The State of Broadband Infrastructure in the US

Illinois Public Media

Christian Sandvig spoke today about the state of Internet infrastructure in the U.S. on Focus 580 with David Inge, a one hour radio call-in show on the NPR affiliate in Champaign-Urbana, Illinois.

The hour's call-in topic will be: Communication and Information Technology Infrastructure

Topics discussed:

• What do we mean by "broadband"?
• What kinds of "divides" are important when we think about Internet use? (income, race, rural/urban ...)
• About The RED Project -- a survey of Wi-Fi use.
• Is wireless Internet the future?
• Congestion in unlicensed wireless.
• Is decentralized wireless predictable or not?
• What's the difference between 3G and Wi-Fi?
• How does broadband policy in the US differ from other countries (esp. Europe)?
• What are the prospects for rural vs. urban communication infrastructure?
• Is rural infrastructure really more expensive? Does the government have to be involved?
• Is it reasonable to use the law to mandate that all buildings be broadband-ready?
• Are some broadband providers more reliable (or faster) than others?
• Why do people adopt broadband?
• How can local people get involved in broadband infrastructure in this area?
• Should broadband be a national issue or a local one?

Listen to the show:

RealAudio Archive
or download the mp3 file

See also:
    Sandvig Appointed Berkman Fellow at Harvard (previous)
    Sandvig to Present at ICA (next)