Doesn’t Apply to Lafayette

Here’s a fellow who doesn’t think that TV is going to be replaced by DV (Downloadable Video) any time soon. He has a point–for anyone who’s relying on the Cable or Phone companies for their broadband.

He is worried about how far short the stated plans of the incumbents fall of the capacity that widespread DV will require. Says he:

I tried to address the expectation that the telcos are rapidly rushing in to meet this need and to provide competition for cable incumbents. In fact, by their own best estimates, they’ll be able to reach no more than 40% or so of American households with fiber over the next seven years.

And most of that will be in the form of hybrid fiber/legacy copper networks, such as that being constructed by AT&T under the banner of “Project Lightspeed…”

More importantly, in 60% of the country, there are simply no new networks on the horizon, and the existing infrastructure from the telcos — DSL running at speeds of just 1.5Mbs or so — simply won’t be adequate to be considered “broadband” in five years or so.

There are ways around this, and the comments do a good job of pointing out what they are.

But it’s pleasant to realize that this, at least, is not something we have to fret over in Lafayette.