Originally Posted by
gfunkdave
Yeah, I'm still not sure I buy the "everyone needs gigabit" argument. I would ordinarily be first in line for the fastest speed available but 100/10 has proven to be just fine 98% of the time. If anything I would just rather have faster upload speeds. We actually get around 15Mbps up, and I'd like to see at least 50. Our download is perfectly fine for multiple 4K streams and whatever we're doing on the phone/tablet/computer.
The FCC's official definition of broadband is still 25/3 as far as I know, which is laughably not enough.
The thing with telecom infrastructure is that, mile for mile, it's one of the cheapest kinds of infrastructure. Roads are 15x more expensive per mile, for example. We just don't have the political will to do anything about it. Cable companies usually won't build out in areas with fewer than 20ish premises per mile. The only reason the phone company provides universal service is because they are required to.
About 20 years ago when I upgraded from dial-up to cable, it was a game changing experience for me. At the time, no one could have imagined the apps that would take advantage of the speed and bandwidth that's available today. Same thing with the transition from 2G to 4G LTE. Who knows what developers would come out with if everyone have access to a gigabit connection? Other advanced economies are moving forward so they're probably on to something.