Friday, June 29, 2007

California Broadband Task Force issues report on state government actions to increase broadband access

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's administration has released the first report of the administration's Broadband Task Force formed late last year. The task force was formed under an executive order issued in October 2006 to "identify and eliminate obstacles to making broadband internet access ubiquitous in the state."

The June 25 report identifies actions state agencies can take to "immediately promote broadband access and usage." As might be expected since it's focused on administrative agency actions, there's little in the report that addresses the fundamental "last mile" problem that leaves many Californians cut off from wireline-based broadband services that aren't offered to them by the telco/cable duopoly.

The task force is due to issue a second report in October that "lays out a vision for California to be the model state where barriers to broadband access and adoption are eliminated."

Falling U.S. broadband penetration rate called "national embarassment"

Newsweek is out with an article reporting the United States has fallen to 15th place among economically developed nations when it comes to the number of households with broadband Internet access.

FCC Commissioner Michael Copps is quoted as calling the findings by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development a "national embarrassment."

Copps describes the growing gap between America's broadband haves and have nots as the nation's most recent infrastructure challenge and one that demands rapid action.

"Every generation in America has had an infrastructure challenge. And the response has been canals, turnpikes, railroads and the interstates," he told Newsweek. "But in the 21st century, it seems that no one is looking out for us. We're frittering our future away."

Thursday, June 28, 2007

Revamp wireless USF charge to subsidize wireline broadband, Qwest reportedly urges FCC

The Denver Post reports Colorado-based telco Qwest wants the Federal Communications Commission to change the formula for wireless phone surcharges for the Universal Service Fund (USF).

Qwest is proposing that the wireless surcharge be applied on a per household rather than per customer basis. The difference between the two methods is estimated to be around $500 million, which Qwest says should be set aside to subsidize wireline broadband deployment.

Tuesday, June 26, 2007

Tahoe fire could end persistent broadband black hole

If the fire lines continue to hold, there could be a silver lining for a Lake Tahoe area neighborhood hard hit by this week's devastating Angora Fire.

The neighborhood in the path of the wildfire has been one of El Dorado County's most puzzling and persistent broadband black holes. Despite a reasonable density of residences, there's no broadband from AT&T and the local cable franchisee, Charter Communications, reportedly pulled its equipment out of the area some months back.

Last year, resident Patti Handal (whose home has apparently been spared thus far) submitted a petition signed by 600 of her neighbors to AT&T demanding it stop stalling and roll out wireline-based broadband services. Patti also enlisted El Dorado County Supervisor Norma Santiago to argue the residents' case to AT&T officials.

Now there's a glimmer of hope that out of the ashes the long suffering neighborhood might finally come in from the dark side of the digital divide and go broadband.

An AT&T official was quoted in Tahoe Daily Tribune as saying new fiber-optic cable will be laid today in damaged areas. I hope it brings wireline broadband to beleaguered residents whose homes survive the inferno and something to look forward to for all residents, including those less fortunate who opt to rebuild.

Monday, June 25, 2007

CWA calls its broadband survey results "deeply troubling"

The Communications Workers of America has been hounding the telcos that employ them to get off the dime and upgrade their broadband networks. CWA accurately complains that current telco broadband deployments are a disorganized "hodge podge" that leaves many customers mired in broadband black holes while others get service.

To build its case, the union recently conducted a web-based survey in which visitors tested their broadband connection speeds and recorded their location.

The results, CWA concludes are "deeply disturbing," showing a median download speed of 1.9 megabits per second (mbps), which it called "positively sluggish" compared to other countries. In France, for example, the median download speed is 17 mbps, 45 mbps in South Korea and 61 mbps in Japan.


The 1.9 mbps median speed means half of those who took the CWA speed test are higher than that number and half are lower. Had more dial up users taken the test, the median speed would be even lower, CWC noted. Only five percent of the test takers used dial up connections, compared to 30 to 40 percent of the country who are still using dial up CWA said.


The CWA survey results feature a map of the U.S. that allows users to check average reported download and upload speeds by state, county and ZIP code.

CWA President Larry Cohen blamed weak regulatory policy for America's broadband gap. "Our nation's current plan of allowing the market to determine who gets true high speed and who doesn't is bad public policy," he said.


CWA said it's delivering the report to every member of Congress and added it supports pending Senate legislation, the Broadband Data Improvement Act that would require the federal government to collect and evaluate detailed data on the current state of high speed internet deployment.


Thursday, June 21, 2007

More telco baloney courtesy of Qwest

Telco Qwest is having a fit over local Colorado governments that want it to tell them where and when it plans to build upgraded broadband infrastructure to enable it to offer Internet Protocol TV.

The Denver-based telco complains that doing so is divulging trade secrets and would tip off competing cable companies of its plans.

Baloney! Markets are made by what is actually offered, not what is planned. The real issue is all about buildout. All too often, the telco/cable duopoly wants to put in place incomplete systems that leave entire neighborhoods without access to advanced broadband services. Local governments are right to demand providers serve all of their residents and not leave gaping broadband black holes.