What can I do?
Well, the most obvious thing you can do is to subscribe to an always on, high speed internet access service. Of course you aren't going to go out and do that just because we say so. Why should you sign up? Take a look here for more thoughts on this.
What else can I do?
That depends on who you are. We expect to add to this page frequently. Here are a few thoughts for now.
I am an architect, engineer, builder.
You should take a look at how the design of the project you are involved in could benefit from forward planning for broadband infrastructure. We believe that as a minimum, all apartment buildings should have a cable backbone capable of supporting common architectures. Depending on distances involved, category 5e6 or fibre optic cabling should be installed to allow all apartments to communicate at high speed to a central point in the building. Pathways should be available from this central point to the roof and the main telecom demarcation point at ground level.
Also, an empty telecommunications duct should be installed out to the street to allow for future services to enter the building. This duct should be owned by the apartment complex, not the incumbent telco.
I influence public policy.
This will probably be a large section. For now, we will say that you should educate yourself as to the benefits that broadband can bring to your area. You should also be aware of what is available and who is using it.
I make telecoms purchasing decisions for my company.
Take a look at your current internet connectivity. Based on recent developments, is your company using the best method possible? Perhaps it is still less expensive overall to stay with ISDN than to go with an ADSL connection but are you considering the whole picture? Would an always on, high speed connection offer cost savings in other ways?
Connection sharing:
Some providers are quite happy to have you share their connections. You might want to consider becoming your community broadband provider! You could install a service and to help cover the cost, share it among a few neighbours close by. The same principle works also for businesses within the same building or campus. There is a Telco in Seattle which actively encourages this by offering rebates to the principal user of the service if they get others to subscribe. The Telco bills all users but credits the main user for each shared user he connects. This model could work well here also. Providers, are you listening?
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Notice to Reader: The information provided is a summary of research and industry experience up to the time of writing and is not meant to purport to be a complete or all-inclusive collection of information on the topic. It is only meant to give the reader a basis of information to understand the topic. To the best of our knowledge, it was accurate at time of posting but may have changed, not contain all material available or since released and no longer be accurate or valid. Readers are cautioned not to make decisions based solely on this material and are urged to verify information and perform their own current research. Opinions expressed by the author(s) are their own and not necessarily those of the company.