Research carried out by the Yankee Group has found that the investment put forward to provide every home in the US with a broadband connection falls way short, with the $7.2 billion in broadband stimulus funding only providing a third of what is needed.
A number of scenarios have been looked into and vendor cooperation and funding far greater than is currently being seen will be required for even the most basic approach to extending broadband throughout the US to work according to a report that has been named “Ubiquitous US Broadband Will Cost At Least Triple the Current Stimulus Package.”
The US is currently placed in 15th position on the global broadband penetration list, and this is because at the moment the US has around 12 percent of its population, including those in some of its largest cities, without access to any kind of broadband service. In order to address the current broadband issue there are four different scenarios that have been looked at by the recent report and they are; the most expensive “Gold-Plated” all-fibre-to-the-home scenario, the more “pragmatic” middle of the road scenario, the “duct tape” leverage-what’s-in-place approach and the more likely “discount” ultra-cost-conscious scenario. Of all these scenarios none are really perfect but at least they all achieve the goal of providing at least a single broadband connection to every home in the country.
The author of the report and the principle analyst at Yankee Group, Vince Vittore advised “Achieving ubiquitous broadband in the U.S. will hasten economic recovery and put the nation back where it belongs in terms of technology leadership, but it will take a concerted effort on the part of all stakeholders. A minimum of $24 billion is required, and that’s only if networks are deployed in the most efficient manner and much of the middle-mile infrastructure already is in place. While the stimulus is a good start, it’s just that: a start.”
Source – Reuters