[Air-l] Down to the Wire

[James Howison]

Andy,

On May 3, 2005, at 2:51 AM, Andy Williamson wrote:

> Interesting you should say that. I've just been writing up some 
> research for
> a client and that was one of the questions I had... However, as I dug 
> deeper
> it got more interesting...
>
> All the rhetoric shouts 'broadband good, dial up bad' but the punter, 
> it
> seems remains unconvinced. Certainly here in New Zealand we had very 
> high
> levels of Internet adoption with dial-up, which have now levelled off
> somewhere around the average post-industrial level (who knows what it 
> really
> is as every shiny marketer and politician gives you a different number 
> and
> none are plausible).
>
> However, our broadband uptake is very low - somewhere between about 7 
> and
> 10%. Research is indicating that the reason for this is not cost (it 
> costs
> double but doesn't tie up a phone line, so it's the same cost of 
> dialup plus
> a second line) or access (about 95% of NZ population has broadband 
> access if
> you include satellite options).

Is broadband 'metered' in NZ?  One would expect that to be a clear 
reason for slow uptake of broadband, where the drivers are music, 
movies and games.  Or if those aren't drivers, per se, they are 
certainly the majority of use.

In any case the research is clear, people dislike metered services, 
perhaps it is a cognitive boundedness thing, we like to make a decision 
once rather than as we try to work/play. eg 
http://www.dtc.umn.edu/~odlyzko/doc/pricing.architecture.pdf

If you pay per the liter for water, do you really want a big 
hose---unless there is a fire?

> No, the 'problem' is us - the stupid user - we simply don't see 
> sufficient
> value in having a broadband connection. It must be the warm summer 
> we've had
> but the Emperor is parading around unclad. And nothing the ISPs and 
> TelCo's
> can do - even down to free install and free adsl modem - is changing 
> our
> minds. The uptake remains very slow.
>
> Are we competetively disadvantaged by this. According to NZ Trade and
> Enterprise (the govt department leading the ideological charge for all
> things ICT or biotech), yes. According to our current trade 
> statistics...
> Er.... No.

The computer game industry in Korea is huge, and it seems reasonable to 
say that without such an effective broadband roll-out it wouldn't be.  
Do the NZ trade statistics count the growing market in virtual goods ;)

--J

> Andy
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: air-l-aoir.org-bounces at listserv.aoir.org
> [mailto:air-l-aoir.org-bounces at listserv.aoir.org] On Behalf Of Ellis 
> Godard
> Sent: Tuesday, 3 May 2005 18:37
> To: air-l at listserv.aoir.org
> Cc: 'Digital Divide Network'; 'AOIR'
> Subject: RE: [Air-l] Down to the Wire
>
> Eh... Is there good data (heck, *any* data) that broadband increases 
> growth,
> productivity, or quality of life?
>
> -eg
>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: air-l-aoir.org-bounces at listserv.aoir.org
>> [mailto:air-l-aoir.org-bounces at listserv.aoir.org] On Behalf Of Miraj
>> Khaled
>> Sent: Monday, May 02, 2005 10:55 PM
>> To: techiemik at yahoo.com
>> Cc: Digital Divide Network; AOIR
>> Subject: [Air-l] Down to the Wire
>>
>>
>> Down to the Wire
>> http://www.foreignaffairs.org/20050501faessay84311/thomas-bleh
> a/down-to-the-wire.html
>
> Summary: Once a leader in Internet innovation, the
> United States has fallen far behind Japan and other
> Asian states in deploying broadband and the latest
> mobile-phone technology. This lag will cost it dearly.
> By outdoing the United States, Japan and its neighbors
> are positioning themselves to be the first states to
> reap the benefits of the broadband era: economic
> growth, increased productivity, and a better quality
> of life.
>
>
>
>
> Miraj Khaled
> ============
> techiemik at yahoo.com
> mindexplorer.blogspot.com
>
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--James
+1 315 395 4056
Details: <http://freelancepropaganda.com/jameshowison.vcf>