Definition of "High Speed" Broadband Changed: [9th Dec 2010]

Latest data from the FCC suggests that 68% of US broadband connections are too slow at less than 3Mbps to technically qualify as a high speed service. The FCC recently changed the definition of broadband to minimum speeds of 4Mbps. 49% of connections are slower than 1Mbps. It is thought that some of these consumers may be on slow connections by choice or possibly because of the lack of competition in the market does not encourage providers to upgrade their systems.


The chairman of the FCC Julius Genochowski has spoken to residents of Jackson County regarding Internet services in rural areas. He pointed out that broadband is important for the economy but admitted that it is difficult to encourage providers to offer service in rural areas. It was pointed out to him that only half of the residents of Jackson County have access to broadband and many cannot pay for it at current prices.


A new study by Arieso has suggested that owners of different types of mobile phones will use different levels of data. iPhone 4 users use more data than those who purchased the iPhone 3G. In fact it seems that as soon as a consumer moves upwards in terms of brand or phone they begin to use more data. Interestingly call volumes remained flat suggesting that people are increasingly using the Internet on their phone. Michael Flanagan from Arieso has commented that as new mobile phones arrive on the market, the usage of apps and services increases. He suggests that providers need to prepare their networks to cope with this increased demand.


The war of words between Level 3 and Comcast appears to be continuing this week. Level 3 have again reiterated their position that Comcast are indulging in anti-competitive behavior which is meant to gain money from Level 3's responsibilities to provide a service to Netfix customers. Jeff Torey from level 3 has commented that they wish to use the infrastructure in an efficient way and that they have already invested billions of dollars to get to this stage. Comcast is still insisting that the issue is a simple peering dispute.


Comcast has this week insisted that they will not be moving to a usage based billing model from their current flat rate. The company currently has a monthly 250GB cap on their service to delineate between private and business use. Comcast president Neil Smit has said that the usage based pricing model is controversial and is not popular with customers. He points out that most customers only use between 2 and 4 gigabytes per month so there is little need to alter the current way of charging. The FCC have agreed that usage billing is acceptable and other providers have begun to offer these types of plans.


Sprint is to start a $4 billion program of improvements to their network known as the Network Vision project. It is expected to last between three and five years and will improve network coverage. In addition it is expected that cell tower sites will have a smaller footprint and will be more environmentally friendly. The numbers of cell sites will be reduced by a third which will see savings of between £10 billion and $11 billion according to Steve Elfman the president of network operations and wholesale. The project is expected to future proof its network and set it up for LTE networks which will be in use in years to come.


Recent disclosures from the government reported in the Washington Post have revealed that Verizon took $1.5 billion in Government money as a bailout during the financial crises. This is despite the many tax cuts and subsidies it already has received. Bob Varettoni from Verizon has defended the loan saying that the company simply took advantage of money at a time when funding for the company was uncertain. The money was repaid including fees within 90 days.