MEDIA BLOG - THE LACK OF OBJECTIVITY IN THE NEWS

Broadband Article Misses the Point

In "Broadband by 2007? Don't hold your breath', MSNBC Technology Correspondent Bob Sullivan has gotten it right in the headline of the article, but he fails to address important issues in the body of the article. The focus of the article is almost entirely of the difficulty, effort, and cost require to wire the country for DSL or cable broadband access. The point is well-taken that there is no business case for such an infrastructure build, why spend so much time discussing the obvious. Sullivan misses two key points:

Even with a $20 Billion grant from the government, such a massive infrastructure could never be completed by 2007, just three years away. It's not just a cost issue. Providing "wired" universal broadband in this time frame is impossible.

-Wireless in the only way to achieve universal access. Sullivan dedicates two sentences to wireless in this article, as an afterthought: "The only widely available wireless solution, satellite broadband, is nearly triple the price of DSL or cable. Other wireless technologies are in development, but none is widely deployed." True as this may, wireless is the only way to provide universal broadband in a way that is even remotely viable for service providers. It also the quickest to deploy, as less cable needs to be laid. As a "Technology Correspondent", I think Sullivan would know this. So why treat wireless as an afterthought in this article?

Replies	Last Reply at	Last Message
1	04/21/04 20:56 EDT	Milton: Of course its possible...