[ NNSquad ] Re: Obama Broadband? / ITIF: "Competition to take on telecom and cable is 'misguided' idea"

[Brett Glass <nnsquad@brettglass.com>]

At 03:22 PM 1/10/2009, Vint Cerf wrote:
 
>I tend to agree with Atkinson - we have not seen much incentive for  
>additional competition and in rural regions, the customer base may  
>not support much competition. This does NOT mean, however, that the  
>incumbents can be the only players. It only means that any particular  
>area probably does not support more than one supplier or two  
>competitors.

With all due respect, this is not correct. Our wireless ISP competes
with both the telephone company and the cable company in our rural
area. And we have three wireless competitors -- not counting the
cellular providers who also provide wireless Internet. Our town of
a mere 28,000 souls -- almost half of whom are students at the local
University -- is crawling with competition.

--Brett Glass  

  [ Brett, how do the speed/price offerings of the wireless ISPs
    compare with DSL or cable ISPs in your rural area (where DSL/cable
    are available, of course).  Specifically, for example, can subs
    buy a wireless connection at speeds similar to cable at a similar
    cost and with a similar TOS?  Do you have a breakdown of the
    percentages of customers who have chosen wireless over DSL/cable
    in your area?

      -- Lauren Weinstein
         NNSquad Moderator ]