybe US got a lot of "nowheres" but hello, how about major cities, they are not much different from Japan is it? [ + quote]
BrockKane (Newbie) 27 June 2008 12:43
ahhhh it's very simple! No competition with Comcast, therefore no hurry to upgrade the speeds. Or the service! Comcast monoplolizes the Cable side of the Internet. And until Verizon's FIOS is available across the USA, Comcast will only up the speeds where FIOS is available. It's all about money, any company that has no competition, has no need to give good service. Typical "Rich Man" white trash thinking! [ + quote]
zerubaba (Newbie) 29 June 2008 2:28
*Originally posted by IPRFenix:* You're forgetting the fact that the entire US already has fiber laid down. Its been there in the ground un-used for the past 8-10yrs (depending on the state). The entire US SHOULD have been on ~45mbps fiber connections since 1998-2000 (again depending on the state). On another note, Japan may soon be taking the lead in internet speed by UNGODLY amounts. Japanese researchers have made over 100tbps (yes, 100 terabits per second!) connections possible using.. STANDARD FIBER! http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/internet/japa...tics-323748.php Good ole US chugging along on shitty cable/dsl connections, our ISPS utterly refusing to use the 45mbps fiber we have in the ground, and here comes Japan, already making 100tbps+ connections possible.. Wow do we suck. So far the only person with the right facts out of these comments. I'm a network admin major btw [ + quote]
5pence (Newbie) 14 July 2008 7:42
Dont know what they are worried about, here in the UK the fastest speed we cant get is 24mbs for �24 (about $48) per month!!!!! And thats upto 24mbs so most of the time you probly get 10mbs!!! And i think the average person still uses homing pigeons! America is no where near falling behind, unless they count the east and west of the U.S. as different continents! Just a little added fact for ya petrol is �1.20 per litre. ($11 per gallon if my conversions are correct) at the mo and rising!!!! [ + quote]
mspurloc (Member) 14 July 2008 13:52
*Originally posted by 5pence:* America is no where near falling behind, unless they count the east and west of the U.S. as different continents! Oh my God. That's the best idea I've heard all year! Treat them as foreign nations, declare war and destroy them. That would solve all of America's problems. [ + quote]
mspurloc (Member) 14 July 2008 13:56
*Originally posted by IPRFenix:* You're forgetting the fact that the entire US already has fiber laid down. Its been there in the ground un-used for the past 8-10yrs (depending on the state). The entire US SHOULD have been on ~45mbps fiber connections since 1998-2000 (again depending on the state). On another note, Japan may soon be taking the lead in internet speed by UNGODLY amounts. Japanese researchers have made over 100tbps (yes, 100 terabits per second!) connections possible using.. STANDARD FIBER! http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/internet/japa...tics-323748.php Good ole US chugging along on shitty cable/dsl connections, our ISPS utterly refusing to use the 45mbps fiber we have in the ground, and here comes Japan, already making 100tbps+ connections possible.. Wow do we suck. I'm bumping this because as far as pointing out the truth in this thread, it's the bomb. It's there, WE paid for it, we should get to use it! [ + quote]