Digital Agenda: Broadband
Broadband: Breaking the digital gridlock
July 29, 2004, 4:00 AM PT
This is the second of a special News.com series that will attempt to set a realistic agenda on important issues involving technology, its business and relevant policies.
High-speed Internet access is rapidly evolving from a Web-surfing luxury into an everyday necessity. But the development of broadband remains stunted by market uncertainty and mind-numbing bureaucracy.
This special series identifies the crucial elements of any policy agenda aimed at building a national broadband network. In its examination of the issue's many complexities, the report includes a CNET News.com-Harris Interactive Poll of about 1,000 Internet users nationwide.
- 1996
- Congress passes Telecommunications Act
- Telcos complain to Feds about VoIP
- Bell companies start DSL trials
- @Home, Road Runner launch cable modem services
- 1997
- US West debuts commercial DSL service in Phoenix
- Microsoft invests $1 billion in Comcast
- @Home goes public
- Covad launches $90 DSL in San Francisco
- 1998
- AT&T buys TCI for $48 billion
- Oregon regulators tell @Home to share lines with other ISPs
- Bells tell FCC they shouldn't have to share DSL lines. ISPs disagree
- 1999
- @Home merges with Excite in $6.7 billion deal
- Independent DSL providers, led by Covad, go public
- AT&T buys MediaOne cable company
- Judge rules that AT&T must share cable networks with ISPs
- SBC launches $6 billion DSL project
- Excite@Home tops 1 million subscribers
- Sprint, MCI buy "wireless cable" businesses
- 2000
- AOL buys Time Warner
- DSL providers drop prices to match cable
- Federal appeals court says AT&T doesn't have to share cable network with ISPs
- AT&T announces it will split apart
- Telecom downturn undercuts broadband providers
- 2001
- U.S. auctions spectrum for mobile broadband
- SBC begins fiber-to-the-home tests
- SBC buys Prodigy.
- Metricom's Ricochet wireless network folds
- Excite@Home goes bankrupt
- Comcast buys AT&T Broadband in $72 billion deal
- Covad declares bankruptcy, emerges intact
- 2002
- AOL's rocky transition to broadband undermines giant
- Broadband companies begin offering tiered price, speed plans
- FCC says cable companies don't have to share networks
- FCC approves low-orbit satellite broadband services
- Yahoo, SBC join forces on DSL
- Intel, AT&T, IBM form Cometa Wi-Fi coalition
- 2003
- FCC begins inquiry into broadband over power lines
- Broadband price war for consumer business
- FCC overhauls rules, says Bells won't have to share fiber networks
- Court rebuffs FCC, says cable might have to share networks
- Verizon unveils major fiber-optic investment plans
- VoIP businesses move into mainstream
- U.S. broadband subscribers number reach 28 million
- 2004
- Court rules states can block municipal broadband projects
- EarthLink offers wireless and power-line broadband access
- Cometa Wi-Fi coalition shuts down
- SBC announces $6 billion fiber broadband project
- Bush, Kerry make broadband a campaign issue
- IEEE approves WiMax standard
Editors: Mike Yamamoto, Karen Said Copy editors: Zoë Barton, Scott Martin, Yvonne Guzman, Natalie Weinstein, Jon Skillings Design: Andrew Lottmann, Ellen Ng Production: Andrew Lottmann, Mike Markovich
As an informational security practitioner, I view security as one of the primary challenges that will impede universal broadband access with or without government funding.
A primary example:
<a class="jive-link-external" href="http://searchsecurity.techtarget.com/originalContent/0,289142,sid14_gci995326,00.html?track=NL-102&ad=487574" target="_newWindow">http://searchsecurity.techtarget.com/originalContent/0,289142,sid14_gci995326,00.html?track=NL-102&ad=487574</a>
Wireless security is a big problem but protocols like the WPA suite and location based technology will solve a lot of these problems.
The big problem today is that we don't have good good security managment tools to assess risks in our networks and systems. There should a tool that visually shows a security profile for a individual. Ideally it would show access and setting to all devices to and systems anywhere in a companies network.
The other big problem is that Microsoft has failed to address architectual security problems in Windows (<a class="jive-link-external" href="http://news.com.com/2010-1071-831385.html" target="_newWindow">http://news.com.com/2010-1071-831385.html</a>).
So this means that administrators and security specialists are forced to spend the majority of their time addressing existing threats. This would give IS people sufficent time to research new security threats in their networks.