In a simplistic way, the Net can be divided into three parts: the contents or services owners, these are the brands you know Google, Facebook, WoW, CNN, etc. They are the reasons you are on the net to begin with; next is the mystic cloud that magically connect those contents to you; last is the device you use to access those contents — that’s your smart phone, laptop, or set-top boxes.
Pundits proclaimed that the Net will have much higher bandwidth in the future. Google and Cisco both added fuel to that roaring fire of enthusiasm. It shall outpace Moore’s law, they said. Whatever speed you are connecting at today, you shall have 10 times, or even 100, more in 3 years.
Really? Who pays for the higher bandwidth?
Google does. As they are rolling out bright cables across the country, all they asked is a nominal fee not higher than your current bill. The new and fatter pipes are part of Google’s promotional budget.
Or Cisco will? They just announce the product that will change the world. (Juniper, of course, thought little of it.) It is a next generation router that handles 3 times the traffic than the previous one. As backbone operators upgrade their equipment, the pipe just got fatter. Isn’t it wonderful that technologies give us better life without us having to pay for it?
The paper-based industry pays for it. As online media replaces traditional ones, the revenue shifts. When New York Times becomes newyorktimes.com, its massive print press, truck fleet, and ad sales force disappear. The new company (probably under the old management) retains its old readership, or even larger, but with a much leaner and smaller operation. That pays for the new fat pipe.
You pay for it. Have you looked at your bills? How much you paid for your fixed-line phone, cell phone, data plan, cable TV, broad-band connection, iPhone apps, Netflix subscription, iTunes music, SecondLife spending, WoW weapons, etc.? Did you also upgrade to a faster connection? Did you even blink for the $15 Internet fee at the hotel you last checked-in? Internet is far from free to us surfers. The debate on how to monetize Internet has long ended. Consumers pay billions of dollars (and so did corporations) for their rich Net-based experiences. Oh, did you buy that digital camera by clicking through some links?
Yes, Internet will continue to expand and the bandwidth will continue to increase, like Google and Cisco have led you to believe. As for me, I am just trying to make a buck.