Google Fiber Network To Begin First Trial
Google’s ultra high speed fiber network, which can offer speeds of up to 1 gigabit per second, is about to undergo its first trial.
Google will be deploying the trial at Stanford University to a group of about 850 faculty and staff.
Google has stated that this isn’t part of its call for small-to-mid-sized communities to submit proposals to get “Google Fiber” in their towns. That competition sparked a battle between hundred of towns ranging from Topeka, Kansas, to Huntsville, Alabama. Google will announce the selected community for the Google Fiber network by the end of the year.
Google has emphasized the fact that it doesn’t plan to get into the ISP business, as many speculated it would when it first announced the initiative. Rather, it falls into Google’s broader goal of making the Internet faster. However, Google originally shot down the idea of transforming Gmail into Google Apps for business and look how that turned out.
Will Congress Address Net Neutrality?
Source: Wall Street Journal
Congress likely won't take up the issue of net neutrality this year. Rather the Federal Communications Commission will take up the matter.
Henry Waxman, chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, failed to win support for a proposal that would given the FCC limited power to regulate broadband traffic. Those on Mr. Waxman's committee declined to support his proposal.
The proposal would have given the FCC case-by-case authority to enforce net neutrality rules, which say Internet providers cannot selectively block or slow Web traffic.
Waxman called this a loss for consumers.
Fact or Fiction: FCC To Give Everyone Free Broadband
A lot of questions surrounding FCC's broadband plan have not been answered yet. We know that the goal is to speed up broadband and expand access to broadband. However, the question everyone wants to know is whether we're approaching an era when anyone can log onto an internet wirelessly from anywhere in the world for free.
I doubt that will happen due to telecommunications lobbyists who will make sure that they protect their industry's profitability. So that leaves the question about how this whole FCC broadband upgrade will work?
When the FCC broadband plan was revealed, the plan did mention free broadband. A few details were also revealed -- the free government broadband service would be subsidized by ads. You would think that free broadband would be opposed by big broadband companies such as Comcast, but Comcast is in favor of the FCC's goals and ambitions. It's possible that a free broadband service would be limited to speeds of 1-3 Mbps while Comcast can deliver much faster internet speeds at 40-60 Mbps.
Details on the situation are still murkey, but we'll keep you updated once more details begin to surface.
Fastest Broadband Speeds In The Nation
The data from the FCC's broadband speed test is in and they found which areas of the nation has the fast broadband speeds. New York City and Washington D.C. has the nation's fastest internet speed.
In Virginia, Maryland, New York and Massachusetts, average download speeds were 11.6 to 13.6 megabits per second. Average upload speeds were highest in the Washington area: around 3.6 to 4.3 Mbps.
I thought that California would likely lead the results, but they're broadband speeds were slightly lower than New York and Washington D.C. California had average download speeds of 10.1 to 11.5 Mbps and uploads of 2.1 to 2.6 Mbps.
Price Tag To Develop FCC National Broadband Plan
Are you interested in knowing how much the government spent on just developing the FCC's National Broadband Plan? I'm not talking about implementing the plan, but just the costs to develop to "outline" of implementing the plan. $20.6 million. Source.
Here's the breakdown of the costs:
- Salaries: $6.38 million.
- IT: $5.37 million.
- Software and Cost Modeling: $3.92 million.
- Data and Research: $4.01 million.
- Printing and Production: $60,000.
- Workshop and Travel: $34,000.
PBS’s Segment On FCC’s National Broadband Plan
PBS aired the following news segment on the FCC's Broadband Plan:
Time Warner’s CEO Responds To FCC’s Broadband Plan
Time Warner's CEO, Glenn Britt, released the following statement on the FCC's broadband plan:
We applaud Chairman Genachowski and the FCC for the extraordinary effort and work that went into the development of the National Broadband Plan. We share the FCC's goal of universal broadband deployment and adoption and we look forward to participating in a robust dialogue around all aspects of the plan, which will help shape the future of broadband in this country. We know as well as anyone the positive impact that broadband access can have on individuals and communities and we want to work with the FCC and others to ensure that this valuable resource is used to its most effective potential.
Verizon CEO’s Response To FCC’s Broadband Plan
Verizon's CEO, Tom Tauke, made the following statement about the FCC's broadband plan:
Verizon strongly supports the emphasis in the National Broadband Plan on the deployment of broadband facilities and adoption by all Americans. To that end, we are encouraged by the call to reform the policies that subsidize some companies' telecommunications services so the policies are focused on the technologies of the 21st century. The plan also properly focuses on identifying the barriers to swift deployment and adoption and proposing recommendations to remove or overcome those barriers. The plan correctly notes that government is a major purchaser of services and can be a catalyst for using broadband to reform the health care delivery system, improve energy conservation, preserve the environment, and promote the use of broadband technology to advance education. Chairman Genachowski; Blair Levin, the executive director of the National Broadband Taskforce; and the commission staff should be commended for comprehensively addressing the array of broadband issues and developing a coherent plan.
Winners and Losers of FCC’s Broadband Plan
Rebecca Arbogast, analyst with Stifel, Nicolaus and Co., talks with Bloomberg's Margaret Brennan about a Federal Communications Commission proposal to expand high-speed Internet service.
Comcast CEO’s Statement On FCC’s Broadband Plan
Comcast's CEO, Brian L. Roberts, made the following statement about the FCC's national broadband plan:
We commend the FCC for the immense effort involved in researching and writing the National Broadband Plan. The Plan appears to reflect the emerging consensus on a number of paramount broadband goals, most notably the need to achieve universal adoption and digital literacy; the need to fix and redirect outdated subsidy schemes to more efficiently deliver broadband to unserved areas and to close the affordability gap for low-income families; and the need to break down policy barriers that keep broadband from serving critical national purposes such as health care, education, and employment. With the demand for bandwidth doubling every two years, most recognize the critical need for continued private investment in faster competitive broadband networks, and the importance of maintaining a regulatory environment to promote that investment. We hope that implementation of the many recommendations contained in the Plan will help to achieve that critical balance and we look forward to playing our part in helping to make America the most connected nation on earth.
