ZeuBlog

Who Gets the Broadband Stimulus?

By Kevin Walsh

A little-noticed aspect of the $7.2 billion in taxpayer spending on broadband stimulus is who is qualified to receive it. The assumption by most is that broadband stimulus spending would flow to entities that, well, operate broadband networks. But this may not be the case. Tucked away on page 399 of this gargantuan piece of legislation is the following:

“To be eligible for a grant under the program, an applicant shall—

(1.)
A. be a State or political subdivision thereof, the District of Columbia, a territory or possession of the United States, an Indian tribe or native Hawaiian organization;
B. a nonprofit—
      (i)  foundation,
      (ii)  corporation,
      (iii)  institution, or
      (iv)  association; or
C. any other entity, including a broadband service or infrastructure provider, that the Assistant Secretary finds by rule to be in the public interest.”

 

Photo attribution: AP Photo/The Times Daily, Jim Hannon

There may be nothing to this but the ordering strikes me as odd. First are states and cities (subdivisions of states). Since when do states build broadband networks? Second are non-profits. Here also, I was unaware that non-profits built and operated broadband networks. And last are “other entities.” 

What Next for Broadband?

By Kevin Walsh

With the largest government spending bill in the history of the planet now signed into law, and with almost one percent of that massive chunk of pork capital investment allocated to broadband, it is a good time to reflect on the next phase of broadband. Many believe there is still work to be done ensuring that everyone has broadband. But as Teresa Mastrangelo recently opined on Telephony, broadband penetration in North America, measured as a percentage of households, is nearly 60 percent. This number will never reach 100 percent (neither POTS nor electricity ever hit that level) and will probably plateau at something just north of 80 percent. So “bridging the digital divide,” while a great campaign slogan, is a few years out of date.

Let’s Fix the Potholes on the Info Autobahn

By Andrew Harries

As the US Congress cooks up a trillion-dollar economic stimulus stew, many eyes are focused on the portion dedicated to broadband infrastructure. While the amount allocated for this purpose will likely move up and down over the next few weeks, it seems to be taken as a given that the goals are to (a) make broadband more widely available, and (b) make broadband faster. As noble as these goals are, they miss an important reality: the information superhighway is strewn with potholes that are impeding efforts to move beyond mere web searching, emailing, and social networking. In particular, the rickety nature of “best effort” broadband makes it difficult to reliably deliver streaming long-form video, especially the high-definition type. And this is precisely where most innovation is occurring.

Not unlike investment in “shovel ready” projects like bridges and roads, investment in broadband infrastructure should be focused on improving quality. That is, fixing the potholes.

Scores of content storefronts (e.g., Netflix, Amazon, Apple, Blockbuster), digital media players (e.g., Roku, Xbox, Tivo, Vudu), and content delivery networks (e.g., Akamai, Level 3, EdgeCast, Velocix) stand ready to deliver streaming content to consumers. Consumers, even in trying economic times, have indicated a willingness to spend money for better content delivery. There’s even a green angle here—rather than drive to the local video rental store, heating up the globe on the way, consumers can instantly avail themselves of a myriad of content without moving from their living room sofas. 

2009 SPIFFY Award: Zeugma Nominated As One Of The Best Investment Opportunities

 

Zeugma has been nominated for a 2009 SPIFFY Award for the Best Fixed Telecom Opportunity. This recognizes the best investment opportunity within the fixed telecom sector that the Telecom Council has seen at the SPiF Meeting in the past two years.

Zeugma’s nomination comes directly from an outstanding list of global Operators and Service Providers including British Telecom, France Telecom, NTT DoCoMo, SK Telecom, Sprint, AT&T, Telus, Hutchinson Whampoa, Bell Canada, Telia Sonera, Telefonica, and many others.