Page 33 - PCCAJournal3rdQuarter2011

PCCA Journal|3 rd Quarter 2011 33

Google Exec Says Regulatory Reform Will Drive More Broadband Deployments G

oogle believes that if the U.S. and other coun-tries want broadband rollouts to flourish, their respective governments will have to adopt a regulatory regime that encourages growth. Speaking at the Broadband World Forum in September, Kevin Lo, the general manager overseeing Google’s Fiber projects, said that “regulation can get in the way of innovation,” and that “when they are tied to physical infrastructure sometimes defer the investment altogether.” To overcome these obstacles, Lo thinks regulators should overhaul three fundamental elements that he says can be roadblocks for service providers trying to build out new broadband networks: ease access to public rights-of-way where fiber-optic cables can be laid, ease access to utility

poles, and enable special service districts to free sections of municipalities from zoning restrictions.

One of the other obvious aspects he touted during his speech was that application developers, consumers, and businesses want a broadband network that provides plenty of speed. While cable operators and telcos have made progress in upping their speeds, Google believes no one is moving fast enough. “We have product managers who are very frustrated,” he said. “They have apps that don’t work because they don’t have the speeds.”

For its part, Google’s Fiber Project will provide 1 Gbps speeds beginning in Kansas City, Mo., and Kansas City, Kans., in addition to a pilot fiber-to-the-home network run by Sonic.net on the Stanford University campus in California.

tion access networks and software. This underlines the need for telcos to find a role and further revenues from new service lines.”

According to the report, entertainment (TV, gaming, and music) represents a significant opportunity for telcos to drive revenue growth, particularly in the form

of on-demand content. “The way that telcos approach this vertical will evolve rapidly as they learn to exploit partner-ships with popular brands more effec-

1VMMJOH (SJQT

%JSFDUJPOBM %SJMMJOH 4XJWFMT

1VMMJOH &ZFT %SJMM )FBE #BUUFSZ 1BDLT

WWW.FS3INC.BIZ

). 34/#+ &/2 )--%$)!4% 3()0-%.4

.!4)/. 7)$%

UI 4USFFU /8 "OOBOEBMF ./ 1) '"9

$IRECTIONAL $RILLING !$ PDF !-

News Briefs continued on page 34