USC SLAMS FCC BROADBAND PLAN

A new study by the University of Southern California's Center for Telecommunications Management suggests that the FCC's plan to spur competition in the broadband consumer market may be tougher to implement than expected.

According to the CTM's latest Telecommunication Outlook Report, which surveys senior executives and authorities, prices are simply too high for most households. "Our research suggests consumers will not pay more than $25 per month for high-speed access," says Elizabeth Fife, PhD., a senior researcher with CTM. "That helps to explain why less than 5% of U.S. households currently have high-speed access."

In addition to high prices, the study says lack of availability is another main reason U.S. households have been slow to adopt broadband services. The FCC proposed yesterday to lower regulatory costs in order to lower pricing and speed deployment of services to the public, but according to the CTM study, 60% of those surveyed think performance limitations on existing networks and the cost of building new infrastructure also stand in the way of mass public adoption.

"Content that provides a sense of community will drive increased Internet usage," says Morley Winograd, CTM Director. "If TOR experts are correct in that high-quality video, online movies, music and games will drive broadband usage, this will bring capacity and performance issues to the forefront."

Is that why it's taken so long to download the latest episode of Hamsters, Hamsters, Hamsters!!! from www.smallfurrymammals.com?