More users than ever use broadband connections at home these days. Though it will take time, these connections will do nothing but get faster. With companies figuring out seemingly every day how to cram more information down the same pipes, and new options like fixed wireless and fiber to the door becoming available, connectivity options for the average consumer are ever-expanding, and with them, the speeds available.
This spells the doom of the modern computer, and the modern operating system as we know it – and this is not a bad thing.
GMB: the revolution was stopped, dead in its tracks, during the Clinton administration, the superhighway was Gore-d, they cozied up to the telecoms, bandwidth choked and the internet bubble, which was a bet on bandwidth, popped, and all roads on the superhighway lead to nowhere. With lightning speed, it came almost to house, where it was delivered fresh and wet to your lawn by the bicycle propelled news boy.
Yep, Clinton. On the one hand, he got picked on. On the otherhand, he got cut way too much slack because he was picked on. Gore? shit, he had more weak spots than a badly patched innertube.
I should mention that Howard Dean wants to be the DNC chairman. They'll find somebody else, like Kerry, who can continue to loose, instead of Dean, the last kick ass Democrat standing
Tuesday, January 04, 2005
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5 comments:
"GMB: the revolution was stopped, dead in its tracks, during the Clinton administration, the superhighway was Gore-d, they cozied up to the telecoms, bandwidth choked and the internet bubble, which was a bet on bandwidth, popped, and all roads on the superhighway lead to nowhere. With lightning speed, it came almost to house, where it was delivered fresh and wet to your lawn by the bicycle propelled news boy. "
Except that I think that is udder bullshit. Why, WHY is EVERYTHING CLinton's fault? Can the "kick ass" Democrats not participate in the Rupublican ass kicking? I am NOT a Clinton fan but the friend of my firend is not my enemy. What Clinton DID was open bandwidth to all players. The cable companies pulled a Cartman (I'm going home!) and fought and fought becasue they weren't going to be able to ream the customer. Bush comes in and the big bucks win. Cable gets to keep exclisivity. Now, if you want cable internet, it's your cable company or nothing (of course there are other options outside cable.)
What in any way this has anything to do with the tech bubble is beyond me. Broadband was increasing prior, during, and after the bubble burst.
Everything is not Clinton's fault. And some things are.
Broadband had ground to a halt. The telcoms would NOT support DSL, in large part because they got no start up protection, and ditto the cable boys: all they asked for was some usual windfall for being the owners, as opposed to falling under common carrier permission. Finally, it got through.
The word that was out just slightly before broadband was out there was "who needs all that speed". Music, the iPod, digital cameras, voip, all that was just waiting in the wings.
Clinton was his own worst enemy: he should have settled with Paula, just gotten in out of the way, and then screwing an intern? Oh, not the that its all such a big deal, but given the wolves at the door, he just about did it on the church steps.
He ran from Somalia, he was AWOL on Ruanda, he did great for Haiti, and likewise he was THE man that brought the world to Kosovo.
As the the information superhighway: flunked it big time.
The most powerful and unambigous declarative statement that man ever made was "I did not have sex with that woman". Had he been half as clear with Vince Foster, travelgate, and with his own attorney general, Reno, he'd have gotten a lot more done.
If what happens now is Bush's fault, and it is, what happened then belongs to Clinton.
Broadband HAS expanded. That would have happened anyway. The technology to use it has expanded so the "need" for it has too. I bet there would be MORE broadband today if the cables were common carrier.
The rest of your anti-Clinton diatribe ignored as not pertaining to the thread of discussion.
From WirelessIQ.info:
December 17, 2004
On Wednesday the Federal Communications Commission, under pressure from Federal Courts, issued an order that removed the obligation previously placed on incumbent local exchange carriers to open up their networks to competitors at subsidized prices.
The contentious issue had dogged the Commission for several years, and the new order did not enjoy the unanimous support of its members. While the official statement says "The new framework builds on actions by the Commission to limit unbundling to provide incentives for both incumbent carriers and new entrants to invest in the telecommunications market in a way that best allows for innovation and sustainable competition," Commissioner Michael J. Copps, in a dissenting opinion, says "What we have in front of us effectively dismantles wireline competition." Another Commissioner, Jonathan s. Adelstein, agrees: "Now, the majority buries telecom competition six feet under. The only choice I was given was where to pound in the nails."
An important distinction seems to be between residential and business services. Harris N. Miller, President of the Information Technology Association of America (ITAA) commented "The FCC took a big step towards killing local exchange competition for millions of residential customers—merely to placate a handful of monopoly telephone companies. This is a quick march backwards from the pro-competitive policies mandated by the Telecommunication Act."
When it comes to business, however, some analysts, however, disagree. Philip Solis, senior analyst, wireless connectivity at ABI Research, comments that "The CLEC's business models were based on the fact that ILECs had to lease lines to them at a loss. This was supposed to create competition, but all it did was create a false sense of competition while putting the burden on the ILECs."
At least one telecommunications faction is very happy with the decision: providers of fixed wireless broadband. With ILECs freed to charge what they consider competitive rates, CLECs are faced with the prospect of significantly higher costs for the use of network elements such as T1 and T3 lines, costs that will inevitably be passed along to urban business customers.
That means that fixed wireless broadband providers such as TowerStream should become more competitive. TowerStream today issued a press release to that effect (see "Off the Wire" section on this page.) With today's improved wireless technologies and equipment, such companies are feeling confident that they can provide a cost-effective alternative to wired services, especially under the new conditions.
"Fixed broadband wireless access solutions are a true form of competition for the last mile," Solis believes. "The FCC's ruling will force CLECs to raise their prices, and this will hurt their business. This is good news for ILECs and good news for all true competitors."
Last Updated ( Monday, 20 December 2004 )
There needed to be a moritorium on compeition until the thing got off the ground. Then you compete.
I strongly recommend the biography of John Rockefeller to see what oil "competition" was like before monopolistic regulation. Of course when it got big enough, it got opened up.
Besides, there was (and still is) not a scintilla of regulation vis-a-vis the service level to be provided by broadband. Nothing. So, competion without any oversight. Would you like to apply that to say, food? medicine? automobiles?
You do what works. Competition, too early, just did not work. Again, it did not work. The growth of broadband mirrors the trade restrictions. After a while, prices will come down.
Besides, competion also includes things like poor service, disparaging the competition,lying, phoney billing, and rotten service. Shit, they haven't even implemented what is supposed to be law: when you change ISPs, they are supposed to forward you mail to your new account for 30 days, gratis. Yep. True. Not very widely known.
Broadband did NOT take off during the Clinton Gore administration because they simply did not pay attention to it. Bill, alas, had his dick out much of the time. Well, not that often, but newpapers tend to write about what they know :-)
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