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US Broadband Speeds are on the Increase
Not only has the US lagged behind much of the world in terms of broadband adoption but in speed options as well---but that seems to be changing.
An interesting article in the Washington Post reports on a recent and welcome
trend in the US for carriers to increase broadband speeds. The US has
long been reputed to lag behind many industrialized nations in terms of its
percentage of broadband penetration. So too have we suffered much slower service
speeds than other parts of the world such as Japan where a 100 Mbps connection
is readily available.
In recent research I completed for Maravedis on the US market many carriers both
large and small reported that they expected customer demands for broadband to
soar in the next five years ("Opportunities
and Challenges for WiMAX & Broadband Wireless in the USA-1st Edition"February
2008). One regional carrier stated that it expected its residential
customers to want 100 Mbps connections within the next five years. Even AT&T has
publicly stated that it was surprised at how much bandwidth use increased once
its video based iPhone gained traction.
Clearly US demand is there and it appears that carriers are rolling out services
to meet these needs. AT&T and Verizon and vigorously deploying fiber optic based
broadband solutions. Major Cable companies are moving to increase service and
DSL is getting faster and cheaper. But for the time being availability is
limited; and rural areas are mostly still being left behind. In fact some rural
areas still have limited or no broadband options beyond satellite broadband.
But the trend augers well for the future and we are seeing speeds of 12-20 Mbps
being deployed by DSL providers and Comcast has deployed one market with 50 Mbps
service and claims plans for 100 Mbps service in two years with 160 Mbps to
follow.
Unfortunately in my home market the local cable company has eliminated 3 Mbps
service in order to charge more for its new minimum 5 Mbps service. I can even
get 10 Mbps if I want to pay a lot. I don't even have DSL coverage in the city
limits and we haven't seen a whiff of 3G wireless. Small town (75,000
population) blues.
Tim Sanders
The Final Mile
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