PC Magazine<\/a> (and, yeah, if I get a chance later, I’ll link to the article), he writes about the “Nine Assassins of Broadband” — the nine things which have killed further adaption of broadband service in this country.<\/p>\nAs someone who can’t get the damned thing, I found it interesting.<\/p>\n
1. Dial-up domination<\/b>
\nMajor services indicate dial-ups are increasing. They’re easy, they’re reliable, they’re ubiquitous. He also mentions V.92\/V.44 modems, which offer compressed 300Kbps speed; I need to look into this, and see if our ISP, Earthlink, supports them locally.<\/p>\n
2. The 24\/7 conundrum<\/b>
\nDvorak questions whether people want or need 24\/7 coverage. I think he’s nuts. The web (and e-mail) will only become a widely-spread, universally used appliance when there’s no question of “starting it up.” We do 24\/7 dial-up, more or less. It’s great.<\/p>\n
3. Price, price, price<\/b>
\nAre people willing to pay for the extra cost of broadband? Frankly, it’s not that much more than a second dial-up line (necessary for #2). I’d be willing to do it. If I could.<\/p>\n
4. The bad scene<\/b>
\nDvorak notes that broadband service is flaky, crappy, and rude. Yup. That’s a major problem.<\/p>\n
5. Failure to deliver on promises.<\/b>
\nChicken, meet egg. Things which rely on broadband (streaming video, etc.) won’t become widespread and reliable until broadband is (now that folks have realized they actually have to make money<\/i> in order ot stay in business). Until then, though, a lot of folks with broadband won’t find the content they are looking for. Unless they’re looking for the ability to e-mail megabyte files to each other. That works.<\/p>\n
6. Bad reputation<\/b>
\nDvorak says consumers are leary of failing DSL providers, screwy cable modem suppliers, and lackadaisical fixed wireless providers. Yup. Tied with #4, that’s a big problem.<\/p>\n
7. Cell phone threat.<\/b>
\nFolks are hearing that cell phones will have huge pipelines and great content. This is so silly I can’t even discuss it.<\/p>\n
8. Saturation<\/b>
\nDvorak suggests that “everyone who wants high-speed access already has it.” Au contraire, mon frer.<\/p>\n
9. AOL syndrome<\/b>
\nDvorak also suggests that AOL functions just fine over dial-up, and its huge success makes broadband more of a niche. That may be true. Incredibly sad, but true.<\/p>\n
*Sigh*<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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