a transatlantic dialog (with idate, france): gigabit networks, kilobit government? columbia...
TRANSCRIPT
A Transatlantic Dialog (with IDATE, France): Gigabit Networks, Kilobit Government?
Columbia Institute for Tele-Information
Presentation of Ron Binz, Chairman
Colorado Public Utilities Commission
Halloween 2008
Caveat
• I am one of three equal commissioners
• My positions are my own
• I am confused by many things and have not made up my mind on much at all
• I don’t even agree with some of the things I say
• Good advice: don’t believe everything you think
I first met Eli Noam about
1986 when CITI was a
relatively new organization.
Eli was speaking at a
NASUCA conference and
was using a new-fangled
device called a laptop
computer.
Eli set up the computer with
software that automatically
scrolled his written speech,
much like a teleprompter.
The software apparently
allowed him to specify how
long the speech should run,
adjusting the scrolling rate
to exactly fill out the time
allotted for the speech.
Unfortunately, Eli’s software
would not permit pauses or
questions during the speech
without recalculating the
speed necessary to complete
the balance of the speech
during the allotted time.
This meant that, if
interrupted, he had to speed
up to cram everything in.
That did not present a
problem for Eli, who, as a
New Yorker, was
accustomed to speaking
fast.
However, it was a different
matter for his audience, who
were trying to listen and
simultaneously decode his
accent.
They were reduced to waving
their hands in the air, asking
him to slow down, when, of
course, he could do nothing
of the sort.
Eli, thank you for
25 years of CITI
Eli, thanks for twenty five years
of CITI.
Major Characteristics of US Broadband Policy
• BB penetration ranks 15th in OECD report
• Based on inter-modal competition
• Mainly duopolistic: consists almost entirely of incumbent and telco and cable carriers, especially for small users
• Decreasing number of intra-modal (telco) competitors
US Advanced Services Lines(>200 Kbps in each direction )
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
Jun2000
Jun2001
Jun2002
Jun2003
Jun2004
Jun2005
Jun2006
Jun2007
Mill
ion
s o
f L
ine
s
US Broadband (?) LinesUS Broadband Lines
US Broadband Lines by Bandwidth(June 2007 in Mbps)
0.2 < Speed < 2.540.2%
Speed > 250.2%
10 < Speed < 255.5%
2.5 < Speed < 1054.2%
10 000
20 000
30 000
40 000
50 000
60 000
70 000
80 000
90 000
100 000
Japa
n
Franc
e
Korea
Sweden
New Z
eala
nd**
Italy
Finlan
d
Portu
gal
Austra
lia
Norway
Luxe
mbo
urg
Unite
d Kin
gdom
Ger
man
y
Unite
d Sta
tes
Canad
a
Spain
Gre
ece
Hunga
ry
Belgiu
m
Czech
Rep
ublic
Denm
ark
Switzer
land
Nethe
rland
s
Slova
k Rep
ublic
Austri
a
Icela
nd
Polan
d
Irelan
d
Mex
ico
Turke
y
Average advertised broadband download speedby country, Mbit/s, October 2007
Broadband average monthly subscription priceOct. 2007, USD PPP
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
Czech Republic
Slovak Republic
Mexico
Iceland
Hungary
Poland
Norw ay
United States
Portugal
Australia
Canada
Luxembourg
Austria
Turkey
New Zealand
Belgium
Greece
Italy
Korea
Ireland
Netherlands
France
Denmark
Japan
Sw eden
United Kingdom
Sw itzerland
Germany
Finland
News in Broadband Competition
• Growth of FIOS– FTTH, 50MB BB
• Growth of U-verse– FTTP, FTTH, IPTV
• Bundling Cable, BB, Phone
• 700 Mhz Auction
• Campaign for use of white spaces
Verizon’s FIOS Offering
AT&T’s U-verse Offering
Recent Developments in NN
• FCC Comcast Order
• Role of NN in Presidential and Senate campaigns
Protect the Openness of the Internet: A key reason the Internet has been such a success is because it is the most open network in history. It needs to stay that way. Barack Obama strongly supports the principle of network neutrality to preserve the benefits of open competition on the Internet. Users must be free to access content, to use applications, and to attach personal devices. They have a right to receive accurate and honest information about service plans. But these guarantees are not enough to prevent network providers from discriminating in ways that limit the freedom of expression on the Internet. Because most Americans only have a choice of only one or two broadband carriers, carriers are tempted to impose a toll charge on content and services, discriminating against websites that are unwilling to pay for equal treatment. This could create a two tier Internet in which websites with the best relationships with network providers can get the fastest access to consumers, while all competing websites remain in a slower lane. Such a result would threaten innovation, the open tradition and architecture of the Internet, and competition among content and backbone providers. It would also threaten the equality of speech through which the Internet has begun to transform American political and cultural discourse. Barack Obama supports the basic principle that network providers should not be allowed to charge fees to privilege the content or applications of some web sites and Internet applications over others. This principle will ensure that the new competitors, especially small or non-profit speakers, have the same opportunity as incumbents to innovate on the Internet and to reach large audiences.
Thanks for the invitation.
I look forward to our discussions.