Thanks to Corporations, America is falling behind with Internet technology

[Le Jacquelope]

Profiteering is why Sweden now has the technology for residential speeds of 40 Gbps and meanwhile, many Americans are still stuck on dialup, and don't even think about coming anywhere close to ONE gigabyte per second bandwidth for the next ten years in the US.


Corporations slam us with bandwidth caps up the wazoo, and don't even bother with researching faster connections. Europe? [http://pressesc.com/01184074187_fibre_to_home]2.5 million people[/url] already have fiber to the home.

http://www.thelocal.se/7869/20070712/

Sigbritt, 75, has world's fastest broadband

Published: 12th July 2007 11:07 CET
Online: http://www.thelocal.se/7869/

A 75 year old woman from Karlstad in central Sweden has been thrust into the IT history books - with the world's fastest internet connection.

Sigbritt Löthberg's home has been supplied with a blistering 40 Gigabits per second connection, many thousands of times faster than the average residential link and the first time ever that a home user has experienced such a high speed.

But Sigbritt, who had never had a computer until now, is no ordinary 75 year old. She is the mother of Swedish internet legend Peter Löthberg who, along with Karlstad Stadsnät, the local council's network arm, has arranged the connection.

"This is more than just a demonstration," said network boss Hafsteinn Jonsson.

"As a network owner we're trying to persuade internet operators to invest in faster connections. And Peter Löthberg wanted to show how you can build a low price, high capacity line over long distances," he told The Local.

Sigbritt will now be able to enjoy 1,500 high definition HDTV channels simultaneously. Or, if there is nothing worth watching there, she will be able to download a full high definition DVD in just two seconds.

The secret behind Sigbritt's ultra-fast connection is a new modulation technique which allows data to be transferred directly between two routers up to 2,000 kilometres apart, with no intermediary transponders.

According to Karlstad Stadsnät the distance is, in theory, unlimited - there is no data loss as long as the fibre is in place.

"I want to show that there are other methods than the old fashioned ways such as copper wires and radio, which lack the possibilities that fibre has," said Peter Löthberg, who now works at Cisco.

Cisco contributed to the project but the point, said Hafsteinn Jonsson, is that fibre technology makes such high speed connections technically and commercially viable.

"The most difficult part of the whole project was installing Windows on Sigbritt's PC," said Jonsson.

 

[Le Jacquelope]

And for those morons stupid enough to argue with me about this.

http://money.cnn.com/2005/06/16/technology/broadband/broadband_saturation.gif

http://money.cnn.com/2005/06/16/technology/broadband/index.htm

Broadband lag could hurt the U.S.
Several Asian, European nations have greater share of people with access; some experts see threat.
June 17, 2005: 1:28 PM EDT
By Rob Kelley, CNN/Money staff writer

NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Thomas Bleha believes the United States stands to lose big if it keeps slipping behind other countries in the percentage of citizens with high-speed Internet access.

Bleha, who's writing a book about the global fight for Internet leadership, argues that broadband access has implications far beyond the speed of Web browsers. Full-scale adoption of the high-speed connections in Asian and European nations has fueled economic growth, technological innovation and improved quality of life, he said.

"There are myriad benefits across the economy," Bleha said. "In corporate communications alone, data transfer, collaborative working and telecommuting amount to a big competitive advantage."

Bleha cited a 2001 study by economist Robert Crandall and telecom consultant Charles Jackson that found that widespread broadband adoption could add $500 billion to the economy and create 1.2 million new jobs over a decade.

Fears about falling behind were fanned by a recent study by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development showing the United States has slipped to 12th place, from fourth three years ago, in the percentage of people with broadband connections.

South Korea ranked first last year, with 24.9 citizens out of every 100 having broadband access, nearly double the U.S. figure of 12.8, the OECD study said.

But while some experts said the United States will get stung if it keeps losing ground, other experts said the issues are more complex -- and this country much more competitive -- than the figures suggest.

"The major impediment to U.S. adoption is price, not lack of availability," said Charles Golvin, a senior telecom analyst at Forrester Research. "Broadband is widely available but, like many technologies, it appealed first to high-income people, and lower prices will make it more mainstream."

A month of broadband access costs American consumers $40 to $60 versus $20 to $35 in South Korea, according to Fortune.

SBC recently slashed its monthly broadband fee to $14.95 for customers signing up online, a figure below what many households now pay for slower dial-up access -- a move that could spark a broadband price war.

But Haim Mendelson, Professor of Electronic Commerce at Stanford's Graduate School of Business, is not convinced that American consumers are seeing the lowest prices.

"We have a problem in terms of competition," he said. "In most U.S. markets you have one major cable player and one major DSL player -- a duopoly. This just isn't as competitive as in South Korea and the Netherlands, which have many companies competing fiercely."

High-speed, or broadband, connections are typically available through DSL over traditional phone lines, or over cable or fiber-optic lines.

The companies that account for most domestic spending on broadband networks are telecom firms like SBC (Research), Verizon (Research), BellSouth (Research) and Qwest (Research), which typically offer DSL service, and cable operators Comcast (Research) and Time Warner Cable, which offer broadband via cable. (Time Warner Cable, like CNN/Money, is owned by Time Warner (Research).)

Charles Ferguson, author of the study "The Broadband Problem," believes high-speed access has an inherent risk for these companies. "Both the telecom and cable industries are worried that broadband could eventually undermine them. Phone companies fear that people will move to (Internet phone service), and cable companies fear that digital video will threaten cable."

A Bush administration official reportedly has disputed that the nation is falling behind, noting the U.S. leads the world in the total number of high-speed users, availability of wireless Internet and computers devoted to online commerce -- even if we're slipping on a per capita basis.

"There's enormous commercial value for businesses in broadband, and American businesses take advantage of that every day," said Harold Furchtgott-Roth, a communications consultant and former FCC commissioner. "If you look at the leading business-to-consumer Internet companies, most of those are American. And in business-to-business Internet activity, the U.S. is also ahead."

Most countries ranked above the U.S. in the OECD study are smaller with denser populations that are more easily networked.

"Population density affects both the cost of deploying cables and the availability of access," noted Stanford's Mendelson.

Some countries on the list have benefited from government initiatives. According to Fortune, the South Korean government has spent billions in recent years to create a high-speed backbone for school and government offices, and offered incentives for companies to broaden their residential networks.

New Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin told National Journal's Technology Daily recently that broadband development will be the "number one priority" of his tenure. "It affects the way that we entertain ourselves, the way that we educate our children, the way that we work," he was quoted as saying.

He told the magazine he would review broadband regulations to make sure they encourage growth, and said he would pursue a market-driven approach to network expansion.

Robert Litan, senior economic fellow at the Brookings Institution, expressed reservations about government programs like that in Korea. "I'm skeptical about subsidies," said Litan. "Especially now that there's increasing competition -- the phone companies are really competing with the cable companies -- markets are encouraging natural growth. And in a few years there will be wireless broadband, which will drive prices down."

Meanwhile, a case before the Supreme Court, Brand X vs FCC, could have a serious impact. Brand X, an Internet service provider, is appealing a 2002 FCC decision that owners of large cable networks do not have to lease part of their networks to competitors. If the appeal is successful, that might bring more competition to broadband.

The OECD study did not differentiate between business and home subscribers, but Matt Davis, a broadband analyst with the Yankee Group, said the difference is crucial. Businesses use high-speed access for applications that drive productivity. But in Asia, applications like online gaming and video chat are behind the rapid growth of high-speed networks, he said.

For the full details of the study on OECD's web site, click here.

 

[PoastMonkey]

How fast is the "main" part of the internet?

 

[Batch]

How fast is the "main" part of the internet?

thread killer

welcome to the club

 

[PoastMonkey]

thread killer

welcome to the club

I just assumed my connection was slow and it was taking a while to wind its way onto the internet.

 

[PoastMonkey]

Also, while waiting for my answer, I'm sitting here with a pencil in each nostril pretending to be a walrus.

 

[Karen Kraft]

Two point, LT:

First, there are fewer people in Europe who wish to access the Internet; and

Second, people on dial-up deserve to be on dial-up, have nothing to contribute, and should even not be allowed phone privileges, regular mail, or the ability to leave their homes.

 

[Le Jacquelope]

How fast is the "main" part of the internet?

The backbone? Fast enough that we should at least have the option to get higher than 6mbps (for you peons, at least) speed, and people still stuck on dialup should have better access.

Europe can do it. Why can't we?

 

[PoastMonkey]

The higest speed listed here for the internet backbone is 13.271 Gbps. Is that outdated?

 

[Le Jacquelope]

The higest speed listed here for the internet backbone is 13.271 Gbps. Is that outdated?

Sweden can do 40gbps to the home. If corporations weren't so sluggish and piggish, they could have done a million times that by now.

The fact that asserts the highest internet speed is LOWER than that Sweden can offer a mere resident, says we've fucked up in a legendary way.

 

[cg_allstar]

Sweden can do 40gbps to the home. If corporations weren't so sluggish and piggish, they could have done a million times that by now.

The fact that asserts the highest internet speed is LOWER than that Sweden can offer a mere resident, says we've fucked up in a legendary way.

No, one 75 year-old lady in Sweden can get 40gbps. Read your own article.

 

[Le Jacquelope]

No, one 75 year-old lady in Sweden can get 40gbps. Read your own article.

The project was intended to prove that anyone can get it.

 

[Sagittarian]

So we're falling behind, big deal.

 

[Le Jacquelope]

So we're falling behind, big deal.

Yeah, I guess falling behind is a way of life for some people, eh?

 

[Sagittarian]

Yeah, I guess falling behind is a way of life for some people, eh?

There is more to worry about than americans having slower internet connections. It's that mentality that got America in the most shittest situations.

 

[Willie Stroker]

Yeah, I guess falling behind is a way of life for some people, eh?

You would know...

 

[boutrosboutros]

You seem to be under the impression that fast internet connections make a positive difference to quality of life.

Countries like Italy, Spain, Portugal and Greece don't even make that top-twelve list, and I know where I'd rather live.

 

[RightField]

I thought it was Bush's fault.

 

[BosozokuX]

I would think it would be easier to wire a smaller country like sweden with fiber optics then it would be to wire the US in the same manner.

you all forget that someplace like sweden, germany , or korea would fit easily into someplace like texas.

America has become rome. streached way too far for what it wants and what it has. North Korea has an army bigger than the the US. China is taking up arms with Russia, and we're worried about our hi speed internet?

someone please go back to high school and read Fahrenheiht 451 again.

Or on the other hand go to your living room and tell me what your video wall tell you. Let me know if your rocket car is working, we can go run down intelluctuals down in the street if youre in the mood.

 

[Cade Is Here]

Lol..more cut and paste from Mr. racist Lovingtongue

 

[Le Jacquelope]

You seem to be under the impression that fast internet connections make a positive difference to quality of life.

Countries like Italy, Spain, Portugal and Greece don't even make that top-twelve list, and I know where I'd rather live.

It does. It would result in cheaper access to video, etc. - which is why so many companies see it as a threat. It certainly wouldn't reduce our quality of life.

 

[Cade Is Here]

It does. It would result in cheaper access to video, etc. - which is why so many companies see it as a threat. It certainly wouldn't reduce our quality of life.

What about outsourcing companies for porn forums?

 

[Le Jacquelope]

I would think it would be easier to wire a smaller country like sweden with fiber optics then it would be to wire the US in the same manner.

I imagine the same argument was made regarding providing phone service and electricity. Internet is to phone what phone was to the carrier pigeon as far as efficiency is concerned. You'd be blown away at the power and efficiency of a VOIP network.

you all forget that someplace like sweden, germany , or korea would fit easily into someplace like texas.

America has become rome. streached way too far for what it wants and what it has. North Korea has an army bigger than the the US. China is taking up arms with Russia, and we're worried about our hi speed internet?

Actually if you read my posts I'm more concerned with cutting trade with China, and putting more anti-WMD efforts into North Korea and Iran than Iraq.

someone please go back to high school and read Fahrenheiht 451 again.

Or on the other hand go to your living room and tell me what your video wall tell you. Let me know if your rocket car is working, we can go run down intelluctuals down in the street if youre in the mood.

Run over intellectuals? And reduce us all to the stone age? Hell no.

 

[oddity83]

The only reason I am still on dial is because paying 50 bucks per month for high speed is not that appealing to me.

 

[Cade Is Here]

The only reason I am still on dial is because paying 50 bucks per month for high speed is not that appealing to me.

I pay 29 a month for cable modem