philip lelyveld The world of entertainment technology

The future of broadband looks very much like cable TV. Here is why

[Phil Lelyveld comment: Combine gigabit networks and software defined networks to offer delivery options that meet specific needs, and possibly rethink net neutrality in the process.]

But at the Fiber to the Home conference held Tuesday in Austin, I saw the battle lines beginning to shift thanks to faster networks and new capabilities. IP networks are about services, which means that a delivery model where services are delivered as different channels becomes a possibility.

Soon, software-defined networking will allow providers to build out those channels virtually on their networks and deliver them a la carte or as a bundle. What’s missing is the business model.

When you combine gigabit networks and software defined networks you get more services delivered via broadband and a network that can adapt to the demands of applications on the fly. Because of this — and the increasing importance of the services one can deliver over gigabit networks — Joe Kochan of U.S. Ignite, a group trying to develop gigabit applications, proposed a different type of pricing model: one where users buy access to set of capabilities for either an application or a genre of applications.

Kochan proposed a medical channel that, for example, might have the security features one needs for relaying medical data, along with a high-speed, low-latency connection required to teleconference with a doctor or nurse.

So perhaps the giants of the internet will consent to this idea of delivering broadband functionality as specific types of channels that will have certain characteristics and apps if it means the end consumer will trust more of their lives, their data and their physical experience to a digital existence. And before that happens I suppose regulators and net neutrality advocates will have to figure out if their thinking needs to evolve and what kinds of protections should be put in place.

Read the full story here: http://gigaom.com/2013/12/17/the-future-of-broadband-looks-very-much-like-cable-tv-here-is-why/