XplanaZine

In one of the most hotly contested decisions since the 1996 deregulation of the telecom industry, the FCC ruled yesterday that the established big-hitters of the telecom industry (Baby Bells–Verizon Communications, BellSouth, SBC Communications and Qwest Communications International) do not have to give their competitors both access and discounted rates for broadband facilities such as fiber-optic networks that they might build in the future. In addition, the Bells will no longer be required to lease high-frequency portions of their copper lines to DSL providers under so-called line-sharing arrangements, a measure that could boost costs for companies that currently rely on such deals.
The decision will impact the broadband market in different ways.

• DSL: Elimination of line sharing will likely make service from small companies such as Covad more expensive or impractical. Could increase DSL prices.
• Cable: No direct effects. If DSL becomes more expensive, cable companies could have room to raise their prices.
• Next-generation broadband: Eliminating local phone companies’ requirement to share future networks could prompt faster deployment of fiber-to-the-home connections, along with fiber-based technologies that help bring DSL to rural and suburban areas. Lack of competition on these advanced networks could keep prices high, however.

It is hard to tell what the exact impact of this decision will be on schools in general, but my guess is that in the near future prices for broadband access will go up for the average user. This is likely to increase the digital divide between those who can afford it and those who can’t. On the other hand, for people who can afford broadband access, the fact that the Bells and others can now make a bigger profit on high-powered services means that we will see next-generation features much sooner that I had originally thought. Why? Because there’s money in them there hills. Or at least that’s what everyone believes.
On the telephone front, high-speed wireless networks are still problematic. We have growing infrastructures and some really cool new 3G phones (example). but we are still in search of the utilities that make the high speed worthwhile. Multimedia messaging and on-the-fly photos are probably not the answer.
What should these utilities be? I’m not sure. But it reminds me of what a friend of mine from Motorola once told me. Hardware keeps getting cheaper because it doesn’t require intense creativity, just a lot of refining and attention to detail. Software (read apps and utilities) demand artistry and genius. When it happens it happens. And, likely that’s just how it will be with the killer apps that finally surface for 3G (and beyond) networks.