Hasta La Gadget!

I’ve traveled to remote islands in the South Pacific where wireless internet is proving to be the go-to technology for broadband, and increasingly, it’s looking as if tether-less connections will be what brings millions upon millions of Africans online. Google’s own Eric Schmidt has confessed as recently as March that the most exciting part of the web’s future isn’t any one technology or product, but the “next five billion people looking to get connected.” So, it figures that Google was a major constituent at the recent TV White Spaces & Dynamic Spectrum Africa Forum in Dakar, Senegal. It — along with 15 African nations, Microsoft, the Association for Progressive Communications, Afrinic and others — recently convened in order to discuss the opportunities that are currently facing the continent. Indeed, the fact that there is over 90MHz available in Dakar alone to be used for wireless broadband deployment puts Africa in a unique spot — one of the most disconnected regions of our planet could become a pioneer in bringing the next wave of humans online.

ICASA, the South African regulator, will reportedly use various trial outcomes to evaluate possible rules for use of the TV white spaces. And, as Steve Song of Village Telco points out, it’s pretty astounding to have Microsoft and Google working in some fashion towards a similar goal. As it stands, a lot has to happen — final standards have to be agreed upon, equipment makers have to decide that it’s a profitable enterprise, and individual nations have to place a high priority on getting their populations connected. That said, the amount of momentum that’s already happening is supremely compelling, and I’m hoping to report back in the coming months on how a smattering of these very trials are impacting communities across Africa right now. Stay tuned!

Filed under: Wireless, Internet

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Source: Official Google.org Blog, Many Possibilities

It was just a month ago that North Korea started allowing mobile internet access to visitors (while still restricting it from citizens), but now a tour group says that program has ended. First reported by North Korea Tech, a post on the Koryo Group site indicates that tourists can still purchase SIM cards for international calling, but internet access is not available, a return to its policy from January. A recent blog post from the 22nd goes into more detail, explaining that 3G Koryolink access for foreigners “has been restricted to long term visitors/residents of Pyongyang only.” With no word from the government on the policy change you’ll have to insert your own reasoning, although we imagine Eric Schmidt is not pleased.

[Image credit: Jean Lee, Instagram]

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Via: TechCrunch, North Korea Tech, Tech in Asia

Source: Koryo Group (1), (2)

If you thought world internet access speeds were facing a large-scale slowdown, you can stop fretting for now. Data from Akamai suggests that average speeds were just 2.6Mbps, but that was a healthy 14 percent improvement over the fall and a noticeable 25 percent better than early 2011. Average peak internet connection speeds surged just as much in the first quarter of this year: at 13.5Mbps, the average maximum was a 10 percent season-to-season boost and that same 25 percent versus a year before. The leaders remain Asian territories with that ideal mix of dense populations and high technology, culminating in Hong Kong’s blazing 49.3Mbps typical downlink. Akamai attributes much of the growth in peak speeds to an explosion in “high broadband” connections, where 10Mbps is the minimum — countries like Denmark, Finland, South Korea, Switzerland and the US roughly doubled their adoption of extra-fast access in the past year.

Before cheering too loudly, we’d point out that mobile speeds are still trudging along despite HSPA+ and LTE making their presences felt. The most consistent speed came from an unnamed German carrier, which neared 6Mbps; the best regular American rate was 2.5Mbps, which underscores how far even some of the most developed countries have to go. There’s also a clear gap in regular landline broadband quality if we go by the US’ own National Broadband Plan standards. Just 60 percent of US broadband is over the 4Mbps mark, putting the US at 14th in the global ranks. We’re hoping that projects like Google Fiber can raise expectations for everyone, but you can hit the source shortly to get Akamai’s full study.

Filed under: Wireless, Networking, Internet

Akamai: peak internet speeds jumped 25 percent year-to-year in Q1, Germany tops the mobile world originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 09 Aug 2012 00:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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