Pressure grows for 100Mbps broadband, at least!

Stuart Corner
Monday, 29 September 2008 12:33

Opinion and Analysis

"They're doing this because in the Information Age, universal connectivity to ever-faster broadband is everything. Our members know that and are busy connecting American homes directly into fibre networks, thereby creating the infrastructure and capacity that will keep America at the forefront of the global broadband revolution. What we need is a national strategy and policy framework to provide a boost to these efforts and the 100Mbps resolution in Congress is intended to jump-start that process."

Meanwhile, in New Zealand the Internet Society of New Zealand has a stated target of 100Mbps for domestic users and 1Gbps for commercial users. It has commissioned a two stage report from Auckland-based Network Strategies to detail available options for a New Zealand broadband infrastructure that will achieve these goals, and has just released the first stage report.

In it Network Strategies concludes that "There is no indication that in the short to medium term 'broadband' services in New Zealand will approach such speeds" and that "in the absence of further public investment in broadband infrastructure, improvement in New Zealand infrastructure will be made only on a commercial basis. This will see enhanced services in the larger cities, and either lower-standard (or non-existent) services or high-cost services in other areas."

And in Finland last week The government has announced plans for universal broadband access across Finland with the aim that no one would be further than 2.5kms from a broadband Internet connection of at least 100Mbps. The announcement came one day after Finland's largest cable provider, Welho, announced a new 100Mbps consumer service. The government expressed concerns about the availability of this to the entire country.

According to a report on the CWA's web site, the Finnish government set the 100Mbps speed as a minimum, hoping to have gigabit-range speeds by 2015, understanding the economic and social importance of universal broadband as well as the need for governmental leadership in reaching that goal. However the government has yet to decide how this goal will be funded.