->  MM> According to recent Telecommunications hearings on C-SPAN, high speed
->  MM> access, whether DSL or cable is _still_ only available to 7% of the US
->  MM> population.

-> !!!

->  it's most places where people live here (major cities, and larger towns)

-> I wonder if that 7% figure is the capacity of the existing infrastructure,
-> and not the nuber of people who have the opportunity to subscribe.

 I doubt it. The Infrastructure capacity has to be much more then 7% of
the population. What percentage of the population is within 18,000 Feet
of a Telephone Exchange. In almost any city of any size that would ba
almost ALl of that population. Now how many live in a town of say 40,000
or so and larger?  That has to be WAY more then 7% of the US population.
The main stumbiling block to Wider DSL/Cable Modem penertration is plain
and simply the COST!!!  
And that is proven by other countries that have a higher penertration
for Highspeed access because those Countries have in some cases a MUCH
lower cost for the Service.

--- Platinum Xpress/Win/WINServer v3.0pr5