[1st-mile-nm] Broadband op-ed in today's Albuquerque Journal
peter baston
pete at ideapete.com
Tue Jul 27 11:41:32 PDT 2010
Well done Brian some sense at last but I doubt if any politician is
listening or even understands the REAL subject.
Our entire communications and economic growth future rests on how we develop
our technology infrastructure but our industry has its nose and brain
buried in the sand and as we tell more and more lies, just like Pinocchio,
it gets deeper and deeper into ossification and immobility and our countries
future bleeds down the drain
Lie Number 1 = There is no technological term rational for the terminology
of Broadband and no standards exist to measure it - It was a term developed
by the tel com industry as a marketing mantra to stick a Ferrari label on a
tortoise and increase profit at no cost
Lie Number 2 = Internet speeds are shown as " mgb " on telcom and cable
networks but storage and data is measured in MEGABYTES ( MGB ) which is 8
times bigger and so we have the only industry in the world that measures its
product differently in how it stores and transmits it
http://www.ideapete.com/megaBS.html
Lie Number 3 = Download speeds are often 8 to 10 times faster than upload
speeds but this is totally ignored in marketing and contractual data
information which only list hoped for download speeds
Lie Number 4 = There is no shortage of mainline fiber as tel-com and cable
companies have deliberately kept 60% of the network dark and have purchased
specific choke point networks to ensure no one else can use it
Sadly with Qwest's new owners we will be in for years of yack yack no action
while our states and countries future deteriorates even further
In a tel-com conference speech nearly 10 years ago
http://www.ideapete.com/leapfrog.html I finished up with this statement
*
I will close this way. Some time ago, in the fledgling US, there was a man
by the name of Patrick Henry. He made a speech known to all Americans that
contained the words: “Give me liberty or give me death!” With permission, if
Patrick were alive today, in this state, in our business, he would use
slightly different words: “Give me real connectivity or we will give you
death!” (metaphorically speaking, US West / Qwest / WorldCom / ATT carrier
companies et al., of course). *
Change the names of companies that have withered and died and its perfectly
appropriate today so maybe its a self fulfilling prophecy
( : ( : pete
--
--------------------------------------
Peter Baston
IDEAS business technology integration
www.ideapete.com
Cell: 505-690-3627
Mailto:pete at ideapete.com
On Thu, Jul 15, 2010 at 3:30 PM, Harris, Brian <bharris at nmag.gov> wrote:
> Indeed "broadband" is a slippery term. That's why, when we were litigating
> Qwest's 3rd "alternative form of regulation" (AFOR 3) I concentrated on
> "infrastructure to support high speed internet." We got the PRC to impose
> some additional investment requirements on Qwest.
>
> I think it is time for an "infrastructure" discussion. Just like the water
> pipes and sewage lines, roads and pipeline safety, telecommunications
> infrastructure is an essential component of what we have come to call the
> "good life" in America. We need to start thinking of how we build and
> maintain such infrastructure, whether we can count 100% on the private
> sector to serve those least able to pay and if the market will achieve the
> goal of ubiquity such as we have we had with "plain old telephone service."
>
> Under the old universal service policy approach to ubiquity this country
> fostered the growth of a voice telephony infrastructure that was second to
> none in the world. Starting with the '96 Telecom Act, when we relied 100%
> on "competition" to serve our needs the other countries started surpassing
> us both in terms of houses passed and sheer speed. However, given the state
> of the world I am not confident that there exists the political will to
> re-examine the '96 Act and fix it.
>
> Brian Harris
> The views expressed herein are entirely his own!
>
> On Thu, Jul 15, 2010 at 2:25 PM, Tom Johnson <tom at jtjohnson.com> wrote:
>
>> The problem with essays/editorials like this is that they rarely define
>> "broadband." For too long now, the FCC said it was 250kbytes (NB make sure
>> one specifies BITES or BYTES) up and down. In fact, we need to join much of
>> the so-called developing world like Japan and South Korea and set our
>> initial target a 1gigabytes up and down .
>>
>> -Tom Johnson
>> Santa Fe
>>
>> On Thu, Jul 15, 2010 at 1:27 PM, Cummins, Kevin (Tom Udall) <
>> Kevin_Cummins at tomudall.senate.gov> wrote:
>>
>>>
>>>
>>> FYI only.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> *Broadband Is Critical*
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> By Terry Brunner
>>>
>>> USDA Rural Development State Director for New Mexico
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> It goes without saying that broadband-high speed Internet is changing
>>> the way Americans live their lives. It's almost hard to remember how many of
>>> us got by without it.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> With access to broadband, we can easily sell a car, rent an
>>> apartment, look for a job, read the news or manage a business. The advantage
>>> of the broadband network is that it can connect you to the rest of the world
>>> on your schedule, at your convenience and almost anywhere — that is unless
>>> you live in rural America.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Today, too few rural Americans take advantage of the opportunities
>>> broadband provides. Only half of rural residents subscribe to broadband —
>>> compared to 65 percent nationwide — because too many communities in rural
>>> America don't have adequate access to broadband infrastructure.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Simply put, building a broadband infrastructure is critical to
>>> creating jobs and economic opportunity in rural America.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> With investments in broadband we are fostering innovation and
>>> bringing America's rural communities into the digital age. A young person
>>> doesn't have to move to the nearest city to make a living. He or she can
>>> create, develop and run a business at home, in rural America, and be
>>> successful. A young parent can work and raise a family and still connect
>>> with business partners across the country or around the world.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> With new or enhanced broadband access, the door to economic growth is
>>> open.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> When broadband access reaches into rural communities:
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> • Farmers and ranchers will have up-to-the-minute commodity and
>>> weather information to make the best decisions for their operations;
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> • Schools can expand limited course offerings through distance
>>> learning — both advancing education and better preparing students to compete
>>> in the 21st century economy;
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> • First responders will have information they need to keep their
>>> communities safer;
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> • Rural health care will improve, as medical specialists will be able
>>> to use telemedicine to provide advanced diagnosis for patients or to consult
>>> with colleagues at other hospitals.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> At the Department of Agriculture, we are focused every day on
>>> creating thriving rural communities where people want to live and raise
>>> families. We want every parent and grandparent in rural America to be able
>>> to look their child or grandchild in the eye and tell them their hometown
>>> has the economic opportunities to offer them a bright future.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> The Obama administration recently announced investment in 66 new
>>> Recovery Act broadband projects nationwide, the second round of funding for
>>> broadband infrastructure from President Obama's Recovery Act. Thirty-seven
>>> of these new projects will help expand broadband access in rural America.
>>> These projects will not only directly create more than 5,000 jobs up front,
>>> but spur economic development in some of the nation's hardest-hit
>>> communities, creating jobs for years to come.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> These funds will put people to work constructing new facilities,
>>> erecting towers to transmit signals and high speed broadband services
>>> installed in homes, businesses and community education, safety and public
>>> health centers.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> But the investments also will foster long-term economic growth. The
>>> more than $7 billion provided by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act
>>> to help expand broadband will benefit tens of millions of Americans and over
>>> 685,000 businesses, 900 health care facilities and 2,400 schools in all 50
>>> states.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> We will see the impact of broadband in rural New Mexico with several
>>> broadband projects being funded.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> For example, the Baca Valley Telephone Co. in Des Moines received a
>>> $1.6 million loan and $1.5 million grant. The funding will expand fiber
>>> optics to Digital Subscriber Line in rural northeastern New Mexico
>>> communities. The money will be used to replace outdated deteriorating copper
>>> wire and low bandwidth microwave transport systems in some areas, while
>>> providing new connectivity in others, and enabling advanced, high-speed DSL
>>> service throughout the area.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> _______________________________________________
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>>> 1st-mile-nm at mailman.dcn.org
>>> http://www2.dcn.org/mailman/listinfo/1st-mile-nm
>>>
>>>
>>
>>
>> --
>> ==========================================
>> J. T. Johnson
>> Institute for Analytic Journalism -- Santa Fe, NM USA
>> www.analyticjournalism.com
>> 505.577.6482(c) 505.473.9646(h)
>> http://www.jtjohnson.com tom at jtjohnson.com
>>
>> "Be Your Own Publisher"
>> http://indiepubwest.com
>> ==========================================
>>
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