America Must Focus More On Enabling Reliable Broadband

[Commentary] An interesting study by BroadbandChoices that suggested consumers care more about broadband reliability than speed.

While our national broadband plan does touch on the issue of broadband reliability, suggesting it's a topic worth researching further and one that's essential for applications like public safety and smart grid, it's pretty much silent on the issue of whether or not America's broadband infrastructure is currently reliable enough.

1) A fundamental truth of broadband reliability is that shared networks are less reliable than dedicated, and lower capacity networks are less reliable than higher capacity ones. Put into practical terms, that means that DSL networks tend to be more reliable than cable or wireless networks as each customer essentially has their own pipe vs. sharing with all their neighbors. That also means that fiber's more reliable than any of these other networks as it has by far the most capacity.

2) Broadband reliability also includes issues related to the physical characteristics of networks. For example, DSL reliability is limited by distance, so if you're too far from the central office your connection won't work as well as if you're closer. Also, networks with active components in the field are less reliable than those with passive. Since copper networks require electronics throughout they're less reliable than passive fiber networks.

3) Broadband reliability encompasses the nexus of technical and business decisions made in connecting your local network out onto the Internet at large. So if your community doesn't have a big backhaul pipe to the Internet, or your provider decides to over-provision that backhaul connection to the extreme to try and drive greater profits your network will be less reliable.

What's so frustrating is that while our national broadband plan isn't completely silent about these issues, it also doesn't really address them head on within the context of insuring Americans have access to reliable broadband networks. Instead it almost seems to assume that broadband networks are and will continue to be reliable.