Prior to establishing Spy I had worked for New Jersey
Senator Bill Bradley on his 1984 re-election campaign before studying
Law at the London School of Economics. I began working in electronic
publishing in the US when I got a summer job working on a small newsletter
in Georgetown, Washington DC. I had gone there to intern on Capitol
Hill. That's the way careers go I guess.
The piece reviews recent think tank and other reports on broadband, and concludes that they have a good handle on the issue, though they may be compromised by their lack of intimacy with the IT industry and the leading edge of research and development. It critiques the assumption that the PC-based Web browser should be the locus of delivery for information, communication and services, the misconception that broadband is all about speed and cost, and the fetish for greater bandwidth tomorrow, while pointing out the benefits of always on, the possibilities of asynchronous delivery, and the need for information appliances. The absence of models of broadband adoption is noted, and the lack of leadership in the development of 'content' challenged. It notes the lack of strategic government involvement in the development of broadband, except as a quick fix solution to problems, and suggests that there may be a Minitel-style approach to promoting it in the home and beyond.
If you have reactions to the piece please post them in the Comment section at the end of the article.
