We Don't Need No Stinkin' Broadband 572
Ant writes "eMarketer has an article on The Yankee Group's analysis on why some Americans aren't feeling the broadband love. It was based on Ipsos Public Affairs. 45% of Americans say it's simply too expensive. 30% say that they just don't want it. 14% say they feel dial-up is adequate for their needs. Less than 10% are not able to get broadband access in their area. Five percent insist broadband is "too complicated". Another 5% aren't even sure why they don't have it..."
45% say its too expensive? (Score:3, Insightful)
The biggest danger of broadband (Score:5, Insightful)
If you haven't had broadband yet and only dialup, upgrading doesn't seem necessary. But once you've experienced the speed of broadband and the convenience of not having to dial up and log in, you'll never want to go back.
Too expensive? (Score:5, Insightful)
It's all a matter of priorities. I'll bet that of those people not willing to pay $25 or $30 for entry-level broadband, a good portion of them spend $50, $60, or more on cable or satellite TV.
steve
Re:Validity (Score:4, Insightful)
56Kb/s isn't that bad if ads are blocked (Score:4, Insightful)
Sites that work just fine at 56K:
The primary use of broadband is to deliver ads. At the consumer's expense. No wonder 30% of users don't want it.
Re:56Kb/s isn't that bad if ads are blocked (Score:2, Insightful)
eBay is rather annoying, though, as when you need to login it can take a while because they keep accessing your cookies.
Re:The inevitable killer app comment (Score:2, Insightful)
In my case we had a dedicated phone line for dialup. In Australia they increased the price of monthly line rental to a point where switching to ADSL wasn't that much more expensive than line rental, call cost and ISP charges.
The fact that it's on 24/7 is a big plus. Even with what they call broadband in Australia it's feasible to share a connection over wireless (try that with 56K!)
So for me, dowmloads are quicker, certainly. For lower volume users of the house it's simply more convenient.
Re:56Kb/s isn't that bad if ads are blocked (Score:1, Insightful)
Re:30% (Score:3, Insightful)
That was a lot of tangent -- anyway, my point is that broadband is one of those things many might find they can't live without only after experiencing pervasive access.
Re:56Kb/s isn't that bad if ads are blocked (Score:2, Insightful)
Internet radio is basically useless without broadband (128kbit mp3s, the standard, cannot be streamed on a 56k connection)
internet video is basically useless without broadband
uploading/downloading is horrible on dial-up, even stuff like windows patches or linux kernal updates can take hours
bittorrent? I don't think so
gaming? out of the question
dial-up is basically only useful for casual browsing and email/IM... You cannot really enjoy the net without it.. I'm glad I have my 10mbit cable connection every second I use it.. then again, I am a power user.
Re:Their Choice I guess (Score:2, Insightful)
I agree. It's expensive no killer app like HD (Score:3, Insightful)
Blame BIG business and their conspiracy to kill munibroadband. Yes, real conspiracies do exist . FTTH should be everywhere but it's not because the cable and phone companies are cherry picking and they want to keep prices HIGH. No good to shareholders selling inexpensive broadband to poor areas. Might anger the people on the other side of town.
As long as Bush and republicans are wine and dined by these people it wont matter. There is no REAL competition. It's just like Cable Tv
Websites no longer design/test for dialup users (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:45% say its too expensive? (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:The biggest danger of broadband (Score:3, Insightful)
"If you haven't had broadband yet and only dialup, upgrading doesn't seem necessary."
I know it seems like that, but eventually you get to a point where dialup really doesn't cut it anymore. Waiting for that particular financial or banking site that you NEED to use for about 2 minutes (literally) to load starts to grate on your nerves eventually.
Re:The inevitable killer app comment (Score:2, Insightful)
Open up email before going to bed, click on the URLs to save them, and go to sleep. Watch videos in the morning when drinking coffee.
I have cable internet, and while it's nice, I could get along just fine with dial-up for home use. If money gets tight, the cable internet service would be the first thing to go.
Re:The biggest danger of broadband (Score:2, Insightful)
If cable rates get too high, I'll dump them, and go back to dial-up, or just use my cell phone for occasional internet access (tethered to PC).
I've already dumped all of SBC's services, because they're a bunch of greedy bastards. My local cable company seems to "get it", and offers decent rates for their packages.
At any rate, I could survive just fine on dial-up. Last time I had it, it was a dial on demand setup for about twenty systems in my basement. They'd go out and get updates, email, etc whenever they felt like it, and take as long as they needed.
Re:I agree. It's expensive no killer app like HD (Score:5, Insightful)
The U.S. is determined to make itself obsolete - and sooner rather than later! That's why the looting is so fast and furious these days. Eventually we'll end up just one more population of rioting people demanding economic parity like other third world labor countries are doing right now. Just watch how the U.S. becomes irrelevant during the next century thanks to our inability to innovate thanks to laws that favor the few against the many.
It's all about the price of labor, and driving that price down, down, down...
A lot of technology gets talked about on Slashdot is ultimately pinned to what some shmoe worker at Kwik-E-Mart can afford, and if s/he cannot afford it don't expect that technology to become ubiquitous.
Re:56Kb/s isn't that bad if ads are blocked (Score:2, Insightful)
http://www.di.fm/ [www.di.fm]
Ah, 24kbit/s AAC streams, and they don't sound too bad.
Streamed ABC's video feeds during 9/11 over 56K modem link to a 32" TV in the conference room all day long. Had audio, even. Amazing what compression does these days.
So? Do that stuff while you sleep. Automate it. Yes, I've installed Gentoo over a 56K modem link before.
Works just fine. Let it run while you sleep. Spams the hell out of the connection, but it does run.
Some new games probably do need something better than 56K, but that doesn't mean all games do. I know Age of Empires works fine over a modem, so does Doom and Quake. Battlefield 2 might not.
Ever installed Microsoft Office over a mapped drive using a 14.4K link? PPP at 9600 baud because you had to? 2400 baud BBS downloads?
Dial-up is the same connection you have, just slower. You can do the same stuff, it just takes more time. A true "power user" would figure out how to survive on just about any type of 'net connection.
I seem to remember the workday after thx giving... (Score:2, Insightful)
this tells me one thing - lots of people wont pay for a connection when they can get what they need done on somebody else's network...
45% may have to change at some point (Score:3, Insightful)
It might not be uninmaginable that there are people who don't need broadband access to you, but it could be to people trying to run a dialup ISP. Just like there will always be a market for albums recorded on audio cassette, but at some point no record label will care.
After a certain point, there are simply not enough subscriibers in an area to justify having a local access number in a town. And when that happens it becomes more cost effective to have broadband instead, even if you don't need it. The cable company I work for has cable modem service at 256Kb down/64Kb up for $24.95 a month. Most people would not even consider such access "high-speed internet" but at a cost of only a few dollars more than AOL or Earthlink and speeds of up to five times faster than a modem with an always-on connection that doesn't tie up the phone line, it's a no brainer. The only real drawback is the service isn't portable if you're away for home. I expect low end service like this to eventually replace dialup ISP's, but I expect it will be wireless-based to cater to the buseiness user who needs access from anywhere.
Re:Price drop (Score:2, Insightful)
I bet those rates also only last for one year (or the rest of the year) and require a one-year commitment to avoid "early cancellation fees." After this "introdutory price," it's probably around $40-$50 per month. So after the "introductory period," it costs significantly more than large dial-up ISPs (but broadband addiction will set in). That DSL modem probably ain't free and must be bought or rented for at least a buck per month.
Actually, I wouldn't bet my balls. But don't you think you should mention the very significant fine print attached to those deals? Saying it's only $13-$15 per month is a little misleading when the rate will probably double (at least) after a year. I haven't seen significant price cuts to "regular" broadband rates in the same way I've seen cuts to "introductory rates."
Re:45% say its too expensive? (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Price drop - BAD MODS! (Score:3, Insightful)
NO! That's completely UNTRUE. It's trivially easy to go to Verizon or SBC's website and verify this, so it's really ridiculous you got modded up for saying something so easily disproven. It is a 12-month commitment, but that's not a big deal.
I'm willing to bet you've never had DSL. Cable companies are fond of "renting" you a modem perpetually, but DSL companies almost always give you one for free when you sign up (minus $10-20 for shipping).
And, like dial-up, you can walk into a store and buy a DSL modem if you chose.
I would have, if that were the case, but IT'S NOT. You're just oh-so-wrong.
If you keep your eyes shut, you won't see much. Try LOOKING, and you will see them.
http://www22.verizon.com/ForHomeDSL/channels/dsl/
https://swot.sbc.com/swot/dslMassMarketCatalog.do
Broadband connections on a Mac &around the wor (Score:2, Insightful)
In that time, I'm amazed at how many services or features on the modern OS X Tiger Mac are network-reliant. All those cute Widgets pull in data from the net and really cease to function without internet connectivity.
This was illustrated for me vividly when my parents moved from a well-served community in Florida to rural South Carolina. They live near a lovely little town with miles of scenic cotton fields (Elloree is the town - tres cute), but there's only one internet provider in town. They have some crazy expensive 'business' DSL for the little patch of a town, but only a wireless microwave scheme for the rest of the surrounding area: http://www.ntinet.com/ [ntinet.com]
So, they're on dial-up which is an insanely slow 33.6-ish and now she isn't really able to log on and use, say, iChat or Skype or even see my latest photographs ( http://homepage.mac.com/nevermore/ [mac.com] ).
My mum never thought she needed broadband before, but now longs for the day we can stay in touch quickly, easily and (fairly) cheaply. Broadband at $50 monthly isn't sooooo much, is it?
This just proves that.... (Score:2, Insightful)
that is all....
Re:Less area than USA (Score:2, Insightful)
Sweden has a higher broadband penetration than USA while:
USA population density is 32 persons / km^2
Sweden population density is 20 persons / km^2
I say that one big difference is government spending / grants, etc. Local municipaty energycompanies diging down "city nets" over which private companies deliver internet, etc.
Also it feels like there is much more hype around broadband here and there are common uses that have a great appeal, such as piracy of music and movies. Almost everyone is downloading stuff from the internet for free ("piracy") (something like 80% of all visitors to the biggest newssite here, aftonbladet.se). We even have our own piracy party that is trying to get into the parliament this year
Socialist approach (Score:3, Insightful)
I said over ten years ago that the most important thing that the US government could have done is to socialize the internet connectivity across the country the same way that they have socialized asphalt connectivity by means of Interstate highway systems circa 1930-1940.
Same kind of approach plays in with the Post Office. Everyone gets mail delivery no matter how remote or how dense the population. Not all mail is gauranteed delivered in 3 days but it's delivered.
I think we, as a nation, could have done well to take that stance that everyone will at least have a standardized connection to their homes such that everyone has the capability of getting a modest DSL like connection into their home for a fixed fee (with no trimmings) much like you have garbage collection fees or road maintenance fees from the local government.
What the individual decides to do after this, higher bandwidth, ISP services like portals and email.. can all be managed in the consumer market. But at least you have the road available.
This country experienced huge changes economically and socially as the result of the US Highway infrastructure. I believe that creating an analogy of an internet infrastructure would cause the same kind of impact on this nation. Right now we don't have such a mechanism. The growth of internet businesses and society is at a strangehold based on what you can afford to pay. It's economically restricted.
Hate to sound like a socialist, but sometimes I think there are some things that can be considered best if socialized.
Re:Because it will be too deeply entrenched (Score:5, Insightful)
Yes, many jobs will require Internet access. Many jobs today require Internet access. But are you seriously going to tell me that day laborers or fast food restaurant workers are going to need access to the Internet in order to do their jobs?
"How long will banking without the internet be reasonable?"
Probably for a very long time. Unless banks can find a way to print money over the Internet, ATMs and physical banks will need to continue to exist.
"When will doing your taxes without it become impractical?"
Its not that hard to fill out a W-2 form. And even with tax programs, you are still going to need to enter the same information. If your taxes are a bit more complex, those programs are very useful, but not everyone is going to need that.
"any more than I can really comprehend people who don't use ATMs."
Well that just means you are not very good at comprehending other people's lifestyles.
Re:45% say its too expensive? (Score:2, Insightful)
Err, you do know that Monaco is no bigger than a "big" town in France, right ?
Re:Why so expensive? (Score:3, Insightful)
Thats what, about $70 in US dollars? Thats about what it would cost around here. Thats a lot of money for some people.
Don't Forget The Confused (Score:3, Insightful)
What about the ones who think they have it but don't, and the ones who don't think they have it but do?