Smartgrids, telemedicine could drive broadband adoption

The advent of sensors that let systems talk to each other via the Internet--think smart-grid technologies, telemedicine programs, homeland security surveillance--will begin to fuel the demand for broadband services. So much so, in fact, that it could eclipse consumer demand in the future, said John Horrigan, Consumer Research Director of the FCC's National Broadband Plan. Before joining the FCC's broadband task force, Horrigan was associate director of research for the Pew Internet & American Life Project. He's responsible for directing most of the research about broadband adoption that has been cited over and over since the FCC began the process of developing a national plan. "Machine-to-machine will be increasingly important," Horrigan said yesterday at the Brookings Institution during a panel about broadband innovation and investment. "Today video is driving the demand" for consumers, he said. "In the future, it will be machine-to-machine that will have tremendous demands on the infrastructure."