MuniWireless

Om Malik, founder of GigaOm, blames the FCC under Kevin Martin for failing to create a more competitive broadband environment in the United States. The ISPs’ behavior – traffic shaping, blocking applications – points to a market that is controlled by a few large service providers who feel they can get away with anything (and often do because the FCC does nothing against them).

Om says:

But this whole problem is the FCC’s making. The org, under Chairman Kevin Martin and others,…

Today’s NYT editorial surprised me. Not only did it bring to our attention, again, the continuing inability of rural communities and low-income households to obtain inexpensive broadband, but it also asked cities to push for municipal wireless deployments that really address this problem:

Broadband service is no longer a luxury. It has become a basic part of the infrastructure of education and democracy. EarthLink should fulfill the commitments it made. Even in these tough economic times, cities should keep pushing municipal Wi-Fi…

There’s no way to be polite about the state of US broadband. Study after study has shown that the country is falling behind not only other developed nations, but is now lagging developing countries as well. Free Press has published a report that sticks it to the incumbent-backed sock puppet think tank industry that wants people to believe that everything’s just fine. There’s no way to be polite about the state of US broadband. Study after study has shown that…

How much are people around the world paying per megabit for broadband access? The Telegraph (UK) says Brits are paying 17 times more than Swedes and 7 times more than the French. How much are people around the world paying per megabit for broadband access? The Telegraph (UK) says Brits are paying £5.60 a month for each megabit per second (Mbps), which is 17 times more than Swedes and 7 times more than the French.

Dirk van der Woude put…

Structural separation is needed to keep the Internet from turning into cable TV. While everyone focuses on Net Neutrality, it’s not enough. David Weinberger argues that the carriers are testing new network infrastructure that would treat bits differently. Only by separating ownership of infrastructure from services can we guarantee neutrality.David Weinberger has written an essay entitled How to Keep the Internet From Going the Way of the Princess Phone where he argues that Net Neutrality is not enough. Structural separation…