Internet as Infrastructure

[exploited]

It boggles the mind that Saz thinks internet should be everywhere... But what he really means is urban areas and subway terminals. And I'm still not certain that he really gets the economics of this at all. To argue that we should go after, say, citywide WiFi, while simultaneously arguing that people are going to be using data, while simultaneously ignoring the fact that data is expensive as f**k and quickly running out... It's bizarre. Really it is. City WiFi depends upon wired connections, and if you have city WiFi, why on earth would you use data? Further, data is moving towards WiFi-cellular hybrids precisely because of these issues, which again puts the onus on our landlines. His position makes no sense at all. Really it doesn't. Maybe we can all spend ten million dollars on our own personal lasers?

As for the potential uses of fiber, it is plainly obvious that Saz isn't a business person. Geological surveying. Health care imaging and remote surgery. Driverless cars. The internet of things. Cloud computing and storage. The commercialization of virtual reality. Online gaming. Phone alternatives like Skype. All this shit is hungry as hell and getting hungrier everyday. To say we should focus on subway terminals and wireless is completely oblivious to how the internet is used outside your own narrow perspective.

[The Comrade]

[The Comrade]

[exploited]

I'm reminded of my grandmother insisting that 56k was all she needed, even though cable was available. "What am I going to do? I don't need that speed - how would I use it? I just email and check the news."

Three days later, "I heard you can stream videos on the computer, why isn't it working?"

Same shit here, just minus the fact that my Grandma is old as shit and can't be held responsible for her own ignorance.

[The Comrade]

[exploited]

[exploited]

[John Galt]

[exploited]

http://blogs.cisco.com/cle/bringing-wir ... d-together

Wireless bandwidth has been on my mind a lot recently. Computerworld recently published my article, Wireless Bandwidth: Are We Running Out of Room?, which led to a stint on NPR’s “To The Point” on the topic. But until I tuned into one of the latest Broadband Breakfast presentations, The Wired Home and Wireless Policy – Convergence Legislation and Consumer Adoption, I didn’t realize that I’d been thinking about wireless in a way that technology people are supposed to avoid: in a silo.
I’ve reported on the Washington, D.C.-based Broadband Breakfasts in the past, when their panels have discussed issues such as rural broadband and the smart grid; I’ve also written about wireless spectrum here.

The speakers on this particular panel, which took place after a highly successful Consumer Electronics Show, were somewhat homogenous: four heads of industry trade association leaders, including Fred B. Campbell Jr. of the Wireless Communications Association International, Walter B. McCormick, Jr. of the United States Telecom Association, Grant Seifert of the Telecomm Industry Association, and Gary Shapiro of the Consumer Electronics Association. Rick Kaplan, wireless communications bureau chief of the FCC, also spoke on the need for Congress to allow spectrum incentive auctions.

Holistic View of National Broadband Policy

Homogenous though they may have been, the association executives touched on an interesting concept: that we must think about wired and wireless networks together when it comes to both our national broadband policies and our deployments.

The TIA’s Seifert put it simply: “You can’t have wireless without wired.” The USTA’s McCormick added, “More than 99% of all wireless communications connect at some point with the wired infrastructure. The only way to have robust wireless is to continue massive investment in our fiber-based wired environment.”

The fact is, we’re becoming smarter about how both consumers and companies are using wireless. The WCAI’s Campbell noted, “There was a time when we thought 4G wireless would replace fiber to the home [FTTH], but as we move forward, we’re realizing they are complementary services.”

We’ve learned, for instance, that wireless sometimes doesn’t work all that well for rich media — such as high-fidelity audio and high-definition video. At the same time, both groups are becoming more comfortable with cloud computing, where data may be accessed by both wired (for computer backup to a service such as Dropbox, for example) and wireless devices (downloading media content).

Together: a Cohesive Networking Environment

Panelists referenced the concept of the Smart Home, in which appliances communicate either to a local server or router, which is then connected to the wired infrastructure, or wirelessly to a central server maintained by the manufacturer. Within the home, there will be a combination of both wired and wireless networks.

...

[exploited]