Broadband is possibly the most important new technology for computer users. The upcoming replacement for Windows XP, codenamed Blackcomb or Windows .NET 2.0, is now delayed due to there being insufficient rollout of broadband. The new .NET technologies will rely on a quick connection and Microsoft has been over presumptuous in thinking the roll-out will be a quick one.
Some countries like Germany have already made Digital Subscriber Lines (DSL) available all over their country and this has given them a lead on a worldwide scale in the area. The US has a cable versus DSL commercial fight at the moment, and despite a recession it has been Time Warner cable's "best quarter ever" for new subscribers with 256,000 signing up. This type of competition can only be good for broadband but it is a different story elsewhere...
Why other countries don't follow the trend set by the US and Germany is a mystery and this is what is holding up the release and deployment of .NET. BT are now lowering prices and possibly making the other companies in the UK struggle to keep up, and people there are asking whether they should be allowed a monopoly on this like they do on the phone system. Why should a country with almost half the population online stop the upgrading of their network to broadband for maintenance (as BT have), and why is the world pausing when a thousand voices are screaming "I want broadband"?
The use of cross subsidy by companies that control more than connectivity is becoming regular practice and can only cause one casualty: the consumer.
What's the situation elsewhere? In Australia the government is supporting the deployment of broadband but there is a struggle, according to news reports, for other companies to compete with the Telstra ISP and this must reflect the situation that the UK is facing with BT stopping companies like NTL and Telewest by pricing them out.
Does the US have the right idea with competition or would a single, unified service appeal to some? Surely if the competition is priced out the winner will be free to raise prices as they feel and if service quality is bad customers will have no option. ....
