Broadband and the city
Published: 16 Apr 2004 10:35 BST
Are these cities and local governments building out their own networks because they wouldn't be able to get new services otherwise?
In the more rural areas, that is true. But even when services are available, they're not fast enough for the goals of some communities. For example, cable modem service offered by cable companies and DSL services offered by phone companies typically run at about 3 megabits per second. Those rates are very low and insufficient to support the kinds of goals that I mentioned before. The Department of Commerce has said that what we regard as broadband today -- cable modem service and DSL -- are going to be the roadblocks for tomorrow as demand for bandwidth goes beyond the capacity that's available today.
It seems like the incumbents are dragging their feet in aggressively building out high-speed networks.
Well, they have made their investments in the kind of infrastructure that they believe maximises their revenue streams. But many government entities, particularly those that have the need for infrastructure that goes beyond what the cable companies and the phone companies are basing their business plans on, want to leapfrog what is available today. They want to bring themselves truly into the future, just as countries around the world have done by adopting true broadband at a far faster pace than we have in this country.
What kinds of infrastructure and technology are municipalities using to build these networks?
For communities that operate their own electric utilities, fibre is a natural fit. Some communities that do not have electric utilities might consider fibre, but many are thinking about wireless technologies of some kind, particularly in places where fibre would not currently be feasible.
Wireless is gaining popularity in densely populated urban areas. Some major cities want to make investments in citywide Wi-Fi hotspots or new WiMax (Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access) technologies, because some neighbourhoods or areas still do not have access to a high-speed network. Some local governments are considering offering free wireless access as a vehicle to attract businesses downtown. There are a lot of things that are going on all around the country in which local governments are just beginning to take matters into their own hands.
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