{"id":212,"date":"2009-05-04T15:30:23","date_gmt":"2009-05-04T19:30:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.payne.org\/?p=212"},"modified":"2009-05-04T15:30:23","modified_gmt":"2009-05-04T19:30:23","slug":"metering-moores-law","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/payne.org\/blog\/metering-moores-law\/","title":{"rendered":"Metering Moore’s Law?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Since we’re partially dependent on Time-Warner Internet access, I’ve had to pay more attention to bandwidth caps \/ metered broadband issues.\u00a0\u00a0 See some recent discussions in GigaOM<\/a>, and the Washington Post<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Generally, I’m glad to pay extra for using a resource with (a) real scarcity, and (b) in a truly competitive environment.\u00a0 But neither of these apply in most broadband cases.<\/p>\n

First, bandwidth demand is growing quickly, but Moore’s Law<\/a> is driving network capacity.\u00a0 Our first Internet connection was a 64K DDS data circuit costing $400\/month in 1992 (about $600 in today’s dollars).\u00a0 Now, 20mbits is $50\/month (and for FiOS, that’s artificially limited from much faster underlying speeds).\u00a0 With price\/performance increases in server and switch capacity, it’s difficult for providers to argue bandwidth is limited and costs are growing.<\/p>\n

Second, most broadband providers are not operating in a truly competitive environment.\u00a0 Regulatory and licensing hurdles make it difficult for new competitors to enter many markets, allowing\u00a0 incumbent providers to exploit their positions for better profit margins.\u00a0 Stated differently, any broadband provider with true competition wouldn’t be talking about bandwidth caps.<\/p>\n

Finally, it’s frustrating this issue has gotten so much mind-share, when we need to be heading in the exact opposite direction.\u00a0\u00a0 We need policy and investment that brings the US nearer to the top in worldwide broadband penetration. \u00a0 History will compare our national network\u00a0 infrastructure to the Interstate Highway System<\/a>:\u00a0 strategic investments enabling fundamental advantages in business, production, defense, innovation, and quality of life.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Since we’re partially dependent on Time-Warner Internet access, I’ve had to pay more attention to bandwidth caps \/ metered broadband issues.\u00a0\u00a0 See some recent discussions in GigaOM, and the Washington Post. Generally, I’m glad to pay extra for using a … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-212","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ramblings"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/payne.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/212","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/payne.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/payne.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/payne.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/payne.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=212"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/payne.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/212\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/payne.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=212"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/payne.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=212"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/payne.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=212"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}