Doug Merritt writes:
Mike Godwin <mnemonic@eff.org> said:
Perry writes:
Seems to me that bandwidth is going to be nearly free in both directions in a few years whether government intervenes or not.
I agree about the potential for it to be free, but, I gotta tell you, the monopolists running the cable systems in this country have no inclination to share that nearly free bandwidth with you, even if you're willing to pay for access to it.
I hate to disagree, considering that I prefer to agree with the philosophy here, but it *can't* work that way, regardless of what we wish.
The problem is that bandwidth is a highly limited resource, just like real estate is a limited resource.
Doug, I think you may be under the impression that we're talking about a single fiber-optic or coax cable. You can have a single (or double or triple) infrastructural network, but add bandwidth to each one. I think the notion of "scarcity" doesn't apply to cable any more than it applies to personal computers.
Eventually we will complete saturate network bandwidth no matter what technology is used. This has been discussed in various forums for many years. Once optical fiber optic bandwidth peaks, you have to move to ultraviolet for greater channel capacity.
Or you add a new cable. Not hard. Nothing I have ever read has suggested that "scarcity," as that term is normally used in reference to a resource, applies in any meaningful way to cable. I believe that Perry's prediction is closer to the truth than yours. --Mike