Broadband is a Good Thing for Consumers ... from Both Sides: [14th Jan 2010]

>>> A study released by the Public Policy Institute of California this week, has confirmed that employment grows faster in those areas where there has been increased access to the Internet and broadband. Jed Kolko, the author of the report stated that the introduction of broadband has not increased the number of people who work from home or have home based businesses. He believes this could be because corporate culture does not promote this. The link between broadband expansion and economic growth can be most easily seen in sectors which rely on information technology and in areas with lower population density. It seems that the average wage and employment rate are unaffected by the expansion, as people tend to move to areas which are experiencing growth, canceling out any positive effect.


>>> The FCC has announced it will be delaying the release of its much anticipated national broadband plan by one month. The FCC has been conducting research involving consultation with industry members, consumers and local authorities and had hoped to deliver the plan by February 17th 2010. it will now be delivered on March 17th 2010. Colin Crowell from the FCC commented that they wish to more fully brief commissioners and key members of congress and get additional input from stakeholders before they can deliver the full plan.


>>> Worldwide pop star MIA has released a new song entitled "I'm down like your Internet connection" which is apparently inspired by a three hour helpline call to Verizon. She said in Rolling Stone magazine that she was having issues with her connection and joked with the operator that the lyrics to her song could be sung down the phone to her. Staff at Verizon were happy to help out and sang the chorus to her.


>>> Small and medium sized businesses can now get access to Verizon Internet along with a wireless broadband backup. The product titled Verizon Internet Dedicated Access with Mobile Broadband, will route calls to businesses via the wireless network in the event of a disruption. This will offer a resilient service to small businesses in the same way that large businesses already have.


>>> Market research company, Pike & Fischer have revealed the results of a survey on broadband sign up rates. They expect that around 4 million households will get broadband in 2010 which represents a 10% decline since 2009. 65% of American homes will have broadband by the end of the year. Telephone companies will add around 1.7 million new customers during the year and the cable industry can expect around 2.1 million new subscribers. Despite this, the adoption of wireless broadband is expected to increase, in particular the service offered by Clearwire which will be marketed by Google, Comcast and Time Warner Cable.


>>> The National Telecommunications and Information Administration along with the National Institute of Standards and Technology will be working together to launch a public safety broadband communications network. The idea is currently being tested to ensure the equipment and software meets the needs of the public and carriers. Once tested the system will be used as a public safety education center where emergency scenarios can be practiced by first responders.


>>> The Consumer Electronics Show held in Las Vegas last week saw Motorola and Verizon demonstrating their wireless HD video streaming. Verizon plan to roll out a LTE network in 2010 to support a high quality HD web experience and Motorola will utilize this network to offer mobility and video solutions for their customers.


>>> AT&T top executive, Ralph de la Vega has announced this week that he sees the future of AT&T as being in applications. He noted the explosion in the sales of applications over the last year and that revenue from this market has increased 60% in the last 2 years. They hope to broaden their support of smartphones beyond the iPhone, with sales of a range of smartphones with different operating systems, including Google's Android platform. They will also open a number of new application stores through a partnership with Qualcom and finally they hope to join with Nokia by offering the OVI application and content store with AT&T billing. New applications can be used in e-readers, netbooks and all 3G enabled devices. They are also upgrading their network to allow faster delivery of these applications.