Your Guide to Broadband and Telecom in Ohio

Transcription

1 Broadband Cheat Sheet Your Guide to Broadband and Telecom in Ohio About Technology for Ohio s Tomorrow Technology for Ohio s Tomorrow is a non-profit organization comprised of individual consumers, organizations and businesses interested in technology, broadband, and telecommunications issues. Our mission is to advocate for public policies that inspire and encourage innovation in technology while informing and educating technology consumers about legislative and regulatory issues that impact their lives. Technology for Ohio s Tomorrow strives to foster an environment that embraces high-tech jobs, investment, and emerging technologies to better prepare us for Ohio s tomorrow. Did You Know Ohio Is Lagging Behind? TechNet s 2012 State Broadband Index rated all 50 states on indicators of broadband adoption, network quality, and economic structure. Ohio ranked #39. 1

2 Top 10 Stats to Know about Broadband 1. Between 15,000 and 30,000 Ohio jobs are created or supported per year due to broadband investments Every $1 million investment in broadband creates or supports between 18 and 50 jobs Ohio Telecommunications Association members invest $1 billion annually in the telecom network constantly making upgrades to carry this increased data Even through this recent recession, investment in broadband created 1.6 million new jobs Today, IT investment accounts for a record 47.3% of all U.S. nonstructural capital investment The number of devices connected to IP networks will be nearly three times as high as the global population in On the business side, two out of every three businesses in Ohio have adopted broadband. One in five companies in Ohio earn revenue online % of Ohioans have a wireless phone, but there is a growing segment with two or more wireless phones, e.g. personal and business. As a result, there are an estimated 11.8 million wireless phones in use in Ohio, equating to 102% of the population % of homes in Ohio are wireless-only and no longer have a landline phone There are an estimated 10.4 million wireless customers in Ohio, served by 11 wireless carriers Horrigan, John B., Ph.D., and Ellen Satterwhite State of Broadband Index. TechNet, December Kleinhenz, Jack. Incentive to Invest in Ohio Broadband & The Carrier of Last Resort Obligation. Midwest Consumers for Choice and Competition, April p Ibid. 4 Ohio Telecom Association. Telecom Competition in Ohio. June 2013, p Ibid. 6 Kleinhenz, p Cisco Visual Networking Index: Forecast and Methodology, Cisco Blog. Cisco, 29 May Kleinhenz, p Ohio Telecom Association, p Ibid, p Ibid, p Kleinhenz, p Ohio Telecom Association, p CSMG Global, mhealth: Taking the Pulse. March Blumberg, Stephen J., Ph.D., and Julian V. Luke. Wireless Substitution: Early Release of Estimates From the National Health Interview Survey. January June Division of Health Interview Statistics, National Center for Health Statistics, 21 December Madden, Mary, and Kathryn Zickuhr. Older Adults and Internet Use. Pew Internet & American Life Project. Pew Research Center, 6 June Gottheimer, Josh, and Jordan Usdan. FCC and Connect To Compete Tackle Broadband Adoption Challenge. FCC Blog. FCC, 13 October *Technology for Ohio s Tomorrow is a project of Mobile Consumers for Choice and Competition

3 IN THE PAST COMMUNICATIONS INFRASTRUCTURE SUPPORTED VOICE ONLY Voice DSL Copper ILEC Circuit Switched Network Plain Old Telephone Service (POTS) voice-only telephone service from the 19th Century that runs through legacy copper network. THEN EVERYTHING CHANGED WITH IP NETWORKS WHICH COULD SEND DATA AND FILES AT HIGH SPEEDS Phone Network Transition describes the communications infrastructure improvement from voice only to a data transfer network using various technologies including wired, mobile broadband, cable, VoIP, social media platforms, and life-changing applications. Examples of Wireline IP Structures Verizon s FiOS n Node in homes AT&T s U-verse Copper n Node Cable s Co-Axial Co-Ax Verizon Broadband Packet Switched Network AT&T Broadband Packet Switched Network Cable Broadband Packet Switched Network Private Investment to Build Demanded Infrastructure Yields: New Jobs. 15,000 30,000 Ohio jobs created or supported per year due to broadband investment. 12 Economic Growth. Ohio companies invest more than $1 billion annually. 13 Continued Innovation. Broadband plays a major role in advancing healthcare, bridging the Digital Divide in low-income areas, and providing life-changing applications that give seniors a chance to live more independent lives. CONSUMERS CONTINUE TO DEMAND HIGHER SPEEDS, FORCING A PHONE NETWORK TRANSITION OR MOBILE REVOLUTION

4 TODAY OUR EVER-EVOLVING HIGH-SPEED BROADBAND INFRASTRUCTURE POWERS OUR PHONES, COMPUTERS, AND TABLETS Broadband Internet Access that Refers to High-Speed Internet (At least 4 MBits/s downstream) Wireless Broadband that does not require a physical connection to connect to High-Speed Internet Wireline Broadband that requires a physical connection to connect to High-Speed Internet Mobile Broadband Connects to cell tower on licensed spectrum (each carrier has finite amount) Wifi Utilizes unlicensed spectrum (Router connects to existing high-speed connection) Uses fiber-optic cables made of glass fibers inside an insulated casing Cable Uses co-axial cable television infrastructure Licensed Spectrum Backhaul 3G 4G Cell Phone 3rd or 4th generation cellular data network/wifi Router Modem Cell Phone Tower Network 4G Tablet 4th generation cellular data network/wifi Laptop Desktop VOIP Telephone Wireless Home Telephone Uses Cellular Technology Spectrum Invisible airwaves controlled by the government that carry voice and data signals to and from electronic devices including smartphones, tablets, and other mobile gadgets, as well as television and radio. Demand for more data increases, while spectrum (a finite resource) remains the same, potentially causing a spectrum crunch in the near future. Spectrum is only used with wireless broadband.

5 OUR FUTURE: An All IP World NEW NETWORK CAPABILITIES WILL YIELD CONSUMER BENEFITS Healthcare: Broadband plays a key role in advancing Telehealth that helps Americans remotely monitor their health while reducing medical costs. $21.1B year In the near future, Telehealth is expected to save patients Low Income: Low-income families are cutting their POTS service and choosing wireless devices. Access to broadband with a smartphone is a more affordable option than the cost of a personal computer. 46.8% of adults living in poverty and 38% of those living near poverty are living in wireless-only households % in poverty 38% near poverty Seniors: Broadband technology provides life-changing applications that allow seniors to lead more independent lives. As of April 2012, 53% of Americans 65+ use the Internet or 70% of whom use the Internet on a typical day and 34% of whom are involved in social networks. 16 Education: It is increasingly important to invest in our students by providing them with the proper tools and technologies to bolster academic achievement. Students with broadband at home have a 6 8% higher graduation rate. 17 The Bottom Line is: CONSUMERS ARE DRIVING A MOBILE REVOLUTION COMPETITION AND DEMAND ARE YIELDING NEW PRODUCTS AND SERVICES COMPANIES ARE INVESTING TO IMPROVE THEIR NETWORKS TO KEEP UP WITH THE DEMAND THE REGULATORY STRUCTURE MUST ALLOW FOR GROWTH TO CONTINUE THUS, DOLLARS SPENT ON MAINTAINING CURRENT POTS LINES ARE WASTED WHEN THEY COULD BE SPENT UPGRADING TO THE NETWORKS OF THE FUTURE

6 Terminology 101 3G The third generation of cellular data networks that allow cell phones to send and receive data at speeds comparable to cable or DSL. 4G/LTE The fourth generation of cellular wireless standards that provides ultra-broadband Internet access; LTE stands for Long Term Evolution The latest generation of mobile broadband, often called 4G LTE. Speeds are up to 10x as fast as 3G. Bandwidth A way of measuring the speed of data transmission. Bandwidth is measured in bits per second (bps). Broadband High-speed Internet or Internet that is much faster than traditional dial-up Internet. It can be wired through the use of a computer or wireless on a smartphone or through the use of Wi-Fi. A good way to think about broadband vs. dial-up Internet is by picturing two pipes: one thin, one fat. The fat pipe (broadband) is much more efficient because more water (data) can travel through the pipe at greater speeds; the thin pipe (dial-up) still carries water (data), but at smaller volumes/speed. Byte A measurement of computer storage space. There are 1024 bytes in one kilobyte (1KB), 1024 KB in a megabyte (MB) and 1024 MB in a gigabyte (GB). Cable Internet accessed through fiber-optic cable connections. Circuit Switched Network Used in a TDM or copper network; when a call is made from one telephone to another, switches within the telephone exchanges create a continuous wire circuit between the two telephones, for as long as the call lasts. Circuit switching contrasts with packet switching which transmits data through packets across the network independently. -Optic A major building block of telecom infrastructure with high bandwidth capabilities and low attenuation characteristics transmit data overlong distances at high speeds. ILEC (incumbent local exchange carrier) A telephone company in the U.S. that was providing local service when the Telecommunications Act of 1996 was enacted. ILECs include the former Bell operating companies. ILECs are in contradistinction to CLEC (competitive local exchange carriers). Internet Service Provider (ISP) A company that provides users with access to the Internet. Network The physical infrastructure (such as cell towers, telephone lines, etc.) and airwaves (spectrum) that carry voice and data communications. Spectrum The invisible airwaves that carry radio signals, television broadcasts, telephone calls, and mobile Internet. Spectrum is limited and comes at a cost to providers. VoIP or Voice over Internet Protocol A technology which allows the user to make calls through a broadband Internet connection. For example, all calls made through Skype and Vonage use VoIP. Wi-Fi A type of broadband that doesn t require a physical connection and allows electronic devices (including computers, tablets, and smartphones) to connect to a high-speed Internet connection.