America, the digital third world
: Network visionary David Isenberg cites an article on why we are so far behind other countries — even Jamaica — in mobile uptake and quality and then says:
Too many networks, not enough investment. The same thing seems to be happening in U.S. broadband policy. The United States, the FCC, the telcos, etc., are making a big deal out of multimodal competition. (The telcos want to keep other people off the poles, outa their fiber, and offa their twisted pairs, so they support the idea — idea — of cable plus wireless plus broadband-over-powerline plus . . . This might be good for the telcos, but will it put the U.S. behind the rest of the developed world for the next 20 years?
And I note this on the FCC’s site today reminding utility-pole owners that they have to provide access to their poles for wireless companies at a reasonable rate.
We’re combing navel lint while the rest of the world is racing ahead of us.
