Because every American
should have access
to broadband Internet.

The Internet Innovation Alliance is a broad-based coalition of business and non-profit organizations that aim to ensure every American, regardless of race, income or geography, has access to the critical tool that is broadband Internet. The IIA seeks to promote public policies that support equal opportunity for universal broadband availability and adoption so that everyone, everywhere can seize the benefits of the Internet - from education to health care, employment to community building, civic engagement and beyond.

The Podium

Blog posts tagged with 'Mobile'

Wednesday, March 24

Rebuilding Haiti

By Brad

The Washington Post reports on an innovative idea to help rebuild Haiti’s infrastructure following the country’s devastating earthquake in January:

John Stanton, founder of Voice Stream and former chief executive of T-Mobile USA, wants the Haitian government to forget about rebuilding its copper wire communications network. Instead, he thinks Haiti should go mobile.

“Necessity is the mother of invention,” Stanton said.

Stanton pitched the idea at the CTIA trade show in Las Vegas, and announced that his company Trilogy would be willing to contribute as much as $100 million to the effort.

Later in the Post article, a familiar name offers some insight:

Experts say any project to rebuild infrastructure in the nation should be open to competition. That would include laying down fiber for a stronger backbone to connect calls. Dozens of new cellphone towers would be raised to support traffic that will grow as Internet use takes off.

“It can be a fantastic opportunity, but all over the world there is also a push to have a mix of wireless and fixed-wire networks supporting broadband and communications,” said Bruce Mehlman, co-president of the Internet Innovation Alliance and former assistant secretary of commerce for technology policy. “And you must make sure that this doesn’t preclude any competition.”

Tuesday, February 02

Broadband Fact of the Week

By IIA

A single YouTube viewing consumes nearly 100 times as much cellular bandwidth as a voice call.

Holman Jenkins, “The Coming Mobile Meltdown,” Wall Street Journal. October 13, 2009.

More facts about broadband.

Thursday, September 03

A Lack of Spectrum

By Bruce

Spectrum is one of our country’s most vital natural resources — and right now, we’re running out of it.

With the popularity of mobile broadband rising, the major carriers are warning that unless more spectrum is freed up, they won’t be able to keep up with demand. And as Fierce Wireless reports, their carriers’ concerns have gotten the attention of the FCC.

Monday, August 03

Broadband Fact of the Week

By IIA

Close to 50% of “smart phones” now have Wi-Fi, in addition to fast access over mobile phone networks.

Swanson, Bret. “Bandwidth Boom: Measuring U.S. Communications Capacity from 2000 to 2008.” Entropy Economics, June 24, 2009.

Read the entire “Bandwidth Boom” study (PDF).

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