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Bandwidth Bottleneck |
 This
chart from the January 2013 edition of IEEE's Spectrum magazine illustrates
the devolution of Internet data rate speeds in the U.S. over the last
decade and a half. Speeds increased nearly logarithmically
(linearly on a log scale) beginning around
1992, then by 2001-2002 started falling below the straight line. We
should be at around 10 Tbps rather than the 100 Mbps where
we are today - a factor of 100. Demand for data bandwidth has far outpaced
the ability to provide it. Don't expect big improvements anytime soon.
A lot of money that could go into research and implementation is redirected
for providing mandated free phones, computers, and service both here
and in 'developing' countries - a hidden tax for people who pay their
own bills. The story incorrectly says the trend began with the '2001'
tech bubble burst, but the bubble actually burst in the spring of
2000 when NASDAQ and the DOW fell hard six months ahead of the fall
election. The September 11, 2001 terrorist attack was the knife in the
back for any near term infrastructure improvement as priorities shifted
elsewhere. We are expected to forget that.
Posted January 2013
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