Comments on: Here Comes Trouble: MIPS For Broadband http://gigaom.com/2007/12/18/whats-mips-for-broadband/ Tracking the Internet Evolution Sun, 07 Sep 2008 11:29:59 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=MU hourly 1 By: Mel http://gigaom.com/2007/12/18/whats-mips-for-broadband/#comment-788262 Mel Thu, 20 Dec 2007 17:58:38 +0000 http://gigaom.com/2007/12/18/whats-mips-for-broadband/#comment-788262 <p>MIPS acronym for Telecom?</p> <p>Make It Pay Soon.</p> MIPS acronym for Telecom?

Make It Pay Soon.

]]> By: Daniel Berninger http://gigaom.com/2007/12/18/whats-mips-for-broadband/#comment-787327 Daniel Berninger Thu, 20 Dec 2007 09:22:17 +0000 http://gigaom.com/2007/12/18/whats-mips-for-broadband/#comment-787327 <p>I am liking Mean Internet Protocol Service as broadband MIPS with the basic unit of 100Mbps. The Mean part can get quantified by a standar calculation that captures effective throughput in both directions.</p> <p>Habib has a point in the heavy lifting required to evangelize the idea of broadband MIPS. Getting a Cisco size player engaged would be nice, but we can all do our part.</p> I am liking Mean Internet Protocol Service as broadband MIPS with the basic unit of 100Mbps. The Mean part can get quantified by a standar calculation that captures effective throughput in both directions.

Habib has a point in the heavy lifting required to evangelize the idea of broadband MIPS. Getting a Cisco size player engaged would be nice, but we can all do our part.

]]> By: Mohammed http://gigaom.com/2007/12/18/whats-mips-for-broadband/#comment-786763 Mohammed Thu, 20 Dec 2007 05:04:54 +0000 http://gigaom.com/2007/12/18/whats-mips-for-broadband/#comment-786763 <p>Indian government defines broadband as anything above 64Kbps. Although luckily MTNL & BSNL (one of the largest telco), provide 2MBps ADSL connections, with various plans of different download limits!</p> Indian government defines broadband as anything above 64Kbps. Although luckily MTNL & BSNL (one of the largest telco), provide 2MBps ADSL connections, with various plans of different download limits!

]]> By: PPN http://gigaom.com/2007/12/18/whats-mips-for-broadband/#comment-785806 PPN Wed, 19 Dec 2007 17:35:33 +0000 http://gigaom.com/2007/12/18/whats-mips-for-broadband/#comment-785806 <p>MIPS = Metro I(nternet) P(rotocol) Service (1gbps+)</p> <p>I'd like to see some standard 'broadband" hopefully revolving around Ethernet @ 100mbps or better..</p> MIPS = Metro I(nternet) P(rotocol) Service (1gbps+)

I’d like to see some standard ‘broadband” hopefully revolving around Ethernet @ 100mbps or better..

]]> By: Habib Ullah Khan http://gigaom.com/2007/12/18/whats-mips-for-broadband/#comment-785618 Habib Ullah Khan Wed, 19 Dec 2007 15:49:08 +0000 http://gigaom.com/2007/12/18/whats-mips-for-broadband/#comment-785618 <p>I agree that we have a perfectly fine metric. The key with the Intel analogy is that Intel used its massive, rebate fuelled steroid marleting muscles to promote the Mhz as a standard so long as it suited Intel. Mbps will become a standard when someone decides to live and die with the metric and has the financial power and marketing savvy to turn it into a standard.</p> <p>I can see why people are hesitant. Unlike Intel there is no overwhelming fundamental control of a technology and its iterative performance cycles. In fact the ability for a startup to come out of nowhere with speed boosts and turn over one's careflly laid plans always exists in the insane business of telecoms. I mean how many times have they predicted the death of Copper?</p> <p>Perhaps Cisco needs to spend some of the dollars its using to buy back its own stock to establish this as a standard. I mean who cares if some players win or lose this war, every consumer who buys into Mbps as a standard and lets it influence their purchase decision positively is a win for Cisco indirectly. (Disclaimer - I work for them)</p> I agree that we have a perfectly fine metric. The key with the Intel analogy is that Intel used its massive, rebate fuelled steroid marleting muscles to promote the Mhz as a standard so long as it suited Intel. Mbps will become a standard when someone decides to live and die with the metric and has the financial power and marketing savvy to turn it into a standard.

I can see why people are hesitant. Unlike Intel there is no overwhelming fundamental control of a technology and its iterative performance cycles. In fact the ability for a startup to come out of nowhere with speed boosts and turn over one’s careflly laid plans always exists in the insane business of telecoms. I mean how many times have they predicted the death of Copper?

Perhaps Cisco needs to spend some of the dollars its using to buy back its own stock to establish this as a standard. I mean who cares if some players win or lose this war, every consumer who buys into Mbps as a standard and lets it influence their purchase decision positively is a win for Cisco indirectly. (Disclaimer - I work for them)

]]> By: Jesse Kopelman http://gigaom.com/2007/12/18/whats-mips-for-broadband/#comment-783847 Jesse Kopelman Tue, 18 Dec 2007 23:21:17 +0000 http://gigaom.com/2007/12/18/whats-mips-for-broadband/#comment-783847 <p>Eh, I think this exists to some degree alreay. I see dozens of commercials a day from Comcast where talking turtles tell me how much faster Comcast cable modem service is than DSL. The real problem is not that we have no metric -- we do, Mbps -- it's that cable and telcos hardly care to play the game. The reason MIPS worked is because products from DEC and IBM or Intel and AMD were equally available to anyone with money. Not so broadband. It matters little if FiOS is faster than cable if I can't get it. You can't have competition without competitors -- not really an applicable term for most telcos and cablecos.</p> Eh, I think this exists to some degree alreay. I see dozens of commercials a day from Comcast where talking turtles tell me how much faster Comcast cable modem service is than DSL. The real problem is not that we have no metric — we do, Mbps — it’s that cable and telcos hardly care to play the game. The reason MIPS worked is because products from DEC and IBM or Intel and AMD were equally available to anyone with money. Not so broadband. It matters little if FiOS is faster than cable if I can’t get it. You can’t have competition without competitors — not really an applicable term for most telcos and cablecos.

]]> By: Carolyn Pritchard http://gigaom.com/2007/12/18/whats-mips-for-broadband/#comment-783477 Carolyn Pritchard Tue, 18 Dec 2007 19:50:10 +0000 http://gigaom.com/2007/12/18/whats-mips-for-broadband/#comment-783477 <p>ericabiz,</p> <p>Thanks for pointing out the typo. It's been fixed.</p> <p>best, Carolyn</p> ericabiz,

Thanks for pointing out the typo. It’s been fixed.

best, Carolyn

]]> By: ericabiz http://gigaom.com/2007/12/18/whats-mips-for-broadband/#comment-783300 ericabiz Tue, 18 Dec 2007 18:17:39 +0000 http://gigaom.com/2007/12/18/whats-mips-for-broadband/#comment-783300 <p>sigh. Okay, having been in the web hosting industry for years, it drives me crazy when people talk about megabits per second and don't get the acronyms right! It's Mbps, not Mbs. PLEASE fix this.</p> <p>Secondly, the easiest acronym would be Megabits of Information per Second, but I don't see what that would do that "Mbps" doesn't (as long as people use the correct acronym!)</p> sigh. Okay, having been in the web hosting industry for years, it drives me crazy when people talk about megabits per second and don’t get the acronyms right! It’s Mbps, not Mbs. PLEASE fix this.

Secondly, the easiest acronym would be Megabits of Information per Second, but I don’t see what that would do that “Mbps” doesn’t (as long as people use the correct acronym!)

]]> By: Daniel Berninger http://gigaom.com/2007/12/18/whats-mips-for-broadband/#comment-783236 Daniel Berninger Tue, 18 Dec 2007 17:50:34 +0000 http://gigaom.com/2007/12/18/whats-mips-for-broadband/#comment-783236 <p>Disparishun,</p> <p>The column makes a distinction between the present mode of calling for broadband bandwidth "targets" versus a measure of "progress" like MIPS. Does it make sense to have a target amount of processing power? No. Ditto connectivity. Bps seems like only a partial answer. It does not make explicit the need two-way connectivity. We also need to deal in larger units than bps. Broadband exists in a number of different contexts like wired, fiber, wi-fi, 3g, etc that the ideal metric might make it easier to unify.</p> Disparishun,

The column makes a distinction between the present mode of calling for broadband bandwidth “targets” versus a measure of “progress” like MIPS. Does it make sense to have a target amount of processing power? No. Ditto connectivity. Bps seems like only a partial answer. It does not make explicit the need two-way connectivity. We also need to deal in larger units than bps. Broadband exists in a number of different contexts like wired, fiber, wi-fi, 3g, etc that the ideal metric might make it easier to unify.

]]> By: Disparishun http://gigaom.com/2007/12/18/whats-mips-for-broadband/#comment-783106 Disparishun Tue, 18 Dec 2007 16:30:24 +0000 http://gigaom.com/2007/12/18/whats-mips-for-broadband/#comment-783106 <p>This is a confusing column. What do you feel is intuitive or easily-understandable about MIPS, but not bps? You take issue with the FCC's lower bound for defining broadband connections, which is fine. But rather than raising the lower bound, you want to invent a whole new metric. Why?</p> This is a confusing column. What do you feel is intuitive or easily-understandable about MIPS, but not bps? You take issue with the FCC’s lower bound for defining broadband connections, which is fine. But rather than raising the lower bound, you want to invent a whole new metric. Why?

]]> By: Aaron http://gigaom.com/2007/12/18/whats-mips-for-broadband/#comment-783039 Aaron Tue, 18 Dec 2007 15:59:36 +0000 http://gigaom.com/2007/12/18/whats-mips-for-broadband/#comment-783039 <p>How about MovIes Per Second. Where 1 movie is 2 hours of uncompressed 1080P content.</p> How about MovIes Per Second. Where 1 movie is 2 hours of uncompressed 1080P content.

]]> By: Li Hong http://gigaom.com/2007/12/18/whats-mips-for-broadband/#comment-783017 Li Hong Tue, 18 Dec 2007 15:46:19 +0000 http://gigaom.com/2007/12/18/whats-mips-for-broadband/#comment-783017 <p>The first thing popup in my mind is that it's that those telco/cableco should be a way more aggressive investor in VC funds to: 1) creating more Internet apps that would require higher connection; 2) getting involved into business model question early on so that create the best synergy; 3) identifying next thing such as WiMax early on to avoid being a sudden phase-out;</p> The first thing popup in my mind is that it’s that those telco/cableco should be a way more aggressive investor in VC funds to:
1) creating more Internet apps that would require higher connection;
2) getting involved into business model question early on so that create the best synergy;
3) identifying next thing such as WiMax early on to avoid being a sudden phase-out;

]]> By: Varun http://gigaom.com/2007/12/18/whats-mips-for-broadband/#comment-782696 Varun Tue, 18 Dec 2007 12:20:13 +0000 http://gigaom.com/2007/12/18/whats-mips-for-broadband/#comment-782696 <p>Million Incoming bytes Per Second. or Megabytes Injected Per Second</p> Million Incoming bytes Per Second.
or
Megabytes Injected Per Second

]]> By: Max Christian http://gigaom.com/2007/12/18/whats-mips-for-broadband/#comment-782642 Max Christian Tue, 18 Dec 2007 11:38:10 +0000 http://gigaom.com/2007/12/18/whats-mips-for-broadband/#comment-782642 <p>2010? I'm reading this on my home 100Mb/s connection right now, which is the norm over here in east Asia (which just goes to prove your point).</p> 2010? I’m reading this on my home 100Mb/s connection right now, which is the norm over here in east Asia (which just goes to prove your point).

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