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The Race to Broadband America
One "pipe", one provider, one bill
Data/Voice/Video
Downstream speeds 640 kbs to 50 mbps
Upstream speeds 16kbs to 1 mbs
$20 to $80/mo for residential service
Broadband Media and Players
Cable (MediaOne, Comcast) and phone companies (AT&T, MCI)
Phone Wire (xDSL) RBOCs
Wireless Sprint, MCI, BellSouth and Others
Satellite Dish Network, DirecPC
Some Forecasts
Two-thirds of households online by 2002
WorldCom (Sprint/MCI) to have 30 million subscribers by 2003
21 million broadband subscribers by 2004
Data overtakes television by 2005
Deployment Advantages/Disadvantages
Cable does not reach everywhere
xDSL limited in reach (5% - 40% of a market)
Wireless generally less expensive and faster to deploy
Expand capacity of wireless with smaller cells or new technologies
Possible Roles in the "New World"
Continued video for instruction
Traditional analog use
Streamed, live and on-demand instruction
Interactive multimedia
Personal videoconferencing
Broadband pipe to take schools to the home/office/hotel
Future: IP Telephony, gigabit data, wireless campus, mobile
Why Educators Should Care
Many/most of our students will have broadband access
Wireless will be only vehicle for some students
Wireless will provide competition and drive costs down
New technology, new uses, new pricing models
What We Need to Do Now
- Educate ourselves and our institutions
- Retain legal and engineering assistance now from companies intimately
familiar with National Instructional Television Fixed Service (ITFS)
- Retain legal help for the business side
- Educate our senators and representatives
For more information:
- National Instructional Television Fixed Service (ITFS) Association for
articles, descriptions, references and key contacts:
http://www.itfs.org
Wireless Communications Association International for wireless industry
information: http://www.wcai.org
Sprint/MCI Merger Information and Documentation:
http://www.worldcom-merger.com/mmds/mmds_main.htm
http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/723527/0001005477-99-004748.txt
The Broadband Race - some scenarios
http://www2.sprint.com/ion/residential
Cable versus wire in Phoenix: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A17099-2000Apr14.html
Developing Technology
- AT&T Project Angel
- Bell-Labs:
http://www.bell-labs.com/project/blast
IPWireless: http://www.ipwireless.com
Lucent IP Telephony, fiberless optics: http://www.lucent.com
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