[GRLUG] NOT LINUX - broadband

[Bob Kline]

On Wed, Sep 2, 2009 at 7:38 PM, Michael Mol <mikemol at gmail.com> wrote:

>
> > Yes, there is DSL and cable in many areas,
> > but DSL competes on price, and cable of
> > performance.   Sort of.  i.e., there is no real
> > competition.
>
> That doesn't parse...Would you care to elaborate?
>
> Not really, but since I brought it up,
AT&T has stated that 10 Mbps DSL,
where it can be had at all, is fast enough,
and doesn't intend to try to offer
anything faster for now.  And clearly
DSL has distance issues.   It seems the
phone companies dominate the 768Kbps
region, which is much faster than
dialup, but not than the 16 Mbps and more
that Comcast and others offer.

The cable companies typically emphasize
the high speed areas, where they can
charge techies and others who drool over
higher speeds a lot more.  And of course
uses will be found for the higher speeds.
Just 25+ years ago people were asking
whether a PC was good for anything
beyond balancing a checkbook, or storing
recipes on.  Pre Internet stuff.

DSL could go a whole lot faster over
short distances, but clearly AT&T doesn't
care to play.  Comcast could offer 45 Mbps
over existing infrastructure if there was a
reason to - according to its CEO.  And it
has technology on the shelf, using combined
channels, to get up to 160 Mbps or so.
Clearly Verizon can go arbitrarily fast using
its FiOS package.

Anyway, that's the split I see.  Two largely
none overlapping monopolies, probably
dictated by their respective cost structures.
They don't play much in each other's domains,
and probably see no real reason to negotiate.
Competition would means there was performance
overlap, and price competition.

   -- Bob
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