The next group of papers describes the actual technology of broadband. A paper by Charles Jackson covers the wired technology of digital subscriber lines (DSL) that provide broadband over phone lines, and cable modems which use the wires of the cable company. The technology is more than just background information, since most regulatory or pro-competition plans call for the granting of access or divestitures at particular points in the broadband flow. To understand the regulatory schemes, you need some understanding of where they are in the technology.
A companion article by Jerry Hausman looks at the technology of wireless connections, and given its 2001 origins looks almost exclusively at a discussion of Internet services via 2G and 3G (generation) cellular systems. Fast-forward to 2003 and the action has moved elsewhere. While the cellular companies have cell phones that browse the web and receive e-mail, if you ask most industry people today what they think of when you tell them the words "wireless" and "Internet" they think of something else entirely.
The hot topics now in wireless broadband are WiFi and public hotspots. The former word hadn't been invented yet, but it is only the marketing term for 802.11b wireless networking. These devices were around in 2001, but they were pricey and unreliable. Now they are cheap and standardized (with more advanced standards on the way) and operate in what is now an unregulated part of the electromagnetic spectrum. People are making serious business plans to provide public access to networks of these devices in places as varied as airports, hotels, Starbucks, and McDonald's. (None of the authors envisioned that we could get fries with our broadband.) A check of the book's index shows no entry for 802.11b. That's not a fault of any of the authors; it is just an indication of how quickly things move in Internet time.
The last half of the book focuses directly on regulation. While some of the articles focus on what were the legislative current events of the time, others provide a broader framework for discussing regulation, de-regulation and their effects on the broadband providers. A good introduction to this was Jerry Hausman's article "Internet-Related Services: The Results of Asymmetric Regulation" which points out that the two broadband technologies, DSL and cable modem, reside in two different industries and face two vastly different regulatory frameworks.
Article comments
1 - Eric Olsen
Terrific Bruce, thanks! If any topic has seen the instant obsolescence of books, its high tech.
2 - TDavid
Resisted the urge to raise my hand when I read the passage about 128K ISDN. We had one of those, once upon a time and it was nearly four times the cost of what we're paying for DSL today that's many times over faster.
The truth is there a lot of available bandwith that isn't being utilyzed and the possibilities will be exciting when that higher bandwith is available to/in the majority of homes.
Currently there still isn't even 50% broadband penetration compared to modems and that's unfortunate.
3 - Bill Wallo
I'll be curious to read some of the stuff on "regulation" of broadband. Regulation can often stiffle creativity (because it tends to institutionalize the status quo).
4 - Bruce Kratofil
Bill --
The other side effect of regulation is the law of unintended consequences. Often, there are side effects that pop up, some good and some bad. Joseph Heller, in his novel "Good as Gold" states it as
"Nothing succeeds as planned"