A Chicken in every pot, Broadband in every home.

Saw this @NYTimes twitterfeed related to an earlier post on broadband in the stimulus packages. Yes, I admit it, I subscribed to the New York Times feed.  I don’t like the Yankees, I don’t like TIME magazine, and I don’t read the Yankee Times, not even the Sunday Times.  I even hold it against other unrelated newspapers that use the word ‘Times’ in their names.   But I’ll follow links like a puppy chasing a bone.

“This also seems to be a rather sound policy choice because, as I look at it, the noise about a broadband gap is hooey. With new cable modem technology becoming available, 19 out of 20 American homes eventually will be able to have Internet service that is faster than any available now anywhere in the world. And that’s without one new cable being laid.”

Does Broadband Need a Stimulus?

Is that broadband for 19 of 20 they say?  Blandin Foundation is tracking a broadband mapping project that the State of Minnesota is contracting to complete.  Results are due out 2 Feb 09.  It will be interesting to see how ubiquitous broadband really is here, right now.  It may be more interesting to see if people trust the results.

I am all for choices and competition.  Yet I have some major trust issues with the incumbent local exchange carriers (and I use the term loosely to include entrenched cable as well as telephone-based corporations).  Just because they HAVE the technology, doesn’t mean they will offer it broadly or equitably.  This is one reason I get really excited about projects like services provided by the City of Windom, Minnesota.

Did I mention I have some trust issues here?

The first post in this NYT series addressed the imminent DTV changover. Digital Television. yawn. Don’t get me started on the wasteland of television.