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Mar. 8, 2010

Overall, wireless broadband service providers in many of the major U.S. markets say that it will soon be possible to deliver 100 mbps Internet high-speed service without any problems.

Speeds such as 100 mbps are enough to download a music album in as little as 5 seconds, an hour-long TV show in about 30 seconds, and a high-definition movie in a little over seven minutes.

Of course the service will be sold at a premium and this should make the FCC's goal of getting 100 mbps service to 100 million homes by 2020 an achievable goal given the recent data.

Several weeks ago, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski said he is making the 100 mbps to 100 million homes goal a part of the National Broadband Plan that will be presented to Congress in April.

Verizon Wireless, which has deployed fiber optics directly to people's homes, doesn't offer 100 mbps service as of yet, but a company spokesman said such a service will be available soon.

For its part, Cox Communications said it will also have 100 mbps broadband service in 2010 as well in some markets, offered at a higher price, naturally.

However, the issue is not whether those higher speeds can be achieved nor is it whether wireless broadband Internet service providers can reach 100 million homes with the service by 2020.

Docsis version 3.0, which is the next generation of cable networking technology that allows wireless operators to bond digital channels together, can easily provide 100 mbps or even higher throughputs.

Most major cable companies in the U.S. are well on their way to upgrading to this technology very soon. At the same time, Verizon Wireless has already passed the 12.2 million homes target with its fiber service, which it claims can offer slightly over 400 mbps download speeds.

From a technical standpoint, 100 mbps is achievable today. Cablevision is already offering a 100 mbps service, and Comcast, which has been offering 100 mbps to business customers since September 2009 is about to launch 100 mbps service to U.S. consumers in several markets in the next few months.

The real issue is whether anyone needs those kinds of speeds, and how much they are willing to pay for it. "The technology is being deployed today to get to 100 mbps," said Mike Jude, program manager for Consumer Communication Services at Frost & Sullivan.

"So there is a high probability that when the need occurs, it will be available to most mobile subscribers. But like any other technology, early adopters will pay a large premium."

For now, Comcast won't even say how much its 100 mbps residential service will cost. The company has been offering the 100 mbps service as part of a pilot program to business customers in St. Paul, Minn. and Minneapolis since September 2009 for $369.95 a month.

Yes, $369.95 a month is expensive, and the service includes a suite of Microsoft services as well as Norton Antivirus software for 25 computers. But do all businesses need that software?

Cablevision is charging $100 a month for its 100 mbps service, which some might say is a bargain considering Verizon is charging as much as $145 a month for just a 50 mbps service. Other 50 mbps download services from cable operators are similarly expensive.

Comcast, Cox Communications and even Time Warner Cable all offer 50 mbps service for about $100 a month.

But of course, 100 mbps is a lot of Internet bandwidth and not everybody needs that much in the first place. Even though every major ISP on the market except AT&T today offers 50 mbps service in at least a portion of their networks, the majority of wireless consumers still opt for much slower speed services.

The average mobile consumer subscribes to a service that is between 3 mbps and 6 mbps-- that's all. In areas where much higher speed Internet wireless broadband is available, Frost & Sullivan's Jude said the most popular services offer download speeds of about 10 mbps and cost between $40 and $50 a month.

It's very likely that the price of the consumer service will be much less than this, said Cathy Avgiris, senior v.p. and GM of communications and data services for Comcast.

She wouldn't elaborate on how much less, but judging from the price of its 50 mbps service, mobile users shouldn't expect to pay less than $100 a month, which highlights an important question: what kind of consumers would subscribe to a 100 mbps service in the first place?

"More than eleven years ago, I remember wrestling with the idea of who would jump from a 1.5 mbps service to 3 mbps service. We've learned as we enable faster experiences online, consumers find applications to use the bandwidth. So the old saying build it and they will come still makes sense I guess," said Avgiris.

She also added that HD video will likely be one killer app that will seriously drive strong demand for a lot more wireless Internet bandwidth going forward.

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Source: Tech Blog.