Ars Technica has this analysis of the federal stimulus allocation of $7.2 billion for broadband deployment, along with a number of informed comments on fiber optic and copper vs. wireless technologies, the logic of a national infrastructure plan, and analyses of which policies will provide more and better jobs. Here’s one, from Jack_o:
1. I think there are more important things to spend 2 to 4 billion dollars on right now then a broadband comedy of errors.
2. I think the telcos should be at the back of the line on this one. They have already shown us what they do with money given them to build us an ‘information super highway’.
3. Fiber should be the requirement. No copper, no wireless stuff, just all fiber.
4. No one that is involved in building it should be involved in running it.
5. Don’t depend on state/county/local governments to pick up the ball and run with it once it gets dumped in their back yard. If you do then every telco and ISP will have their hands in it trying to make a buck off it and you will end up with a more confused and difficult “last mile” type of problem for the end user ranging in everything from franchises to fees to increased property/other taxes to kick backs to bribes to unfair competition – to make a buck off a tax dollar paid for project.
The Federal Communications Commission has a lot of issues to address in its draft of A National Broadband Plan for Our Future, set for release in February 2010…