NNSquad - Network Neutrality Squad
[ NNSquad ] Verizon launches faster-than-wired wireless broadband for homes; starts at $60/mo
It's amusing how inane examples are still used to try put data usage
in "human" terms. Like below, where it says:
That's enough of a monthly data allotment to download the complete
works of Shakespeare 2,000 times, or to watch about 10 hours of
HD-quality video using an Internet streaming service such as
Netflix.
Wow! Must be a lot! Hmm. What does that mean to the average person?
Do most people really have a good handle offhand on what 2K copies of
Shakespeare represents vs. loading ordinary Web pages? And 10 hours
of video in a month means a whole ... 20 minutes per day. Yep, no
effort by the carriers to favor their own video services (that don't
apply against these caps) there! What a deal!
--Lauren--
Lauren Weinstein (lauren@vortex.com): http://www.vortex.com/lauren
Co-Founder: People For Internet Responsibility: http://www.pfir.org
Founder:
- Data Wisdom Explorers League: http://www.dwel.org
- Network Neutrality Squad: http://www.nnsquad.org
- Global Coalition for Transparent Internet Performance: http://www.gctip.org
- PRIVACY Forum: http://www.vortex.com
Member: ACM Committee on Computers and Public Policy
Lauren's Blog: http://lauren.vortex.com
Google+: http://vortex.com/g+lauren / Twitter: http://vortex.com/t-lauren
Tel: +1 (818) 225-2800 / Skype: vortex.com
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----- Forwarded message from Dave Farber <dave@farber.net> -----
Date: Tue, 6 Mar 2012 10:41:21 -0500
From: Dave Farber <dave@farber.net>
Subject: [IP] Verizon launches faster-than-wired wireless broadband for
homes; starts at $60/mo
Reply-To: dave@farber.net
To: ip <ip@listbox.com>
**
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*Verizon launches faster-than-wired wireless broadband for homes; starts at
$60/mo*****
*The Washington Post (Online)
Tue, 06 Mar 2012 05:51:45 GMT
446 words*****
NEW YORK — Verizon Wireless on Tuesday announced a version of its wireless
broadband service that’s designed for use in rural and remote homes that
can’t get DSL or cable. The service, called HomeFusion, could also appeal
to some households where DSL is the only fixed-line option, since it’s
faster than most DSL services.
HomeFusion could provide potent competition for satellite broadband
providers, which are often “providers of last resort” for rural homes.
The service requires the installation of a cylindrical antenna, about the
size of a 5-gallon bucket, on an outside wall. The hardware costs $200, but
the work is free.
Service starts at $60 per month for 10 gigabytes of data. That’s enough of
a monthly data allotment to download the complete works of Shakespeare
2,000 times, or to watch about 10 hours of HD-quality video using an
Internet streaming service such as Netflix.
Dallas, Nashville, Tenn., and Birmingham, Ala., will be the first areas to
get the service, later this month. By the end of the year, Verizon hopes to
provide it everywhere it has coverage with its new “LTE” wireless network.
Verizon cites the same speeds for HomeFusion as for LTE data sticks: 5 to
12 megabits per second for downloads, and 2 to 5 megabits for uploads.
However, LTE users frequently report much higher speeds, ranging up to 70
megabits per second for downloads.
By comparison, DSL service provided by Verizon Communications Inc., the
fixed-line phone company that owns most of Verizon Wireless, provides
download speeds up to 7 megabits per second in most areas.
Verizon’s DSL service doesn’t limit the data usage like HomeFusion does.
The average U.S. and Canadian household usage of 22.7 gigabytes in
September, as reported by Sandvine Inc.
However, a few heavy-using households skew the figure: the median usage was
just 5.8 gigabytes. In other words, half of all broadband households used
5.8 gigabytes or less, and would have some headroom with a 10-gigabyte plan.
The 10-gigabyte plan would limit Internet movie watching to a few hours per
month, and limit downloads of big software packages as well.
Verizon will sell step-up plans with 20 gigabytes of data for $90 per month
and 30 gigabytes for $120 per month. It charges $10 per gigabyte of overage
on any of the plans.
The $60 and $90 plans provide one-third more data per month than
corresponding plans sold by ViaSat Inc. for its Exede satellite broadband
service.
Wireless broadband for home use is not a new idea. Clearwire Corp. sells a
similar service, without an external antenna, but has limited rural
coverage. A number of smaller companies limit their service to one
community.****
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