Comments on article found at: blogs.wsj.com/digits/2010/02/23/nearly-20-of-us-is-%e2%80%9cdigitally-uncomfortable%e2%80%9d-or-digitally-distant-fcc-says/
I am not quite sure what to do with the FCC’s report.
The information that has been leaked out is interesting. I am not quite sure what to do with the data. The fact is pretty much everyone in the telecom industry knew that less than 40% of the population was not using high speed Internet at home. Know how I know that? Just buy any one of the hundreds of paid surveys done by the industry’s top 20 telecom strategy consulting firms for the last 10 years. According to the FCC this all amounts to 4% of American households not having access to broadband telecom services.
None of what the FCC has revealed is a surprise. The real issue is what decisions will the FCC make or what recommendations will the FCC make?
According to the FCC, the Digitally Uncomfortable makes up 7% of the population, have money but for whatever the reasons do not use the Internet. What is the FCC going to do order them to use it?
The Digitally Distant makes up 10% of the population and includes a high proportion of Americans 63 and older. According to the FCC, half of the Digitally Distant are retired and say they do not subscribe because they either do not know how to use a PC or don’t see the point of the Internet. How do you make them use the Internet?
The Near Converts are mostly dial-up users who balk at paying $0 per month for broadband access. This group accounts for 10% of the population. Sounds like this group wants it for free or very cheap. What price point will the FCC set? Goodness, I hope the FCC does not get into price fixing.
The Digital Hopefuls are Americans who would like to subscribe but do not have the money for high-speed service. According to the FCC, the Digital Hopefuls make up about 8% of the population. The FCC also says “The group is heavily Hispanic (26%), particularly non-English speaking Hispanics, or African-American (20%).” Finally, the FCC says “Some Digital Hopefuls have PCs but others are digitally illiterate”.
Okay. All good information. Now how does a carrier design to this? How does the FCC encourage existing carriers and new carriers to spend billions to cover the last 4% of American households while continuing network-wide enhancements for the rest of the country?
I certainly understand the moral imperative to help lift your citizenry but at what cost? Does anyone have a plan? Will network sharing be a solution to manage costs? Will network neutrality be the solution?
I will wait for the FCC’s report before I form an opinion.