On the eve of broadband lines reaching the half billion milestone, Robin Mersh says broadband is at the heart of progress

Robin Mersh: Broadband is the global leveller, central to human interaction
 
 
In an effort to explain the explosion of innovation in recent human history Matt Ridley, the writer on evolution and genetics, argues that there is more to human progress than new tools, the development of language or individual geniuses.
“...What determines the inventiveness and rate of cultural change of a population is the amount of interaction between individuals…Once human progress started, it was no longer limited by the size of human brains. Intelligence became collective and cumulative.” And, “Given that progress is inexorable, cumulative and collective if human beings exchange and specialise, then globalisation and the internet are bound to ensure furious economic progress in the coming century...” Matt Ridley. (Wall Street Journal, May 22, 2010)
Broadband is central to human interaction and consequently progress in the twenty-first century. Broadband follows the other great milestones of progress: writing, roads, printing, railroads, the car, flight, telephony and the internet – communication advances are paradigm shifts for humanity.
Within just a few short weeks, the world will see broadband penetration go past a historic landmark – half a billion lines. This broadband growth phenomenon, which even the worst world recession in thirty years could not check, not only continues, but now is being fuelled with governmental stimulus as countries seek to avoid becoming digitally excluded. This activity can be seen in every region today, for example, in Singapore:
“….a competitive retail broadband services market will open doors to new advancements such as interactive Internet Protocol TV, telemedicine, interactive e-learning, multi-user real-time simulation games etc……The Infocomm Development Authority (IDA) is ...supporting the establishment of Next Generation Innovation Centres (NGIC) to facilitate collaboration by the various infocomm players to create innovative solutions. Service and technology providers can use Singapore as a test bed for new products, services and business models to bring them into international markets.” (Infocomm Investments, June 15, 2010).
Broadband adoption is now seen around the world as a vital component of both economic recovery and future prosperity. For example, historically, major business corporations and other organisations considering investing in the country would look at infrastructure such as transportation, electricity supply and stability of government. Now, broadband comes firmly into the equation.
Last year broadband continued its impressive growth, adding 58 million new subscribers. It was the moment when it became apparent that broadband was no longer a luxury – no longer a nice to have for homes and businesses – but a necessity, a must have – and that was very significant. At a time when businesses were looking to cut costs and often headcount, cutting broadband was never an option. It was the same story in the home, where we saw time and again that people were determined to maintain their broadband connection or add broadband to stay connected to vital information - job opportunities, education and a variety of services and products that might not be available locally.
Governments have been very vocal before about the importance of broadband but now we are seeing them take a real stake in stimulating broadband growth in their countries. With global stimulus in mind, last month the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) and the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) announced the establishment of a top level Broadband Commission for Digital Development. Its aim is to define strategies to accelerate broadband rollout worldwide and as part of the process to develop new applications for broadband to improve the delivery of an enormous range of social services, from healthcare to education, environmental management, safety and much more.
I am enormously encouraged by this initiative on several counts. Firstly, the Commission contains some leading figures and is backed by UN secretary-general Ban Ki Moon, while the secretary-general of the ITU, Dr Hamadoun Toure, and the director-general of UNESCO, Ms Irina Bokova, are personally committed as vice-chairs – giving their own time to the project.
But also this is a commission with a deadline. This Commission has to report its findings to the UN Secretary General by September this year – just a few weeks away. This is not just another talking shop, it is a commission with a very specific mission.
It is this urgency and this realisation of what broadband can achieve that is so encouraging, particularly for me as the COO of the Broadband Forum – an organisation which was created to develop the full potential of broadband and provides today more than 140 technical specifications and white papers, aimed at providing standard approaches and best practices for broadband deployment and management excellence. The Forum has helped take broadband from a promising technology innovation into a mass-market necessity, and now continues developing the tools for quality delivery of new and valuable applications and services.
We are not alone in our work. You only need to look around the world today to see the enormous number of initiatives underway and appreciate that broadband really is a phenomenon. Frequently talked about as part of an economic growth strategy, governments recognise its power and want to ensure their country is part of next generation access.
In the US, an enormous $7.2 billion broadband stimulus package is being rolled out, and we are already seeing contracts being placed where rural areas will be transformed from the most basic of connectivity to truly world-class multimedia capability. The Broadband Forum was pleased to be invited to provide input to the US National Broadband Plan, which was developed by the FCC (Federal Communications Commission), the US government agency regulating communications.
Commenting on the latest announcement of government funding for broadband in the US, President Obama said: “…the long-term economic gains to communities that have been left behind in a digital age will be immeasurable....Broadband can remove geographic barriers between patients and their doctors," Obama said. "It can connect our kids to the digital skills the 21st-century education requires for the jobs of the future.” (USA Today, July 2, 2010)
Australia’s nationwide rollout has also been newsworthy due to the challenges presented for a country largely populated around the edges of its vast continent. There are major government initiatives or investments taking place across Asia, in places like China, Singapore, Korea and Japan. The European Commission in Europe, along with the regulators and governments of the member states – such as Ofcom in the UK, are heavily involved in making sure Europe makes the most of developing for the future.
Finland has gone further than anyone in recognising the key role of broadband in society by actually mandating a broadband connection to every permanent residence and office in the country. "From now on a reasonably priced broadband connection will be everyone's basic right in Finland," said Finnish communications minister Suvi Linden. (CNN, July 1, 2010)
These governments generally are looking to stimulate growth and provide for their people as the world comes out of recession. Broadband provision can allow them to do both. The added bonus for developing countries is that broadband is a great leveller. Wherever you are in the world, broadband can make a massive difference and is already a factor helping to globalise the economy. The governments that have embraced this realise that if they do not develop a next generation network, others will surge ahead and they just cannot afford to get left behind.
It is this type of top level involvement and recognition around the world that makes me feel strongly that the triple play of an innovative broadband industry, government support and global broadband standards, together supporting quality broadband convergence will get us quickly to that next milestone of 1 billion broadband customers.
So why are standards in broadband so vital? You only have to look at the membership of the Broadband Forum, made up of leading companies listed in places like the FTSE100 and Dow Jones, to see how the best in the industry are investing in standards - recognising how key this work is to swift and economical expansion of broadband networks. Addressing issues such as scalability and speed, the introduction of new technology and increasing convergence, this global body of expertise provides the critical toolkit for new operators to ramp up quickly as well as established markets to strengthen and broaden their service offerings and extend their reach to outlying areas. Broadband standards give the industry a strong basis to innovate from, driving down costs and developing new revenue opportunities.
It is my firm belief that, as broadband moves forward, the dynamics of work and all that goes with it will radically change. Though much of our work focuses on empowering today's Connected Home, new work is launching around business broadband needs, such as support of teleworking, enhancing femtocell management, and office support of IP PBXs and cloud computing. We are also seeing major innovation in fields such as education and telemedicine.
The Broadband Commission is looking at these areas and the potential, particularly for rural areas and developing countries, is quite honestly limitless. With standards-based business broadband taking root, we will experience benefits in terms of less travel and faster access/sharing of powerful and critical information, and the world will feel the positive environmental spin-offs that broadband brings.
The industry needs to keep the innovation momentum going – improving speeds, enhancing the quality of experience, delivering new services and reducing costs, and the Broadband Forum is committed to playing its part. GTB
Robin Mersh is chief operating officer of the Broadband Forum