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Walt Mossberg (left) discusses the current state of American broadband with FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski (right)
FCC Chairman Julius Genachowki told attendees at the D: All Things Digital conference America scores dead last in a study measuring the rate of change in broadband innovation. American broadband is stuck in neutral while every other ranked nation is moving forward faster in understanding the importance of deploying fast, reliable, and universal broadband. Genachowski directly ties broadband to improving local economies, propelling growth in jobs, and improving education and health care.
Unfortunately the American duopoly most Americans cope with maintains a stranglehold on efforts to bring America literally up to speed with competing nations. Worse, there is no end in sight as long as America relies entirely on incumbent providers to get the job done.
Americans pay some of the highest prices in the world for mediocre broadband, and it’s only getting worse with the introduction of usage limiting schemes like data caps and so-called consumption billing.
Genachowski is attempting to facilitate improved broadband across the United States, but is hampered by private industry undermining the FCC’s authority to help push improvements forward. Recent industry-driven court challenges to the FCC’s authority have led to the agency seeking a different path to regain its regulatory footing.
The FCC chairman sees the biggest challenges coming in wireless broadband, where a spectrum shortage is limiting potential capacity and available bandwidth. Genachowski seeks an accommodation with the nation’s television stations to relinquish UHF spectrum where possible to bolster wireless networks.
Conference host Walt Mossberg challenged Genachowski on why more isn’t getting done and why accepting the current state of the marketplace is acceptable. He also criticized providers for charging high prices for slow service and attacked Comcast for its set top box, claiming if there was an open market for these things, no one would buy it, that it would be the worst thing on the shelf.
[flv width=”512″ height=”308″]http://www.phillipdampier.com/video/All Things Digital Genachowski 6-2-10.flv[/flv]
Excerpts from FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski’s visit with Walt Mossberg at the June 2nd D: All Things Digital conference. (6 minutes)
Genachowski said himself that there’s no magic bullet to fix our current capacity issues, but he keeps beating the wireless drum as if it were. Let’s face it, the limited useful spectrum of wireless means it will never be the answer to our future bandwidth needs…period. I’m glad he wants to beef it up, and we could sure use better coverage and more capacity even for plain voice calls, but he needs to quit touting wireless and 4G as some panacea for our broadband woes….ain’t gonna happen. If he wants to really make a change, he’ll start beating the line… Read more »
Micheal is right there is not enough room. RF is a big hog. Just how
much of that purchased spectrum is sitting unused until such a time
when prices go up even more and the will have more room to work with
at the the higher prices. Because they bought it does not mean they
are using it all.
History lesson from the past when dial up was the thing. You could pick up the phone and not get a the phone and not get a dial tone because of overload and that was wires
and equipment.