[LINK] cost of broadband

[Jan Whitaker]

[interesting figures given the recent speculation of cost per home 
install here in Australia]
zxjio writes with this excerpt from a New York Times article about 
just how much networking infrastructure costs vary between the US and 
Japan: "Pretty much the fastest consumer broadband in the world is 
the 160-megabit-per-second service offered by J:Com, the largest 
cable company in Japan. Here's how much the company had to invest to 
upgrade its network to provide that speed: $20 per home passed. ... 
Verizon is spending an average of $817 per home passed to wire 
neighborhoods for its FiOS fiber optic network and another $716 for 
equipment and labor in each home that subscribes, according to 
Sanford C. Bernstein & Company. ... The experience in Japan suggests 
that the major cable systems in the United States might be able to 
increase the speed of their broadband service by five to 10 times 
right away. They might not need to charge much more for it than they 
do now and they would still make as much money."
http://tech.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=09/04/05/0229203&from=rss

[The US approach -- involve the people; hear that, Minister Con?]
MojoKid writes "The US Federal Communications Commission is working 
on a plan to solve the problem of nationwide access to high-speed 
Internet service. The three main issues the agency is tackling first 
are, figuring out how to improve availability, quality and 
affordability. Acting FCC Chairman Michael J. Copps held a meeting 
this week where he asked the public to comment on the national 
broadband plan, which Congress has demanded be done by February. The 
public has 60 days to submit comments; the agency and members of the 
public will be able to reply to comments for an additional 30 days 
after that."
http://tech.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=09/04/09/2243214&from=rss

and for the consumer cost:
unr3a1 writes to tell us that Time Warner Cable has responded to the 
massive criticism of its new plan to cap user bandwidth with a new 
pricing model. Users will be given a grace period in which to assess 
their pricing tier. The "overages" will be noted on their bill, 
allowing them to change either their billing plan or their usage 
patterns. "On top of a 5, 10, 20, and 40-gigabyte (GB) caps, the 
company said this week that it would offer an additional 100GB tier 
for heavy users. Prices (so far) would range from $29.95 to $75.00 a 
month, with users charged an extra dollar for every GB more they 
download, although that charge is also capped at $75. An 'unlimited' 
bandwidth plan, therefore, tops out at $150." [about $230AUD]
http://tech.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=09/04/10/1650221&from=rss



Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
jwhit at janwhitaker.com
blog: http://janwhitaker.com/jansblog/
business: http://www.janwhitaker.com

Our truest response to the irrationality of the world is to paint or 
sing or write, for only in such response do we find truth.
~Madeline L'Engle, writer

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