Broadband: Not Exactly

With all the talk of EVDO lately, one wonders if we are fooling ourselves, touting such technology as a savior for those that need access on the go. On a recent trip to Silicon Valley the show hotel "broadband" was slow beyond compare and working on EVDO was a torture I wouldn't wish on my enemies (not that I have any. I hope :-).

We keep hearing about how broadband is pervasive and getting cheaper and the same stories apply to EVDO. This is all true of course until people try to use these technologies on a large scale. Yes! We ARE connected to broadband. But when 50 people share a 1.5 Mbps connection, guess what... It isnt broadband any more. It isn't even useful.

I was one of the first people to use 1xRTT technology and have been using EVDO since fall of 2004. In both cases I noticed a gradual decrease in performance of the networks over time. I assume as more people use the connection it just slows; like any other shared connection.

What is amazing to me is that most of us don't care enough about this issue. I should have asked for a refund at the last few hotels I was in as the broadband was useless. You know what? As I write this entry, I am getting steamed enough to do this on principle (but in reality I likely won't due to time considerations, etc). IMO you shouldn't be allowed to sell broadband without an SLA. This applies even for a single day's use. Even an hour. Serving up broadband that really isn't is like serving a salad with a worm in it or with dirt on the lettuce. When this happens, a restaurant usually makes a new salad, doesn't charge you for it and then brings you free dessert. What does the broadband provider do? Usually nothing.

Perhaps now is a good time for broadband providers to change the way they do business. It isn't right to sell broadband connections that aren't. Service providers need to gain the customer's trust now before more WiFi and WiMAX competitors pop up. Reducing churn begins with exceeding expectations, period. This is where business sense trumps technology.

The opinions and views expressed in comments, blogs, etc. are those of the authors alone and not necessarily those of TMC, TMCnet, or its editors. TMCnet reserves the right to edit, delete, or otherwise make changes to the content that appears on these pages at its own discretion and as it deems necessary.
| 0 Comments | 0 TrackBacks

Listed below are links to sites that reference Broadband: Not Exactly:

Broadband: Not Exactly TrackBack URL : http://blog.tmcnet.com/mt/mt-tb.cgi/771

Leave a comment

Recent Activity

Sunday

Saturday

More...

Recent Comments

  • Chad: Drop in Wikipedia editing is all because of trolling and read more
  • oyun: Plugins You Probably Don’t Use But Should 11 Most Popular read more
  • Jamie: Wikipedia is loaded with administrative trollers and flamebaiters. The articles read more
  • Ben: NextTel was one of the first company that offered VoIP read more
  • uglyphilkarn: Lets put it this way, anon dregs...there are 5 retards read more
  • uglyphilkarn: xG Watcher: SUCK IT!!! BWHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHA read more
  • xG Watcher: Only by sheer luck have you not already been in read more
  • oyunlar1: thankyou read more
  • Blatant Lying: "the 4 guys against this company...if you added up their read more
  • ARYOL PREFABRIK: google is the one of the best internet developer. thank... read more

Subscribe to Blog

Blogroll

Recent Entry Images

  • tmcnet-feature-plaer-jquery-javascript.jpg
  • monopoly.jpg
  • itexpo-east-2009-exhibit-hall-aisle.jpg
  • google-tricycle.jpg
  • benioff-apple-behind-the-cloud.jpg
  • happy-cell-phone.jpg

Category Archives

Around TMCnet Blogs

  • Communications and Technology Blog - Tehrani.com:
    Interop New York 2009 Videos
  • On Rad's Radar?:
    Open Neutral Fair
  • VoIP & Gadgets Blog:
    iLive ISP209B Portable Speaker System Review - Alarm Clock
  • Communications and Technology Blog - Tehrani.com:
    Back From Interop NY 2009
  • First Coffee:
    Unified360, Riff Raters for IPhone, AltiGen, DocuSign at Dreamforce
  • On Rad's Radar?:
    Mainly Cellular News Tidbits
  • The Readerboard:
    Make Customers Smile? Give Them Low Priced Half-Decent Products
  • VoIP & Gadgets Blog:
    VoIP in Google ChromeOS
  • Latest Whitepapers

    TMCnet Videos