Sales Of Broadband Access Equipment Forecast to Drop Despite Stimulus

February 3, 2009

The market for network access equipment that telecommunications and cable companies use for broadband connections will fall in 2009, according to a forecast.

Access concentrator sales will be under pressure in 2009

Access concentrator sales will be under pressure in 2009

The Dell’Oro Group says that sale of access infrastructure such as cable, DSL and PON concentrators (passive optic network links to optical fiber) will tumble nearly 15 percent during the year to $4 billion.

A slump in new subscribers and the weak economy will slow network building and upgrades, the research firm says. President Barack Obama has included broadband build-out money in his stimulus strategy and legislators have added funds to the rescue packages making their way through Congress.

“We believe that operators will not change their network upgrade strategies, although we expect them to be more cautious with expenditures,” said founder Tam Dell’Oro.

Growth will return to the market in 2010 through 2013.

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Posted by Mark Boslet

Korea Looks To Boost Broadband Speeds To 1 Gbps

February 2, 2009

Korean regulators are looking at extending that country’s lead in broadband by boosting connection speeds to 1 Gbps in 2012.

Korean broadband connections are already a world-leading 100 Mbps

Korean broadband connections are already a world-leading 100 Mbps

Already Korea has some of the world’s fastest broadband speeds with links of 100 Mbps, rivaling Japan and well ahead of the U.S., which has fallen behind many developed countries during the Bush Administration.

The Korean Communications Commission wants to increase wired connections while also improving wireless broadband speeds by a factor of 10 to 10 Mbps, according to a post on the GigaOM blog and a story in Korea’s JoongAng Daily. The government estimates the two initiatives will cost $24.6 billion over five years and create 120,000 new jobs.

Private telecom companies are expected to come up with the lion’s share of the build out with government paying only a small share.

Government planners claim the faster speeds will make high-definition television signals up to 16 times clearer and enable interactive TV services, such as e-commerce and home schooling.

The plan also calls for digital TV coverage to reach 96 percent of the country by 2012, up from 87 percent today.

More than 94 percent of Korean households presently have access to high-speed Internet connections.

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Posted by Mark Boslet

Tech Policy Under Obama: Broadband, Net Neutrality, Diverse Ownership

January 26, 2009

The new administration’s Web site went up over the weekend and here is what America’s new, tech-savvy president has to say about technology:

Let us be the generation that reshapes our economy to compete in the digital age

Let us be the generation that reshapes our economy to compete in the digital age

*Protect the Openness of the Internet: Support the principle of network neutrality to preserve the benefits of open competition on the Internet.

*Encourage Diversity in Media Ownership: Encourage diversity in the ownership of broadcast media (and) promote the development of new media outlets for expression of diverse viewpoints.

*Deploy Next-Generation Broadband: Work towards true broadband in every community in America through a combination of reform of the Universal Service Fund, better use of the nation’s wireless spectrum, promotion of next-generation facilities, technologies and applications, and new tax and loan incentives. America should lead the world in broadband penetration and Internet access.

*Invest in the Sciences: Double federal funding for basic research over ten years, changing the posture of our federal government to one that embraces science and technology.

“Let us be the generation that reshapes our economy to compete in the digital age.” Barack Obama, February 2007

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Posted by Mark Boslet

New FCC Chairman Will Have Ambitious Marching Orders On Broadband

January 13, 2009

Julius Genachowski, expected to be the next chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, will have ambitious marching orders on broadband.

Julius Genachowski is expected to be the next FCC chairman

Julius Genachowski is expected to be the next FCC chairman

Reports surface yesterday (including on TechPulse 360) that Genachowski, a Harvard classmate of President-elect Barack Obama, would replace current Chairman Kevin Martin. An official announcement hasn’t yet come.

But should he assume the role, building out America’s broadband network will be one key task facing the new FCC chief. Obama has made improving the nation’s lagging broadband network a central campaign promise.

While any broadband plan from the administration is expected to include tax breaks for telecommunications companies, here is a statement from Obama’s Web site that offers insight into how he plans to undertake the initiative:

“Barack Obama believes that America should lead the world in broadband penetration and Internet access. As a country, we have ensured that every American has access to telephone service and electricity, regardless of economic status, and Obama will do likewise for broadband Internet access. Obama and (VP Joesph) Biden believe we can get true broadband to every community in America through a combination of reform of the Universal Service Fund, better use of the nation’s wireless spectrum, promotion of next-generation facilities, technologies and applications, and new tax and loan incentives.”

Genachowski, 46, served as chief counsel for former FCC Chairman Reed Hundt and as an executive at Interenet company IAC/InterActive. He is currently as a venture capitalist at Rock Creek Ventures.

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Posted by Mark Boslet

Cable Rates Are Too High And Competition Is Inadequate, FCC’s Martin Says

January 12, 2009

Cable television rates are too high and competition needs to be encouraged in the industry, Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin says.

FCC could have made more progress, says Kevin Martin

FCC could have made more progress, says Kevin Martin

The commission continues to see cable rate increases, he pointed out at the Consumer Electronics Show. At the same time, cable companies continue to ban consumers from using third-party equipment to connect to the Internet and to video programming on the Web, he said.

The FCC needs to figure out ways to give people more choice while encouraging competition, Martin said during an on-stage interview.

“That’s an area we could have made more progress in,” he said, reflecting on his tenure as commission chairman.

During the interview, Martin suggested the FCC use universal service fees designed to bring telephone service to rural areas to bring broadband access to hard-to-reach communities in the U.S.

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Posted by Mark Boslet

Finland Makes Big Push For Nationwide Broadband With The Government Paying A Third Of The Cost

November 28, 2008

The government of Finland said this week that it will pick up a third of the cost of bringing high-speed broadband to the country by 2015.

Finland wants households to have 100 Mbps connections

Finland wants households to have 100 Mbps connections

The decision comes as developed nations throughout the world put more resources behind connecting homes and businesses to fast online connections. And it contrasts to broadband initiatives in the U.S., where lack of policy support during the Bush Administration allowed the country to fall behind other leading nations in the speed and pricing of high-performance Internet links.

The Finish government said it would raise 66 million euros from a frequency auction to pay its share of the 200 million euro cost of the nation’s six-year plan.

The goal is to provide households with broadband speeds of more than 100 megabits a second.

A study by the transport and telecommunications ministry projects 95 percent of the country will be covered by 2015. By 2010, all Internet users are expected to receive at least 1 Mbps.

The government has to seek EU support for the program.

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Posted by Mark Boslet

US Adding 1 Million Broadband Subscribers Per Month – At Least Before The Downturn

October 16, 2008

As of September, there were 100 million broadband subscribers in the U.S., a number increasing by 1 million a month.

Across the globe, the broadband rolls total 452 million with 876 million subscribers projected by 2012, said In-Stat. Eighty million new customers signed up in the past 12 months.

DSL lines serve 55 percent of connections, In-Stat said.

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Posted by Mark Boslet

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