GREEDY American ISPs Beg Congress to Slow the Internet -- ranked 19th Worldwide @ 9.6 Mbps...
Jo...@slugnet.usa
Faster speed not necessary, may translate to higher prices, companies
say
By John Poirier
Reuters
updated 6:27 p.m. CT, Tues., Sept . 1, 2009
WASHINGTON - The biggest U.S. Internet service providers urged
regulators to adopt a conservative definition of "broadband," arguing
for minimum speeds that were substantially below many other nations.
The submissions were filed with the Federal Communications Commission
which had sought comments by August 31 on how the agency should define
broadband for a report to be submitted to Congress early next year.
The Obama administration is seeking ways to extend broadband services
to both unserved Americans living in rural areas and to make broadband
affordable for those living in urban areas.
Some of the submissions from service providers argued for a definition
that even undercut an international ranking of U.S. Internet speed.
A 2008 study by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and
Development showed that the United States ranked 19th with an
advertised rate of 9.6 megabits per second (Mbps). The top three
countries were Japan with 92.8 Mbps, Korea with 80.8 Mbps and France
with 51 Mbps.
"The definition must include those services that Americans actually
need and want � and can afford � to participate in the Internet-driven
economy," AT&T said in its comment letter to the FCC.
AT&T said regulators should keep in mind that not all applications
like voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) or streaming video, that
require faster speeds, are necessarily needed by unserved Americans.
Verizon Communications and Verizon Wireless, a joint venture between
Verizon and Vodafone Group, urged the FCC to maintain speeds of at
least 0.768 Mbps downstream and 0.200 Mbps upstream.
Those speeds are being used by the U.S. government in administering
$7.2 billion in loans and grants for broadband projects as part of the
U.S. economic stimulus package.
"It would be disruptive and introduce confusion if the commission were
to now create a new and different definition," Verizon said in its
letter.
Comcast, the biggest cable provider, said that "simpler is better" and
that the actual online experience of any particular consumer at any
particular moment in time involves a wide range of factors.
"Many of which are outside the control of the Internet service
provider," Comcast said in its letter, which argued for defining
"basic" broadband as having a downstream and upstream speed of 0.256
Mbps.
However, Free Press, a public interest group, urged Congress and the
FCC to set the bar high and to consider broadband as a critical
infrastructure.
In its submission, Free Press urged the FCC to craft a definition with
a minimum upstream and downstream speed of at least 5 Mbps for each
end user.
"We fully recognize that incumbents for the most part will scoff at a
symmetrical definition," wrote Derek Turner, research director at Free
Press. "The commission must ignore any such self-serving pleas for
watered-down standards."
FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski told Reuters in July that broadband
was the "the major infrastructure challenge of our generation."
Copyright 2009 Reuters. Click for restrictions.
URL:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32649733/ns/technology_and_science-tech_and_gadgets/