Convergence Conversation

Some interesting comments on the NGA question from David Cameron and the Conservative party today. In a speech on the economy and its various problems Cameron said this about the importance of broadband to the UK and what, if elected, he would do about it:

 'Fibre optic broadband is changing the way people work and do business, and it has the potential to completely transform our economy. It could open up new markets for our creative industries, promote innovation, create new, family-friendly jobs as people can work from home - and help reduce carbon emissions. But in Britain we have some of the slowest broadband speeds in the developed world and when it comes to investing in next generation broadband networks, like fibre optics to the home, we're doing very badly compared to countries like Germany, Japan and America.'

You could squabble over a couple of these pronouncemnet but there's nothing too contentious there. More...

I should be promoting my own book but this new FTTH Community Guide may be of more interest to readers of this blog!

Although it is deeply Americanised, much of what is covered in this guide bears relevance to those looking to develop community FTTH in Europe. Obviously, the lack of a co-operative or mutual model within the case studies is a shame; however, each municipality seems to be seeing a ROI which undoubtedly has a positive effect on the communities' coffers.

ECFibernet is also worth keeping an eye on to see how the sustainability and profitability to rural areas pans out. Although the legal issues may be different in the US, the economics for rural areas in pretty much any area of the EU are similar. More...

Just as Lord Voldemort is euphemistically referred to as “He Who Must Not Be Named”, so the same treatment is applied to the word “recession.” The “R” word is, quite frankly, a dirty word. It strikes such fear into the heart of business, that companies would much rather use another word in its stead. Here are a few:

Downturn.

Slump.

Bottom out.

Realignment.

Bagel.

(Bagel is my personal favourite, it’s what Josh Lyman from the US show The West Wing insists on describing it.)

Of course it doesn’t matter what you call it. You can call a spade a “digging facilitation device”, but everyone knows it’s a spade so why pretend otherwise? Instead of wasting time thinking of names to call a recession, time should be spent on the most important question; how do you get out of one?

In my days working at an advertising agency, the answer of course lay in spending money on advertising. More...

There is plenty of information flowing on future fibre access,  and it is great to see BERR begining the 'Broadband for all' trials in Oldham and Suffolk.  The EU commission is also busy on fibre access policy formulation,  briefing the commission on future internet services,  and concerned about future innovation. It has  also announced a 2009 review to see whether the USO review should include Broadband. We now have the 'Digital Britain' report to look forward too by Lord Carter.

 All this,  yet we still have no minimum performance guarantees of service for Broadband,  no effective labeling of services, thus no transparency of service.  As the SAMKNOWS report shows the engineers have built stable, (they must be stable to work) but different flavoured broadband services and in an odd way,  the marketeers in selling total, complete, f More...

Ben Piper of Strategy Analytics has derided Internet connectivity in the US, describing it as "outpaced by other developed nations in terms of broadband deployment, penetration, availability and affordability". He appears to be gifted in framing his assertions by raising the spectre of the Russian Sputnik initiative in 1957 which spurred the US to engage proactively in the space race.

In his report's accompanying press release, Ben is quoted as saying: "Through inertia, complacency and false security, the United States was late out of the broadband starting gate, and has barely begun the game of catch up.... More...

Earlier this week, I was called to a house in the village having problems with their PC and internet. (Everyone is having problems here at the moment, due to a very shaky rural electricity supply playing havoc with IT kit - for which we pay exactly the same as anyone in an urban area, but I digress). I ran some speedtests.......




You can't argue at that, can you?! I nearly went and dug up their drive looking for the fibre in our village that has so far eluded me...

So, even though I know it is a 1/2Mbps service because of the poverty of the copper, distance from the exchange etc, I now have to explain to an average householder that this isn't the service she is actually receiving, nor ever likely to out here in the sticks. More...