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Living La Vida Broadband
from the changes-so-many-things dept
Admittedly, it's an article with just a few anecdotal stories, but the NY Times is trying to get a feel for how broadband changes many people's lives. Basically, the story suggests that broadband becomes like a utility that people who have it come to rely on completely. There's one story of a family who found the perfect home they wanted to buy, but when they found out there was no broadband service in the area yet, it became a deal breaker. Of course, if the Times really wanted to see what happens when broadband becomes a utility, they should be looking at South Korea and Japan. Even if they only looked in the most heavily broadband saturated American cities, we're still way behind a few other countries that have made a much bigger effort to push broadband adoption.
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Adoption vs. Usage
The infrastructure is there, but how many people use it or take it seriously? In South Korea's case, there seems to be heavy usage, but my overwhelming sense from visiting Japan a few times recently is that most people there don't take the internet seriously. Few businesses even have web pages, fewer still have any online transactions available. The bulk of "internet" usage over there is cell phone browser stuff.
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No broadband - no purchase
When looking for my first house in 2002 my realtor was given a 'must' list. Right under two-car garage was high-speed Internet availability, cable or DSL - ideally both. Even in a small town of under 40,000 that wasn't hard to find, now have the option of either and currently use cable. Deal with dial-up Hell? Never again.
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No Subject Given
In all fairness to America, South Korea, especially Seoul and it's outlying areas are MUCH MORE densely populated than the US is in general. Also, your dealing with much smaller population.
However, the broadband craze in Korea is real. The speeds they are getting are ridiculous not to mention the price.
America is catching up though, it's slow, but then again, everything is more spread out here in the States than in Japan or Korea.
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Being wired in Japan is expensive
You have to consider just how expensive phone lines are in Japan. Everything there is wireless because wireless is a lot cheaper, so that's where the bulk of the technology is going to follow. If wireless broadband is introduced in the U.S. at lower prices than cable or DSL -- or at the same price with the promise of true mobility -- it will compete favorably.
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