U.S. Broadband Market Still Coming Up Short

US BROADBAND MARKET STILL COMING UP SHORT
[SOURCE: savetheinternet.com]
A critical look at the broadband penetration numbers released by the FCC this week:

1) The FCC still uses an absurd standard of “broadband” -- 200 kilobits per second -- that was barely fast enough to surf in 1999 but is far below what’s needed to enjoy streaming video, VoIP, flash animation or other common Internet applications.

2) Speeds in the US are much slower than what’s available in the rest of the world. According to the FCC, half of all U.S. broadband connections are slower than 2.5 megabits per second -- yet in countries like Japan and South Korea, they’re rolling out 100 megabit service.

3) The FCC still uses a discredited measure of broadband availability. Using ZIP codes alone vastly overstates the availability and competition for broadband services.

4) There’s no competition. Ninety-eight percent of high-speed residential lines are provided by incumbent cable or telecom companies. 5) The numbers are inflated by cell phones. In fact, 60 percent of the increase in broadband connections over the past six months is due to mobile cellular wireless connections. A cell phone or Blackberry is no substitute or viable competitor for always-on cable, DSL or fiber connections. These connections are very slow, have strict bandwidth caps, and restrict users so they can't use Internet phone service or other applications.
http://www.savetheinternet.com/blog/2007/02/01/us-broadband-market-still...