Fiber Optics on the Coast? Should City of HMB Treat Broadband Connectivity as a Utility?

PODCAST. When It Comes To High-Speed Internet, U.S. ‘Falling Way Behind‘

Susan Crawford says that in cities like Seoul and Stockholm, high-speed, high-capacity networks are taken for granted. “It really is astonishing what’s going on in America,” she says. “We’re falling way behind in the pack of developed nations when it comes to high-speed Internet access, capacity and prices.” ~ Fiber, the book

Crawford, author of Captive Audience: The Telecom Industry and Monopoly Power in the Gilded Age, explains how we got to this point. “The [Federal Communications Commission] in the early 2000s really thought that competition would do the job of regulatory oversight — that that would protect Americans,” she tells Fresh Air‘s Dave Davies. The idea was that cable, telephone and wireless companies would battle it out, which would yield low prices for American consumers. “As it turns out, they were wrong and we’ve come into an era where these markets have consolidated and for most Americans, their only choice for high-speed, high-capacity Internet connection is their local cable monopoly.”

~ NPR’s Fresh Air podcast with Terry Gross

Crawford says cable providers have no incentive to install fiber optic cable. Only 17% of American’s have fiber optics. Most Americans have never experienced fiber optic service. They don’t realize that the fiber optic user, doesn’t have to wait for movies to load.  Fiber is faster, plain and simple. Google Fiber, for example, promises speeds of up to 1 Gbit/s. By comparison, Comcast’s cable plans max out at around 200 Mbit/s.

How do we get it? Crawford explains how.

From HighSpeedInternet.com

As you can see, the speed you get with a fiber Internet connection significantly reduce download times. That means less time waiting and more time playing or watching.

So, how fast is fiber? Fiber is so fast that it virtually adds

days to your life by reducing the time you spend waiting for downloads.

In terms of potential, fiber is the clear winner.

From the EngineerGuy, Bill Hammack, Department of Chemical Engineering University of Illinois – Urbana

Fiber Optic Master Plan Prepared for the City of Vallejo, Feb. 2016

VallejoNet Pricing 2019

$150/mos. for 50 Mbps. Expensive compared to Sweden and Norway and Japan where monthly charges are approximately $30/month. Why?

Google Fiber

Google Fiber is a super high-speed broadband internet and cable television service featuring a connection that’s up to 1,000 megabits per second (Mbps). No more spinning circles!  Fast broadband is defined as speeds of 10 Mbps or more. Signups for gigabit Internet services in the U.S. have grown at a rate of 480% each year, even though it still is only available in limited areas.

Author: Coastside Buzz

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