How To: Tether the iPhone or G1 To Your Laptop For Free 3G Broadband
http://i.gizmodo.com/5153525/how-to-tether-the-iphone-or-g1-to-your-laptop-for-free-3g-broadband

The other iPhoneModem is nagware ($10 to get rid of the nags), and does include a Windows config app, which we have not tested. If you're running windows, try that one, and let us know how it goes in the comments. There is also another method using an app called 3proxy that requires lots of manual configuration, but that one may also be worth a try. Update: Commenters are also recommending PDANet for Windows tethering, which is in Cydia as well.

"Pretty much the fastest consumer broadband in the world is the 160-megabit-per-second service offered by J:Com, the largest cable company in Japan. Here’s how much the company had to invest to upgrade its network to provide that speed: $20 per home passed."

Super High Speed Broadband @ $20 a home ... Ummm... I'm IN!! http://bit.ly/oElPE {after a yr with xplornet...i'd even pay the $80 gladly!} [from http://twitter.com/macaddict75/statuses/1459374322]

They pay $60 for 160 Mpbs, I pay $30 for 128 Kbps.

If you get excited about the prospect of really, really fast broadband Internet service, here’s a statistic that will make heart race. Or your blood boil. Or both. Pretty much the fastest consumer broadband in the world is the 160-megabit-per-second service offered by J:Com, the largest cable company in Japan. Here’s how much the company had to invest to upgrade its network to provide that speed: $20 per home passed.

Conexión a Internet en Japón. Al día de hoy, 20 dólares al mes por 160 mb de banda ancha

Broadband already has the highest profit margins of any product cable companies offer. Like any profit-maximizing business would do, they set prices in relation to other providers and market demand rather than based on costs.

java applet to check for various nefarious things isps might do, like transparent proxies, dns interception, bittorrent blocking (though not throttling)

The Netalyzr tests your Internet connection for signs of trouble. Understand your connectivity through a detailed report of any performance and security issues.

"A Durban IT company pitted an 11-month-old bird armed with a 4GB memory stick against the ADSL service from the country's biggest web firm, Telkom." Winston the pigeon took two hours to carry the data 60 miles - in the same time the ADSL had sent 4% of the data.

Broadband promised to unite the world with super-fast data delivery - but in South Africa it seems the web is still no faster than a humble pigeon.

Reality of Internet accessibility in Africa. Maybe this is what we should use to disseminate our publications in ACP countries....

scenic news

Quando il piccione viaggiatore è meglio di una connessione dati veloce

YouTube may pay less to be online than you do, a new report on internet connectivity suggests, calling into question a recent analysis arguing Google’s popular video service is bleeding money and demonstrating how the internet has continued to morph to fit user’s behavior.

Youtube's bandwidth bill may be almost zero because it connects directly with the ISPs through it's Dark Fiber.

"YouTube’s low or nonexistent bandwidth bill points to a very important shift in the structure of the internet...top 30 websites serving up 30 percent of net traffic, either from their own sets of pipes or from data centers around the world that connect much closer to your computer — and for much cheaper — than ever before."

YouTube may pay less to be online than you do, a new report on internet connectivity suggests, calling into question a recent analysis arguing Google’s popular video service is bleeding money and demonstrating how the internet has continued to morph to fit user’s behavior. In fact, with YouTube’s help, Google is now responsible for at least 6 percent of the internet’s traffic, and likely more — and may not be paying an ISP at all to serve up all that content and attached ads. Credit Suisse made headlines this summer when it estimated that YouTube was binging on bandwidth, losing Google a half a billion dollars in 2009 as it streams 75 billion videos. But a new report from Arbor Networks suggests that Google’s traffic is approaching 10 percent of the net’s traffic, and that it’s got so much fiber optic cable, it is simply trading traffic, with no payment involved, with the net’s largest ISPs.

"But a new report from Arbor Networks suggests that Google’s traffic is approaching 10 percent of the net’s traffic, and that it’s got so much fiber optic cable, it is simply trading traffic, with no payment involved, with the net’s largest ISPs"

Applause For Finland: First Country To Make Broadband Access A Legal Right http://bit.ly/aQmc6 (via @synopsi, @janrosa, @ScienceIreland) [from http://twitter.com/matushiq/statuses/4863041209]

Starting July 2010, every person in Finland will have the right to a one-megabit broadband connection as an intermediate step, says the Ministry of Transport and Communications. By the end of 2015, the legal right will be extended to an impressive 100 Mb broadband connection for everyone.

Kudos to the Finnish government, which has just introduced laws guaranteeing broadband access to every person living in Finland (5.5 million people, give or take). This is reportedly a first worldwide. Starting July 2010, every person in Finland will have the right to a one-megabit broadband connection as an intermediate step, says the Ministry of Transport and Communications. By the end of 2015, the legal right will be extended to an impressive 100 Mb broadband connection for everyone.

for presentation

Go Finland: First Country To Make Broadband Access A Legal Right http://ow.ly/uIHE [from http://twitter.com/barbhd34/statuses/4908282395]

Broadband Access a Legal Right in Finland...http://tiny.cc/aytXA [from http://twitter.com/matebestek/statuses/4898523869]

ISPs may not act for years on local complaints about slow Internet—but when a town rolls out its own solution, it's amazing how fast the incumbents can deploy fiber, cut prices, and run to the legislature.

"ISPs may not act for years on local complaints about slow Internet—but when a town rolls out its own solution, it's amazing how fast the incumbents can deploy fiber, cut prices, and run to the legislature."

Leet, leet, leet. Would have been awesome if they could prevail against TDS.

Minnesota town wants fast fiber broadband to the curb. Cable internet monopoly refuses. Town passes a referendum funding construction of a municipally owned network. Cable company sues town frivolously in order to delay construction of said network, and installs its own first. What a crock of monopolistic bull. This kind of crap is why we don't have fiber to the door.

Regional telco TDS Telecommunications last week issued a press release announcing a major milestone for the company: 50Mbps service over fiber optic cable to residents of Monticello, Minnesota. The Minneapolis suburb became one of the few non-FiOS communities in the country to experience full fiber-to-the-home deployment, and subscribers will all receive a free upgrade from 25Mbps service to the new 50Mbps tier

final report Digital Britain: The Final Report - 16 June 2009

The Digital Britain Report is the Government's strategic vision for ensuring that the UK is at the leading edge of the global digital economy. It is an example of industrial activism in a crucial growth sector. The report contains actions and recommendations to ensure first rate digital and communications infrastructure to promote and protect talent and innovation in our creative industries, to modernize TV and radio frameworks, and support local news, and it introduces policies to maximize the social and economic benefits from digital technologies.

Department for Culture Media and Sport - final report

"YouTube speed-tester that tells you how your ISP stacks up against other ISPs in your town and country, to give you the ability to compare your speed numbers with other users in your region."

Benchmarks ISP speed using you tube videos

Official Homepage of the FCC National Broadband Plan

Cidadania na Internet

There is a lot to take note of in here, though the timescale is probably more alarmist than realistic.

I'm not convinced there's anywhere near enough bandwidth just for everyone to have wireless internet now, let alone using it for all your data. No chance.

This is why there's a stench of panic hanging over silicon valley. this is why Apple have turned into paranoid security Nazis, why HP have just ditched Microsoft from a forthcoming major platform and splurged a billion-plus on buying up a near-failure; it's why everyone is terrified of Google: The PC revolution is almost coming to an end, and everyone's trying to work out a strategy for surviving the aftermath.

“Let's peer five years into the future... LTE will be here. WiMax will be here.” Pretty sure I heard that six years ago.