Download a Movie in Only 210 Hours
Posted on March 11, 2008
‘You can’t get there from here’ is the long-used metaphor for saying you live off the beaten path.
You know, the Interstate is somewhere else and if you make a trip of a 100 miles from home you’ve got to make several turns on different roads to get there.
There’s another meaning hanging out there and it gets more valid every day. This is a Web 2.0 world. If you don’t have an Internet connection fast enough to stream video, play audio, game online, download gigabytes of content, etc. you’re quickly being left out. No longer are web designers being cautioned to be sure their sites work well with slow connections. All that’s in the past. Faster, faster is the feeling of those who have broadband. What I have isn’t enough. 6Mb, no give me 10Mb, that’s what my buddy on some provider or another has. So they get it. Those where it is inexpensive to turn up the heat get what they ask for…more juice, higher cost…no problem, give me the speed and I’ll pay for it.
But what about the rest? What about those who have languished in 56K land for so many years now? When will they get turned on to the REAL Internet? You see, if you’re running on 56K, you just can’t get to the REAL Internet from here.
Stats for you: In 1999, the average home page size was less than 9KB. Today? 75KB or more. That’s really understated because if you consider only the top 100 sites that people visit today (a great number of which didn’t even exist in 1999), you will find that most appeal to broadband users only. The average start page for those sites then may run into a ’slightly’ bloated 300KB size, effectively shutting out the dial-up users and relegating them to the use of 2nd tier sites…while they feel left out and left behind.
That really gets me to pondering. I wonder how many million PCs have been sold to users who have seen(what they think) are their computers getting slower as they age, when in reality all that’s happening is their connection is staying the same and the webpages are getting multiples of times larger. Imagine their surprise when the sleek new model they just bought is as slow as the old one.
Did you know that the U.S. fell from 4th in 2001 to 14th in 2007 in broadband penetration? That’s a lot harder to accept than it is to believe. With all the push for technology what’s the explanation? Pretty simple really — MONEY. Wall Street just isn’t interested in seeing profits decline because some ISPs got humane in their efforts and started losing money to roll out broadband into rural areas. Just as those with fast broadband scream FASTER, those with money also cry for more of the same. Don’t you turn in quarterly reports showing declines due to losing proposition rollouts. We’ll punish you big time in the market.
Answers: One thing for sure, deregulation doesn’t work where this is no competition and corporates are not going to knowingly lose money. Listen, Internet access is a commodity. We mostly get the same commodities as far as electricity and water and other kinds of utilitarian items. Why should this one be any different? Just add broadband to the list. When we call the utility companies to provide our service, they should be just as able to give broadband as to give power. Enough of this prejudicial treatment of our people. This was a small issue 10 to 12 years ago when the Internet was seen as more of a novelty item for the geeky. I tell you it’s a necessary commodity now and those who don’t have the needed speed of access are being unfairly discriminated against.
So, my answer is? Regulation, let the government step in and mandate what will never be done otherwise. Let the people pay just like we’ve paid for all sorts of things in the past, like the amount we’ve paid for years tacked on to the phone bill to provide essential phone service for those who could not afford it otherwise. What’s the difference?
Last, I believe the increased economic impact of getting these extra millions online at broadband speed would be at least equal to the economic stimulus package recently addressed by Congress. Prove me wrong…
Not enough said…just for now.
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4 Responses to “Download a Movie in Only 210 Hours”
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Leaving dialup for satellite enters my mind often when I have to wait two or three minutes for a page to load. However, the thought fades to black when I see the costs and read forums about the service.
I also believe that about 10 seconds after I committ for two years service, the DSL wizards will announce “fast and cheap”, come and get it.
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