America Needs More Broadband

America Needs More Broadband

The US needs more and faster broadband connections for the so-called "YouTube generation" to really flourish, industry experts have concluded. At a resent industry forum in Silicon Valley, a panel of tech experts said that US broadband connections are slower than in other regions like Europe.

As users increasingly access full-motion video on PCs and portable devices, connections which are as slow as 768 kilobits per second are simply not good enough, said Walter Mossberg, one of the panellists and a technology columnist at the Wall Street Journal. Mr Mossberg went onto describe US broadband speeds as "pathetic."

Another panellist and technology columnist, Kara Swisher, said: "The government has got to get behind this [broadband], like it did with the public highways." Government investment is needed to spur faster and more plentiful broadband, she added.

And while the US has the greatest rate of broadband penetration in the world, with 80 per cent of households boasting broadband at the end of 2006, it may soon be surpassed by China. In October 2006, 91.71 per cent of American workers had access to broadband, according to Website Optimization.

One company has taken it upon themselves to help integrate broadband and digital services for consumers. Broadband National (BBN) a nationwide comparative shopping Web site for broadband products and services, utilizes their unique IBIS technology to give users a chance to choose broadband service providers based on a number of factors. The IBIS system compares services from over 50 local, regional, and national providers including Comcast, AT&T, Sprint, Qwest, Time Warner, and Verizon.

“Companies benefit through our service as well since the cost of going through Broadband National is far cheaper than traditional sales channels,” states BBN EVP of Marketing Mark Weibel. “It’s great for customers, because the savings which companies see are reflected in the offerings which customers receive. Lower pricing, free equipment, installation management, and other benefits are pretty common.”

Visitors to Broadband National’s site simply enter their current phone number to view a list of competitive service pricing plans. The site works for business customers as well. According to Weibel, the convenience is essential in today’s confusing broadband services market. The company is also beginning to offer the same type of service in other areas, such as home security, automation, music, videos and gaming. Visit www.broadbandnational.com