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Anyone, Anywhere, Anytime By Broadband
A connected world with any time, any where access to everybody and anything. That's the goal and vision of the Consumer Electronics Association according to founder and president Gary Shapiro. "What we would like to think is that someday all the information, education, and entertainment in the world will be available from anywhere in the world for literally pennies a hour of usage."
According to Shapiro, we are in the middle of a revolution and it is a digital revolution.
The revolution of 100 years ago was transportation with cars and airplane requiring tremendous construction of infrastructure. "Now the revolution is digital technology," he said and it will require further construction effort.
The success of the digital revolution, according to Shapiro, will be dependent on the construction of a broadband delivery system for things like education, business, and information exchange.
"If you think about broadband, you think about pipes coming in to the home. Every generation has seen a new physical pipe go into the home," Shapiro said. "If you think back, there was electricity there was plumbing each of those required some kind of tube to the home. And then there was the telephone and about 20 or 30 years ago there was cable. That required a phenomenal amount of construction but you know what Americans went for it because it provided a new and valuable service that they wanted I feel the same thing will happen with broadband."
There are exciting digital technologies that will create demand for broadband delivery such as digital radio, video-on-demand, and digital books. Shapiro sees that high definition television (HDTV) will fuel consumer demand for digital television although it is slow in starting. "HDTV is like ice cream" he said. "I can tell you about ice cream. You can read articles about ice cream but the reality is you really have to experience ice cream to understand it."
Shapiro said television broadcasters will have to convert to digital in 2004 although there are slow to comply with FCC mandates with some notable exceptions. "CBS is delivering almost their entire primetime schedule in HDTV format and PBS is doing fabulous things," he said.
US has slowest growth rate in broadband. But Shapiro doesn't see that it's industry foot-dragging or slow consumer acceptance that is holding back the spread of broadband. "There are some real legal and regulatory issues for people to lay down the pipe and do the things that are necessary."
Call out: Households access to the internet
90% access via 56k modem or less
8% via broadband.
2% via DK
Call out: Americans are wired
Average house contains 15 consumer electronic products
The average family spends $2,000 per year for electronics
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