[IP] Where is the market demand for broadband?
------- Original message -------
From: Andy Oram <andyo@xxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: 26/4/'05, 20:35
Where is the market demand for broadband?
http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/wlg/6938
URL: [91]http://www.onpointradio.org/shows/2005/04/20050426_a_main.asp
...
The NPR radio show [92]On Point had an in-depth discussion this
evening of the lagging adoption of broadband in the U.S., which is
certainly increasing but not at a rate matching advanced Asian
economies. One caller raised a formalistic and rigid version of
standard free-market economic arguments: if there is slow growth in
broadband, it must be because there aren't that many people who want
it. Where, he asked, is the demand?
In a situation like this where oligopolies in the local loop use
political and market muscle to hold back competition, one has to look
for other signs of the need. For instance, the rural areas of this
country are emptying out. Even many cities are doing poorly as
population piles up in a few megalopoli, particularly along the
coasts.
This has all kinds of negative social ramifications: a crisis in
affordable housing, increasing ecological damage and traffic snarls,
exposure to flooding, and so on.
Basically, people are leaving the rural areas and the middle of the
country because they can't get jobs. They also find themselves
disadvantaged when it comes to educational opportunities and other
amenities. High-speed Internet access, with opportunities for
telecommuting, distance education, medical videoconferencing, and
other modern applications, can help restore a healthy balance to the
country.
In short, demand is masked by flight.
The show was quite valuable in its discussion of the suppression of
competition in last-mile access. The baby Bells squashed the hundreds
of small Internet providers that tried to get a foothold in local
markets in the 1990s and then told the FCC (with the desired results)
that competition would be aided by having less competition--that is,
that the FCC should let the Bells and cable companies duke it out
without harrassment from small innovators.
Now, as mentioned on the radio show, the telecom companies and cable
companies are using the same argument to hold back municipal networks:
supposedly, holding back competition is good for competition. The
irony is that municipalities step in to take on the big job of
building out a network only when the private companies have stayed
away. And a government-run fiber network can lay the groundwork for
competition at higher layers.
Let's have some real competition, and then the hidden demand will
reveal itself.
[93]Andy Oram is an editor for O'Reilly Media, specializing in Linux
and free software books, and a member of Computer Professionals for
Social Responsibility. His web site is [94]www.praxagora.com/andyo.
_________________________________________________________________
[101]Creative Commons License This work is licensed under a
[102]Creative Commons License.
References
91. http://www.onpointradio.org/shows/2005/04/20050426_a_main.asp
92. http://www.onpointradio.org/
93. http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/au/36
94. http://www.praxagora.com/andyo/
101. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/
102. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/
--
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Andy Oram O'Reilly Media email: andyo@xxxxxxxxxxx
Editor 90 Sherman Street voice: 617-499-7479
Cambridge, MA 02140-3233 fax: 617-661-1116
USA http://www.praxagora.com/andyo/
Stories at Web site:
The Bug in the Seven Modules Code the Obscure The Disconnected
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