Broadband

Powell Warns Net Neutrologists Not to Be Naive

Just got this email reporting the speech made by former FCC Chairman @ F2C organized by David Isenberg. "Former FCC chairman Michael Powell is up on the stage at the Freedom to Connect conference right now, and he warns the tech elite crowd here not to be naive about the dangers of asking Congress for legislation on Net Neutrality. As he explains..." more

Telecom Policy Review Panel Calls For Net Neutrality Legal Safeguards

The Telecommunications Policy Review Panel report [Canada] was released yesterday and while the immediate reaction will no doubt focus on the recommendations for a market-oriented approach with significant changes to the CRTC, I would call attention to three other recommendations gleaned from reading the executive summary (the full document is nearly 400 pages). more

Is the U.S. Dancing to a Different Drummer?

Is the United States in full retreat from internationally recognized regulatory best practice? Or is it instead headed toward some different destination -- "dancing to the beat of a different drummer"? Where is this likely to lead? The following is an introduction to a paper, published by IDATE, from J. Scott Marcus, a Senior Consultant for WIK-Consult GmbH: "...What has radically changed is telecoms regulatory practice in the United States. The U.S., in a long series of regulatory decisions, has largely abandoned its long-standing regulatory principles and moved in an entirely new direction." more

U.S. VoIP and Broadband Policy: Today’s Debate is Off the Mark!

Despite rather rapid growth in broadband access, the U.S. is falling further and further behind other countries -- we're now ranked #16 in the world. What's slowing the U.S. down? Two threads dominate U.S. broadband policy debate today. The first focuses on traditional telecom regulation -- reciprocal compensation, universal service, e911, and CALEA (wiretap capabilities). The second focuses on "Internet freedoms," i.e., guarantees that your broadband access provider won't block or inhibit specific applications like VoIP. more

Flushing the ‘Net Down the Tubes

Doc Searls has written a brilliant piece framing the battle for the 'Net at Linux Journal. The piece is long, but if you take the time to read just one essay on the 'Net and the politics surround it this year, read this one. If you're involved in public policy, it's especially important that you take the time to understand what's at stake here. One of Doc's main points: we haven't framed the conversation correctly and our poor choice of words makes the argument seem overly technical and arcane when it's really about freedom, markets, and innovation. more

Vint Cerf Speaking Out on Internet Neutrality

In a U.S. congress hearing held yesterday November 9th, significant focus was projected on "network neutrality" and a new telecommunications bill affecting the Internet. "This bill could fundamentally alter the fabulously successful end-to-end Internet," says Alan Davidson in the post on Google blog. Vint Cerf was not able to testify because of the Presidential Medal of Freedom award ceremony at the White House, but submitted the following letter to the hearing... more

Is Satellite Cellular a Competitive Threat?

Direct-to-device satellite cellular promises to extend coverage beyond terrestrial networks, but physics, capacity constraints, and indoor limitations suggest it will complement existing mobile service rather than emerge as a true competitor. more

SpaceX Wants to Handle the World’s Broadband - Here’s Why That’s Unlikely

SpaceX wants to expand Starlink to 100,000 satellites and eventually carry most of the world's internet traffic. Ambition is not the problem. Market competition, geopolitics and the resilience of fiber networks make that goal implausible. more

Why Are We Building 6G?

As 6G development accelerates, its promises of faster speeds, lower latency, and immersive applications raise questions about whether carriers can justify another costly network upgrade when 5G's commercial promises remain largely unfulfilled across the industry. more

Community Networks Offer a Durable Route Across the Digital Divide

An ITU report finds that community-owned networks, backed by reliable technology, flexible financing and supportive regulation, can bring affordable, meaningful internet access to remote populations that traditional providers have struggled to reach at lasting scale. more

Is AI Really Changing Internet Traffic Patterns?

Claims that AI is reshaping internet traffic are gaining attention, but evidence remains mixed as residential ISPs report little change while business networks see steadier demand and faster upstream growth today warrants closer industry scrutiny. more

Network Challenges from AI Traffic

Cisco warns AI traffic will reshape internet infrastructure as inference workloads demand lower latency, stronger upstream capacity and new network architectures, with AI expected to generate one quarter of web traffic by 2035 worldwide eventually. more

The Economics of SpaceX: Can Starlink Justify a $2 Trillion Valuation?

SpaceX's towering valuation rests less on Starlink's current connectivity economics than on ambitious platform expectations, raising doubts that satellite broadband and mobile services alone can justify trillion-dollar valuations indefinitely despite intensifying competition for investors.
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Why AI Adoption May Become the Defining Digital Divide

As AI reshapes work and daily life, a new digital divide is emerging between those who embrace the technology and those who cannot or will not, with lasting consequences for opportunity, productivity and inequality. more

Economic Stress Is Testing Broadband’s Recession-Proof Reputation

Mounting signs of consumer distress, from unpaid utility bills to rising loan delinquencies, are raising uncomfortable questions for internet providers about whether broadband remains recession-proof as households increasingly trade home connections for cheaper wireless alternatives. more