Extending Broadband Access The Priority On Both Sides Of The Atlantic

Philip M. Stone June 18, 2009 Follow on Twitter

The buzzword on both sides of the Atlantic this week is “broadband” – the UK released its long awaited digital report that pledged universal UK access to broadband services by 2012, while in the US FCC chairman nominee Julius Genachowski told a Congressional hearing he wants to use $7.2 billion of stimulus money to expand US broadband delivery.

UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown left little doubt in comments to Parliament why he believes such broadband access is necessary to all households – “The Internet is as indispensible as electricity, gas and water.”

But whereas Genachowski is using stimulus money that Congress has already approved, in the UK to achieve Brown’s dream the idea is to tax each landline connection 50 pence ($0.82, €0.59) a month.

Either way, the big telecommunication companies in both countries must surely be uncorking the champagne.

While Brown seemed to put a more nationalistic emphasis on the investment – to ensure Britain leads the world in digital delivery – Genachowski put the reasoning on a more personal level – bettering the lives of consumers and their families. He wants to implement a national broadband service plan, particularly ensuring expansion of service to rural and under-served parts of the country.

All of this points out that while the Internet has been with us for many years, the Internet infrastructure around the world still needs massive investment. For instance, at this writer’s apartment in Geneva, Switzerland – thought to be one of the most technically advanced cities in the world -- Swisscom can only sustain a broadband service of 4400 kbps even though the ISP provider  is providing a 5,000 kbps service and 20,000 kbps is on offer. A call to Swisscom to ask when an upgrade can be expected brought only the response that the problem is with the local exchange and there are no upgrade plans which translates into nothing happening for at least the next 12 months. 

Swisscom actually offers Bluewin TV which certainly can’t be handled on a 4,400 kbps line, but when that service was launched a Swisscom technician told ftm that he had on several occasions laid new fiber directly to homes that had subscribed to that service.

And there is a disconnect between Swisscom’s marketing folk and their technical side for marketing keeps sending applications  to subscribe to the 20,000 kpbs service but go to Swisscom’s web site to check out what speed can actually be delivered on the fixed line and it is a maximum of 4,400.

So much for living in a supposedly technically sophisticated city – Swisscom’s investment pace leaves a lot to be desired but it is being done at a speed the company believes it can financially justify. And that’s why the announcements in the UK and the US are important, because left to their own schedules and financing telecoms will take far longer to do the investments that society really wants completed far quicker.

But lest one thinks this is a gripe at Geneva, it certainly is not, for the city has gone to great strides to expand its free Wi-Fi network in public places -- parks, museums and the like. ftm partner Michael Hedges is not kidding when he writes in our newsletter that given the sunny weather he’s off to the large park near his apartment with his laptop and he’ll do what he needs to do via the free Wi-Fi available there.

But for this writer at home it means paying for the more expensive cable TV rather than the less expensive Bluewin TV because the broadband structure is not available yet and it is an example like that that shows how far we really need to go to improve the existing Internet infrastructure let alone expanding it to those who now don’t have access at all.

And back in the US, Congress seems to be quite happy to have the FCC spend that $7 billion to improve broadband delivery. “I want an FCC that is transparent, that inspires public confidence and makes our digital infrastructure a model for the world,” Sen. Jay Rockefeller, chairman of the Senate Commerce panel, told Genachowski.

And indeed go to the FCC’s own broadband web site and its mission is very clear, “All Americans should have affordable access to robust and reliable broadband products and services. Regulatory policies must promote technological neutrality, competition, investment, and innovation to ensure that broadband service providers have sufficient incentive to develop and offer such products and services”

Genachowski said he thought the initial work in the broadband rollout should be getting service to unserved areas but he left a lot of gray area in defining “unserved” which he said could include a lack of speed.

He’ll get no argument on that.