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Broadband Via Gas Lines?

(Mis)Uses of Technology

from the believe-it-when-we're-surfing-it dept

Thu, May 12th 2005 10:44am — Mike Masnick
More choices for broadband are always a good thing, but too many new companies come out with claims of a new broadband system, without any proof that it works in real life. We've seen this repeatedly with broadband over powerlines, which at least reaches the trial stage before it is usually shut down. There's also the ever popular broadband by blimp/stratellite/high altitude platform/bird/plane/superman option. The folks behind the "stratellite" are particularly adept at making some announcement every few months and getting a ton of press out of it -- even though there's no proof that the system will actually work, and if it works whether it will be reliable, and if it's reliable whether the latency will be a show stopper. The latest broadband choice to materialize out of nowhere is apparently broadband over gas lines which is receiving a fair amount of well-deserved skepticism. As with the other "new" broadband solutions, we'll reserve final judgment until we're actually surfing the web with it.
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  • identicon
    Homer Jay, 12 May 2005 @ 12:01pm

    Gas Line Broadband

    Im waiting for broadband thru the sewers, considering most of the stuff on the net is crap, it makes sense.

    [ link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      Anonymous Coward, 12 May 2005 @ 12:41pm

      Re: Gas Line Broadband


      Broadband over gas lines will really blow ...

      [ link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Permanent4, 12 May 2005 @ 1:17pm

    Riiiiiight.

    There is no way that can be anything but a gag. An in-joke among BPL skeptics or something...

    [ link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Poobah, 16 May 2005 @ 7:08am

    Gas Line Broadband

    I'm to far out in the country for Natural Gas. I'll be holding out for BroadBand over Propane - delivered monthly.

    [ link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    srjones, 16 May 2005 @ 10:22pm

    Re: Gas Line Broadband

    This is the same "next new thing" I heard about in 1999. A CEO I was working with could hardly contain himself about getting in on the ground floor of this phenomenal company that was going to sell broadband over its gaslines. The up-and-coming energy company was (you guessed it) Enron.

    The main problems with pipeline broadband are that 1) gas companies don't fundamentally grasp selling intangibles like bandwidth 2)They walk right into entrenched competition with telcos and cable TV providers. And 3) There's still the "last mile" problem.

    [ link to this | view in chronology ]


On-Demand Computing: Centralized Utilities Or Temporary Hotel Stay?
Anti-Spyware Bill Tries Yet Another Approach: It's All About The Money
Shocker: Bill Gates Predicts Microsoft Technology Will Beat The iPod
Record Labels Using Intellectual Property Claims To Stop Ringtone Competition
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