As Fiber Optic Internet Booms, Why Are Some People Still Stuck With Dial-Up?: [11th Nov 2010]

A new survey published by the US Department of Commerce and the national Telecommunications and Information Administration has found that almost two thirds of American households now have broadband access. This is up from 51% in 2007. The survey of 54,000 households was carried out nearly a year ago and defined broadband as any type of connection including DSL, satellite, fiber optics and wi-fi. It found that of the people who still had a dial-up connection, 41% wanted broadband but could not afford it. 20% found that broadband was not available in their area. On a positive note, 48% of ethnic minorities now have broadband; a figure which has increased from just 10% in 2001.


US chipmaker Qualcomm have indicated they may be looking to sell their wireless broadband business in India. CEO Paul Jacobs has commented that they have no desire to be a competitor in this market and expect to sell the spectrum to one or more operators. The company has reported huge growth in the sales of chips due to the increase in smartphones and tablets. They expect their Wall Street results to be better than expected.


The FCC is to look into Google's Streetview data collection to see if it violated any US laws. Google Streetview cars reportedly collection information from open Wi-Fi including emails and passwords. Google have apologized for the collection and say that they will cooperate with the regulators. They plan to delete the data and will appoint a director of privacy and train employees on privacy issues. Google could face fines of up to $50,000 if the information has been used for financial gain.


Verizon Wireless CTO Anthony Malone has taken care not to describe their new LTE service as 4G, putting them in a different class compared to recent announcements by other networks. He points out that the new LTE network is something different for customers and would not get drawn into whether it fitted the technical criteria for 4G. He believes the experience will be unique and wants the customers to decide if it sets them apart from the competition. T-Mobile has recently been accused of mis-using the term 4G in their advertising.


Clearwire is in the process of securing new funding and is looking to make cutbacks to enable it to do so. This is despite posting record subscriber and revenue growth in the third quarter. It also expects to finish the year with 4 million subscribers which is as it expected. Bill Morrow from Clearwire has said that it may consider getting funding from existing shareholders or may sell some spectrum which it no longer needs. Measures to cut costs will include reducing marketing costs, cutting the numbers of contractors, delays to Clear branded smartphones and cutting 15% of the total workforce.


The FCC is considering a rule which will require mobile phone companies to carry the wireless broadband traffic of their competitors. It is thought that opening the larger networks to smaller rural providers will offer more competition for consumers. A vote on the new rule will be taken in December. The FCC would first have to change the legal framework surrounding broadband services; a move which is rejected by most Internet providers and the republicans. AT&T and Verizon have said that the FCC does not have the legal power to force them to allow other companies to use their networks. The FCC have already ordered networks to allow roaming on their voice calls and this move will open up roaming for data as well.