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FEATURED TOPICDigital Transition -The term "Digital Transition" describes the process all organizations must go through in the 21st Century, as they leverage new technologies that provide new options for Applications, Equipment, Processes, and Networks that make them more effective. In contrast, the term "Municipal Wireless" is limiting. It puts the network technology ahead of the application and process changes that drive the business case. ORIENTATION |
« December 2007 | Weblog | February 2008 » January 2008 ArchiveFCC 700 MHz Auction passes a threshold
I'm not sure what this image of a souped up lawnmower is supposed to mean, but I'm putting it here to symbolize the opposite of watching grass grow. This looks like cutting grass as an extreme sport... So, maybe I was a little hasty in using the grass-growing analogy yesterday in expressing frustration with the slow pace of the FCC 700 MHz spectrum auction over at the FCC. Looks like it may be progressing a little faster than I originally thought. Glenn has a good write-up at Wi Fi Networking News here, titled FCC 700 MHz Auction Crosses Overall Reserve Price Threshold. We still don't know who bid what, but it's starting to look like reserves will be met (in most cases) and that means that there will be winners and losers. More to come. Check it out, Glenn provides a good write up that I could not improve upon. Posted on January 30, 2008 at 06:24 PM | Comments (0) Rural Fiber: 21st Century Barn Raising
Up in Vermont, they get it. I'll say it in bold, because I'm hoping more and more communities start to catch on to this approach practiced by the East Central Vermont Community Fiber Network. This recent article on a Vermont rural fiber initiative - see Rural towns bundling a blueprint for broadband - emphasizes that a community working together can be self-sufficient. In this case, they're looking at raising the capital to build a fiber network, and potentially following that up with a wireless overlay network. This is a very good article worth browsing, as it raises several points I've been trying to get across here on the site: - opportunities for regional collaboration, including pooling of efforts within a region for mapping, surveying, standardizing approaches to ensure interoperability, planning, purchasing, and operations This is a model, believe it or not, that holds great potential in dense urban areas like Orange County in Southern California as well as out in underserved rural areas. The critical element is whether there is a spirit of community present in the region, which will drive the hard work of forging a collaborative agreement. See the article excerpt after the jump. Steve Willbanks, chairman of the Strafford Selectboard and a key player in the emerging network, said commercial broadband providers could not meet the needs of rural Vermonters. "These fiber-optic connections are absolute necessities; not luxuries," he said. "We need them for our economical and cultural development. We've had seasonal residents tell us they'd move here in a heartbeat; they'd telecommute if they had access to broadband. "There are people out there who would kill - almost - to have reliable broadband service." More than 1,000 residents in his area have registered for service, Willbanks said. About half of the population targeted by the East Central Vermont Community Fiber Network have no broadband service. Tim Nulty of Jericho, who left Burlington Telecom in the fall to join the East Central group as chief consultant, said Burlington Telecom's business model would work well in a confederation of smaller, more thinly populated towns. Nulty said low-interest loans would allow the $70 million, subscriber-funded network to achieve a positive cash flow in four to six years. Communities, not technology, would shape the size of rural networks, Nulty said. "Localized service is a huge, competitive advantage," he said. "You're calling on your neighbors for service, and you're serving a common interest. All we really need is a critical mass of about 25,000 - or about 6,000 paying customers." Earlier attempts to serve rural areas with broadband, including state-funded pilot wireless systems, have fallen short of fiber-optic's technical advantages. The East Central Vermont Community Fiber Network, Nulty said, would permit an "overlay" of wireless coverage that could accommodate data or voice transmissions. "It's feasible when you have an infinite number of antennae sites," he said. "Every phone pole is an antenna site. Perfect cell phone coverage, everywhere in the system, is one of our goals. And we can do that." Paul Giuliani, a Montpelier-based bond lawyer for East Central, said the project has "only three moving parts": an agreement between towns; an agreement to design, build and operate the network; and a capital financing lease. The latter procedure has precedence in towns' collective purchase of snowplows and school buses, Guiliani said. "If this is a better mouse trap, maybe someone else will pick it up as a template," he said. Posted on January 30, 2008 at 11:19 AM | Comments (0) Gaze into the Crystal Ball to See the Future of Broadband
Last fall, I participated in an on-line industry survey regarding the future of broadband, sponsored by Telco 2.0. They've processed the results of the survey and produced this Top Ten list - Ten things you need to know about the future of broadband. While the list can get pretty dense - I copied the list after the jump - I think it's worth taking a look at what 800 industry insiders feel the broadband world will look like in the future and thinking deeply on how you feel about these statements. Does this worldview align with your own? Take a moment to gaze into this crystal ball then and see what you think.... 1. Telecoms is a logistics business for valuable data. It's about providing personalized delivery of that data, and removing the customs barriers (such as network provisioning, authentication) to that delivery. This is much more complex (and profitable) than being a dumb pipe, but doesn't mean being an applications or media business (which telcos are notoriously bad at). Posted on January 30, 2008 at 09:55 AM | Comments (0) Watching Grass Grow
Oh, oh, the suspense is killing me...this is truly painful. The subject at hand? The 700 MHz Spectrum Auction underway at the FCC. As momentous as the outcome will be, it's still excruciating to read updates that are out there for the 700 MHz FCC spectrum auction, especially stuff like this: The auction will end when there are no new bids and all the spectrum blocks have been sold. This could take weeks yet if the Advanced Wireless Services (AWS) auctions in 2006 are any indication. Spectrum Sells, But Who's Buying? Long sigh here ...................................................look, I swear that blade just shot up ... which one? that green one, over on the left ... you know, the skinny blade, next to that fat one? ..... Posted on January 29, 2008 at 08:20 PM | Comments (0) When a Problem Comes Along, You Must Whip ItWhen a problem comes along now whip it You got problems? We got solutions ... yet another thing the Web is really really good at is putting together people and ideas, in the end, isn't this what problem solving is all about? Where do we go for cutting edge problem solving? Where else, but Monterrey, CALIFORNIA!! Check out this website, which makes it their overarching goal to solve problems...on Technology, Entertainment, Design, thus, TED - see About TED. TED was born in 1984 out of the observation by Richard Saul Wurman of a powerful convergence between Technology, Entertainment and Design. The first TED included demos of the newly released Macintosh computer and Sony compact disc, while mathematician Benoit Mandelbrot demonstrated how to map coastlines with his newly discovered fractals and AI guru Marvin Minsky outlined his powerful new model of the mind. Several influential members of the burgeoning digerati community were also there, including Nicholas Negroponte and Stewart Brand. But despite the stellar lineup, the event lost money, and it was six years before Wurman and his partner Harry Marks tried again. This time, the world was ready and the numbers worked. TED has been held regularly in Monterey, California, ever since, attracting a growing and influential audience from many different disciplines united by their curiosity, open-mindedness, a desire to think outside the box ... and also by their shared discovery of an exciting secret. (TED was always an invitation-only event; it never had an advertising budget or a PR campaign.) Posted on January 29, 2008 at 08:16 PM | Comments (0) Infrastructure - yawnnnnnnnn....boring, but vital
Most people don't appreciate the role that our modern infrastructure systems play in our lives. We truly live in a wondrous age, thanks in large part to the advancements and investments in infrastructure made by our fathers and mothers, grandfathers and grandmothers, and on back. Back then, they invested in the infrastructure that we enjoy today. Problem is, infrastructure is so, so taken for granted nowadays that we forget about it until it fails, like it did so tragically recently when the Interstate 35-W bridge collapsed in Minneapolis last year. Some leaders get it, but they have a hard time getting any attention. See the New York Times Op Ed Investing in America, which highlights efforts by Sens. Chris Dodd (D) and Chuck Hagel (R) to boost investment in America's aging infrastructure, and the relative yawn that their proposal elicited from their peers. Maybe we need to add religion or sex to it, somehow. This great essay, The Age of Light, drives home the connection between our modern lifestyles and the abundant energy we enjoy in this era, showcasing not only our electricity distribution infrastructure, but also our energy discovery infrastructure and our electricity production infrastructure. It's worth a read. My kids don't know about a world without electricity, except when we go camping. The rare occasions when we don't have light from light bulbs are when we have mood lighting from candles at a special dinner. Air conditioning or heating, even in the car on temperate days, is the norm. But for all the comfort that these little things bring into our lives, from the light, to the heat, the cooling, the power to drive all of our contraptions and to move us from here to there at a whim ...we owe a huge debt. First, to human ingenuity for figuring out how to channel all this energy and create such a great lifestyle. Second, to the Sun and the wonders of Nature on the Planet Earth, whose organisms figured out over millions of years how to capture solar energy and use it. All of our energy today comes directly or indirectly from the sun. It took HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS of years for the stored energy buried beneath our feet to come into existence, and it's taken TENS of years to deplete it so far, with TENS of years to go. (for the sake of argument, go ahead and change the second TENS to
From the Energy Information Administration... FACT In the U.S., we get over half of our electricity from coal-fired plants. Source: EIA Energy Kids Page FACT In the U.S., our greenhouse gas emissions come mostly from energy use (82%). Source: EIA In the U.S., our greenhouse gas emissions come mostly from energy use. These are driven largely by economic growth, fuel used for electricity generation, and weather patterns affecting heating and cooling needs. Energy-related carbon dioxide emissions, resulting from petroleum and natural gas, represent 82 percent of total U.S. human-made greenhouse gas emissions. Setting aside the contentious issue of climate change for a moment, let's just contemplate the wondrous miracle that is our modern lifestyle! I'm not scolding here, I'm serious - it's truly amazing. But it's also something we forget, or prefer not to think about, or that many just take little time to contemplate, but we also know in the back of our minds that a party like this doesn't go on forever - it takes lots of energy to have all these little events that make our modern lifestyle happen and it takes an efficient infrastructure to bring us not only our gasoline, natural gas and electricity, but also our water, our wastewater services, our food, our telecommunications, our media. Few recognize the vital role of infrastructure in making this modern lifestyle happen. For what it's worth, those in the infrastructure business are starting to understand better the efficiencies that are possible from leveraging better telecommunication infrastructure. BPL Goes Green describes how energy utilities are starting to examine the potential of using communication infrastructure to begin to impact the consumption patterns of electricity consumers (their favorite is Broadband over Power Lines - BPL - but Wi F Mesh and other wireless are also under consideration). Because it is the peak periods when electricity is produced with inefficient fuels or old power plants that are the first targets of reform. If utilities can get consumers to stop consuming during the peak periods, then they can run much more efficient operations. And it's not just fossil fuel in power plants that's at issue. We should be looking at all varieties of conservation and peak load shifting to lower the amount of coal burned to make electricity. I think that goes without saying. We should be looking at issues like line loss, which happens when less electricity emerges from the end of the transmission line than went in at the beginning. An argument can be made that the tolerance levels are set too high. But moving beyond the electric industry and this conversation on conservation (couldn't resist), there's also fossil fuel at the gas pump. Hybrids get better gas mileage, but isn't that just the beginning of the equation? With the help of a broadband network, so much more is possible. Consider: 1. More effective traffic flow through automation of the traffic light infrastructure and effective use of video cameras, as described in the Gainesville Sun Wireless Net from traffic lights? to reroute traffic away from traffic jams. Whether the benefit is 1 or 2a, b, or c, each option has the added benefit of lowering total time on the road for all drivers, not just those doing the telecommuting, because the infrastructure of highways and city streets works more effectively when traffic flows smoothly and jams are avoided. Clearly, we have a long way to go in addressing these issues, but opening up the discussion by adding in broadband infrastructure, whether through fiber or through wireless, changes the capabilities of the city in dealing with these problems, and opens up the opportunity of making all infrastructure operate more effectively and eliminating wasteful behaviors. Why in this day and age we are even contemplating wasteful behavior is beyond me. Surely, it is time to change the equation, adjust the argument, and add broadband into the equation. If only to delay the other conversation, which is radical restructuring of our lives to dramatically trim the use of limited fossil fuels. Some day, we'll need to have that conversation, but not yet. Why not focus first on all the potential process changes that will lead to more effective use of what we have and eliminate waste. Only when we've dramatically altered our behaviors will we have a better idea of the severity of our situation. Posted on January 29, 2008 at 04:52 PM | Comments (0) Two Sites to BookmarkBefore we get into this, I recommend that you click these links and bookmark them, then come back for a brief discussion on why...The Institute for Local Self-Reliance and Intelligent Community Forum. There, got that little bit of work out of the way. Here's why these two sites are worth keeping an eye on. If anything has become apparent over the past year in this new metropolitan broadband industry, it is that cities cannot simply pass off the risk of broadband investment to an outside third-party and get a free ride. And anyone who has been paying attention is onto the fact that broadband will play an ever more important role in a city's affairs over the coming years. So, with those two trends in mind, one has to ask: "How will cities ensure that they have access to the necessary infrastructure to not only survive, but thrive in the coming world that relies on connectivity?" One way will be to hope that private sector companies take care of you. Call this the Hope and a Prayer method of city planning. This is the current defacto standard when it comes to metropolitan connectivity, I'm afraid to say. The alternate route is to become much more sophisticated and knowledgeable about your options and to take matters into your own hands, while moving prudently to avoid unnecessary risk. I call this the Reality-based method of city planning. And if you're part of that school, then you'll want to stay abreast of what the leading cities are doing - via the ICF link. And you'll want to dig down into the details of ownership and self-reliance, via the ILSR link. A great way to get a crash course on the benefits of city-owned networks is to review these Ten Myths About A Publicly Owned Information Network in Minneapolis, and the Facts, which shine a light on the City of Minneapolis experience. For a broader view, check out the recent white paper titled Municipal Broadband: Demystifying Wireless and Fiber-Optic Options. You can get that by browsing the ILSR website or by clicking here (you'll need to register! - easy to do). Some choice excerpts from that white paper below. Newspaper headlines trumpeting the death of municipal wireless networks ignore the increasing investments by cities in Wi-Fi systems. At the same time, the wireless focus by others diverts resources and action away from building the necessary long term foundation for high speed information: fiber optic networks. DSL and cable networks cannot offer the speeds required by a city wishing to compete in the digital economy. Business, government, and citizens all need affordable and fast access to information networks. Today’s decisions will lay the foundation of telecommunications infrastructure for decades. Fortunately, we already know the solution: wireless solves the mobility problem; fiber solves the speed and capacity problems; and public ownership offers a network built to benefit the community. As I've said here on this site many times in the recent past, the future of broadband is about Both Mobility and Capacity. See especially On the Cutting Edge - City Broadband on Steroids from September 2007. Though some have invested in wireless because it is more affordable in the short term, communities should think carefully about their long term needs and what serves them best. Fiber is the future. The question is not whether businesses and homes will eventually be connected; the question is who will own the connection. The network owner decides whose needs to meet: the community or shareholders. Communities have a historic opportunity to guarantee their relevance in an increasingly digital future. Some see publicly owned networks as an economic development strategy whereas others focus on attracting a creative class of citizens. Some are fearful of a pandemic and are ensuring the economy can function with remote workers. Ultimately, these communities have recognized their connectivity is too important to leave to massive phone and cable companies who are legally bound to respond to shareholders first and foremost. In my mind, cities that find a way to make owning a wireless broadband network a feasible public investment are on the right track. They first need to make their case and get their community behind a such an initial effort. Educating citizens and building political momentum will be necessary to create a broad-based effort to support a longer-term, much-more-expensive decision on city-owned fiber. In this way of thinking, Wireless becomes Phase One, which generates excitement, raises awareness, and creates energy. Fiber is Phase Two. Both will be required elements for cities that want to be competitive and want to stand out from the pack - cities that want to be Intelligent Communities, that is. So why not start with the easiest step (relatively speaking, of course!) and build momentum behind the much harder step? While some cities start out with fiber, I think they are the exceptions to the rule. I'd recommend starting with wireless, but making it plain that fiber will need to follow. For more on public ownership and Open Access, more from a how-to perspective, see these recent posts: Making Open Access a Reality and Open Access Diagram. Posted on January 29, 2008 at 09:46 AM | Comments (0) It all Starts with ScienceLife on this planet has become so complex, it's impossible to lead others into the fog of the future without a good understanding of the principles of science. Otherwise, one risks stepping of a cliff in the dark, like taking a walk in the woods at night without a flashlight...not altogether the best of plans. I received two great books for Christmas, which by now I've had time to wade into. I highly recommend each one, for different reasons. I've added them to the list of books on this site, here. The Canon: A Whirligig Tour of the Beautiful Basics of Science by Natalie Angier, a science writer by trade who takes on the task of putting together the Basics that all should know in order to be scientifically literate. Science Illiteracy is a challenge for our nation, it seems, as the masses blissfully grow less and less aware of more and more, even as the experts learn more and more and in the process realize they know less and less. Phewww! Nevertheless, this book is a great one to have on the shelf; having read through it, you will then have a handy reference because there's no way to keep all of this knowledge at the tip of your tongue. Highly recommended. After the jump, I've captured just a few of the memorable quotes on pages I dog-eared while reading... First, from Bill Bryson ... Chapter 8: Einstein's Universe. p. 122 You may not feel outstandingly robust, but if you are an average-sized adult you will contain within your modest frame ... potential energy - enough to explode with the force of thirty very large hydrogen bombs, assuming you knew how to liberate it and really wished to make a point. Everything has this kind of energy trapped within it. We're just not very good at getting it out. Keep that in mind the next time you feel powerless. Talk about living up to your potential - what a challenge. Chapter 9. The Mighty Atom p. 134 They [atoms] are also fantastically durable. Because they are so long lived, atoms really get around. Every atom you possess has almost certainly passed through several stars and been part of millions of organisms on its way to becoming you. We are each so atomically numerous and so vigorously recycled at death that a significant number of our atoms - up to a billion for each of us, it has been suggested - probably once belonged to Shakespeare. A billion more each came from Buddha and Genghis Khan and Beethoven, and any other historical figure you care to name. Makes me feel one with the universe, how about you? and in the same chapter p. 138 [Rutherford, winner of the 1908 Nobel Prize in Chemistry] wasn't even particularly clever at experimentation. He was simply tenacious and open-minded. For brilliance, he substituted shrewdness and a kind of daring....Confronted with an intractable problem, he was prepared to work at it harder and longer than most people and to be more receptive to unorthodox explanations. But not that tenacious, apparently...In the beginning, Rutherford worked on radio waves, with some distinction ... but gave up when he was persuaded by a senior colleague that radio had little future. I'm glad there were plenty of others to pick up where Rutherford left off. I draw inspiration from this and myriad other examples in this book, because the big leaps in knowledge tended to come from either accidents or from those "unorthodox explanations." We tend to grow comfortable with our status quos, it seems, and progress only comes when we are willing to shed our current realities in exchange for something better, if something at once weirder and harder to stomach. Change is not for the faint-hearted, it seems. And from Natalie Angier, a good joke.. I offer up these excerpts to encourage you to review what it is you think you know, and all that is out there that you may have forgotten since you were actively involved in formal education. There is so much to know in order to be able to put things in context and find new ways of doing things. And, I'll close with one of my favorite lines from a comedy album I listened to while a freshman at Rice University in 1975 (usually, I'll admit here, with some illegal smoke circling in the air above me and my friends in the dorm room). Posted on January 26, 2008 at 09:52 AM | Comments (0) The Fundamentals of Metropolitan BroadbandIf at times it's frustrating to try to explain the complexities of metropolitan broadband to a general population, that's the challenge we're faced with if we ever want to see real change and progress in this area. Too much of what we discuss internally goes right over outsiders' heads. It's vital that we who are invested in this young industry work together better to educate a broader cross section of government and business leaders, because it's so difficult to grasp the transformative nature of these new technologies and business models without first mastering the fundamental facts of metropolitan broadband. So I went back to a white paper I produced a year ago and updated it here to reflect the significant changes we saw in 2007 (but surprisingly, much stayed the same). Without further to-do or introduction then, here's the brief after the jump. Metropolitan Broadband Explained: A Complex but Unique Opportunity Times Have Changed Both telecom infrastructure deployment and Internet access are poised for dramatic change based on recent advances in technology. Over decades, large telecom and cable companies built networks that provide service to individual homes and businesses, with a service business model that relies on narrow market competition and dense populations. They now offer a Triple Play of broadband Internet access, video, and voice telephony, often bundled as one service, in competition with each other. Faced with a time-consuming and expensive roll out of new generation wired and wireless infrastructures and a pitched battle for customers with high marketing costs, these network giants are upgrading their networks by their own designs and on their own schedules. But among the large players, only Verizon with its FIOS offer is aggressively spending on fiber to the premises (FTTP). In the new field of metropolitan broadband (also called "municipal broadband"), a few pioneer municipalities leverage new technologies to deploy city-wide networks, generally with new smaller wireless Internet Service Providers or "WISPs." Ironically, markets that are less attractive to the incumbents (outlying neighborhoods, new developments, cities and regions with lower income areas or smaller/less dense populations) present the best business opportunity of all for innovation and change. In these regions, governments, businesses, and increasingly, property owners and developers who take advantage of new wireless technologies and new business approaches gain independence from the giant telecom and cable companies. Starting with broadband access, they can move on to voice over IP (VOIP) and digital video, creating new services and revenue opportunities that both stimulate economies and raise the bar on competition. Wireless Broadband Explained What makes wireless broadband in under-served lower-tier markets such a special opportunity? First, standardization has brought equipment prices down to the point that Wi Fi chips are embedded in a variety of devices, and more and more network infrastructure equipment using Wi Fi (and soon, WiMAX) is coming on line. Second, the use of unlicensed spectrum for radio transmission removes the need for the large amounts of capital needed to win FCC spectrum auctions. Finally, over the past two years marquee projects in cities like Philadelphia and Houston have gained considerable press attention (both positive and negative), generating both interest and skepticism among municipalities and businesses.
The Internet is a disruptive network, but the high cost of wiring out to each home and business - what telecom companies call "the Last Mile" and consumer advocates now call "the First Mile" - as well as the limited number of network owners, has in turn hindered the extension of the networks, keeping market penetration lower and prices higher than they would otherwise be with more competitive alternatives. The result is stagnation and a reinforcing negative cycle: the market's too small, so the network's too sparse, which keeps the market too small. Wi Fi, the same technology that lights up Hot Spots and provides wireless connectivity inside homes and businesses, has been reconfigured into multi-node mesh networks that enable citywide coverage, and a cost-effective Last Mile solution, as in the diagram above. Shoe box-size Wi Fi mesh units on street light poles (or rooftops) pass data signals to and fro, providing communication between end users and the Internet at ever faster speeds. Fiber links and/or point-to-multipoint wireless (soon, WiMAX) provide the "Middle Mile," connecting "gateway" wireless nodes to the Internet. Unlike traditional wired networks, these new modular and scalable networks enable small targeted cost-effective projects to be deployed that open up the market to a new perspective: small downtown networks confer "digital" status for cities and chambers of commerce, while neighborhoods can band together to share a broadband connection to get the same benefits of scale that enterprises do. Mesh networks are "self-healing," routing around obstacles. Because they're "IP" networks, they're open to any digital application that works on the Internet. Governments gain cost reductions, new service capabilities and increased flexibility with these new networks. Smaller, more targeted network businesses can experiment with new business models to gain market share over traditional competitors. Local businesses can attract knowledge workers and customers to the downtown areas of smaller towns. Benefits and Uses of Metropolitan & Community Networks To date, the benefits of this new technology have been viewed through the prism of traditional telecommunications. Viewed from this conventional perspective as a substitute for cable or DSL broadband, or for T1 lines for businesses, the benefits of wireless broadband are confined to lower priced Internet access, generally the theme of mainstream media coverage. Of course, wireless broadband brings mobility to the table, and its bandwidth and price compare favorably to newer cellular technology such as "3G" data options. And because of its economy, wireless broadband can provide affordable service in "hard-to-serve" markets, where DSL and cable do not go. Moving beyond broadband access, to video and voice, the other legs of the Triple Play, wireless holds its own, with adequate bandwidth and Quality of Service (QOS) to provide voice over WLAN, and short video options, with video downloads and streaming media on the horizon.
But a host of other benefits await the metropolitan area or community that installs a wireless broadband network (see table above). To start, having broadband connectivity out in the air like an FM radio signal puts many solutions in reach that cannot be imagined without such a network. For instance, video surveillance options are much more affordable when hard-wiring is not required. Small cameras hooked to cheap digital storage transform the potential of video-based property security. Wireless sensor network options abound once a network is in place (e.g., radio frequency identification or "RFID"-tagged assets can be tracked using a Wi Fi mesh network). Consumer telephones, music and gaming devices now have Wi Fi capabilities. Mobile video and location-based services (LBS) are now possible using Wi Fi. Perhaps the most significant benefit of these networks is regional economic development: not only do markets with competitive options for broadband enjoy lower prices for Internet access and greater network coverage, but just installing a wireless broadband network makes a statement to the local community and the rest of the world. By taking the first step with a downtown demonstration network, government, business, and community leaders send a signal about their vision for their metropolitan area or community to be on the cutting edge. When comparing regions, businesses and individuals increasingly place an emphasis on broadband connectivity options and long-term vision. Whether you're in the public or private sector, one of the biggest challenges in making an investment is timing: when is it right to jump into a fast-moving stream (if ever)? In general, a conservative financial analysis shows a positive return on investment (ROI) in a reasonable amount of time, making the investment prudent. But in this case, it's difficult to know all the details impacting an ROI analysis. In light of these unknowns, government and business leaders tend to defer investments and seek more information. Alternate low-risk paths involve regional collaboration and relatively small investments: an initial project planning and community mobilization consulting engagement can raise awareness and generate momentum; a "pilot" network can test a specific application; a "demonstration" network can be used to raise the level of awareness in a metropolitan region or community. MetroNetIQ recommends getting started immediately with an initial assessment and awareness program or pilot and demonstration networks. Knowledge and awareness of these new networks is not widespread among the general public, so after getting oriented, leaders need to engage their communities in dialogue and share in their own learning process. Activity is newsworthy and will generate press coverage, promoting the economic development message at a fraction of the cost of a full deployment. Even a small network delivers initial economic development benefits to a specific area. Finally, small networks can be rapidly deployed (a month or less), for quick results and lessons. MetroNetIQ recommends enhanced awareness and lowered risk with this process: 1) Initial consulting engagement to assess the environment, provide leadership briefings, and design a project plan; 2) Deployment of a small neighborhood network to showcase potential and enable experiential learning; and 3) Addition of applications of interest to the local community. The benefits of such a deliberate, phased, prudent approach to metropolitan broadband networks are manifest: with success, small networks become the first phases of a larger network deployment; when problems are encountered, the networks serve as educational tools providing valuable real-world lessons. What does this risk-management and education process look like? The chart below provides general information on networks, estimated expenses, and coverage.
Posted on January 22, 2008 at 01:13 PM | Comments (0) Assembling a Jigsaw Puzzle, No Instructions or Batteries IncludedJanuary 17 is a special day in the Cooper household. Our son Wesley turns 12 today, so there was a small pile of cards and gifts at his place on the kitchen table this morning. I've noticed that the gifts are fewer as he gets older, but more costly. Gone are the toys with batteries. No electronics this year, but that's just because we couldn't find Wii Guitar Hero III in the stores, so he got a picture of one instead, with a promise to go shopping. Birthdays always give me pause to reflect, and I told the kids on the way to school this morning about Wesley's "birth"day, back in 1996. It seems like more than 12 years ago. Happy Birthday Wesley! The other day, a friend of mine lost his job - Ron Sege, as CEO of Tropos, was one of the pioneers with a vision worth listening to - Ron was replaced last week by the board of Tropos, as they struggle to find a direction. I had a contract with Tropos in 2005, and that seems like more than 3 years ago... Ron's departure and Tropos' struggle for identity is emblematic of a greater turning point in this industry. The metropolitan broadband industry has changed irrevocably and now it's trying to figure out what it will become, as are many other struggling companies in this industry. And cities are scratching their collective heads as well. The panacea of a very low cost / very low risk deal for a city has been taken off the table, and that's a depressing thought for many, but it's reality. This change has been apparent for some time among those who follow this industry closely, and we've written extensively on this subject on this website, with special focus starting in August when EarthLink dropped its bombshell on the rest of us, and into September as the analysis continued. The quick summary is available in a September 6, 2007 post titled Reader's Digest Condensed Version. We've been dealing with the fall out since and sorting through the rubble. But is that all bad? Not when you consider that it's hard to see clearly when inside a smoky room. That's what having a "free" option lurking about was like. It was a tremendous distraction. Removing that option has been like a breath of fresh air coming in, like a strong wind that blew away the smoke and let us all see reality for what it was. We have a new set of technologies that have the potential to become a new set of tools for cities and the citizens they serve. Right now, I have a weight bench sitting out on the back deck, Wesley's new birthday present. Well, to be more accurate, we have a pile of parts that will one day be a bench, we still have a task ahead of us to put the bench together over the next week. But because of the instructions, we have a very manageable task. That's a goal we're trying to get to in this industry - a repeatable and predictable process with a set of instructions. We're getting closer and closer, and that's where an experienced consultant comes in handy - this is hard for a city to do on its own, even if they had those mythical instructions.
In new wireless technology, we have a set of parts that if put together creatively, offer a solution for many of the problems facing cities. The difference is that my son's weight bench came in a box with a set of instructions, but these new technologies don't. Lacking a set of instructions and assembled parts in a kit, many fail to see how these disparate parts can be put together into something that represents a solution. Few of us in this industry even perceive the way forward. Many believe that the Anchor Tenant model is the key, where cities will sign a long-term service contract to take on the risk of a project, so that a private company will build, own and operate a network - I think that's a dead end, because it's still too expensive, which makes cost recovery, the primary concern of conservative city leaders, very risky indeed. In a word, that's one tough sell.
Up to now, lacking an instruction manual, the task has really been more like putting together that jigsaw puzzle that some of us pull off the top shelf of the bedroom closet at Christmas time - it gives us something to do with all those extra hours and extra house guests. We go through a familiar pattern when we put together a jigsaw puzzle, at least in my house we do. 1. Inventory of status quo. Turn over all the pieces so we can see what we have. Solving any problem becomes easier with a methodology as described above. I went back and found this list from two years ago - see And one of the very first posts on this site talks about planning resources. In my next post, I'll describe how a set of instructions could be devised to make metropolitan broadband work. Posted on January 17, 2008 at 09:18 AM | Comments (1) Pay No Attention to the Man Behind the CurtainEarlier this week, with MetroNetIQ approaching its 2nd Anniversary in this current site design, I decided to update some categories (because its the New Year and as part of a 2-year upgrade, I decided to add a "Going Green" subcategory, among other things). But when I rebuilt the site, I encountered some formating bugs... So now I've got a snafu on the right side of this website and my web master, ZilkoWeb (a very skilled and kind gentleman, Steve Zilko is a whiz if you need a web developer, BTW), is going to address it, but he's busy on a deadline till the weekend...so in the meantime, I feel like I'm walking around with mustard on my upper lip, like I have a piece of toilet paper stuck to my shoe... Please tolerate our mess and look beyond the temporary, slight cosmetic ugliness...in other words, please pay no attention to the man behind the curtain... Posted on January 16, 2008 at 06:03 PM | Comments (0) San Marcos Takes One More Step ForwardIn it's very deliberate way, the City of San Marcos has taken one more step on its journey to a broadband-based economy. Last night at the City Council meeting, MetroNetIQ presented an update to the project we've been running since March of last year. The outcome? The City Council gave the project team direction to proceed to the negotiation phase with one or more finalist vendors, which will no doubt be formally announced in the very near term. City leaders need the more detailed financial and deal information that a negotiation will bring in order to be able to make any further decisions on where to take the city. Posted on January 16, 2008 at 09:52 AM | Comments (0) Green is the Color of HopeYesterday, I found myself in a personal black hole after writing about consumerism, our pending economic downturn, and politics as usual (see The Party Never Ends ... Cartoon Lemonade). I'm generally a pretty upbeat person, but thinking deeply about our consumer society and the challenges we face to turn our ocean-liner nation in a new direction proved overwhelming. I'm depressed about the level of political discourse in this country, the shallowness of the debate, and the travesty of a national press that we seem to be stuck with. While most of my days are good ones, yesterday our future weighed heavy on my mind. We truly are at the precipice of change, as so many of the presidential candidates are wont to remind us, but still we have a national press that panders to a public whom they believe incapable of digesting anything more serious than candidates' hairstyles and personal attributes. I'm not so sure they got the memo. Policy issues still take a back seat to more puerile topics. And it's hard not to see an anti-progressive bias on the part of our national media elites, millionaire celebrities all, and employees who represent large corporations to boot. In their positions, change is more threatening than is the status quo, so whether their bias is conscious or unconscious, it is there to see nevertheless. So I've decided to give more focus to Green issues and Sustainability on these pages, because I believe that Green really is the Color of Hope. Green used to be the Color of Money, but I'm hoping we're moving beyond that mindset. Of course, Green is often associated with Envy, which is not far from Greed. But Green is more and more the theme we hear on people's lips. I'm not sure many make the connections that I've started to make between Broadband Infrastructure and Sustainability, so I'll spend some time here connecting the dots. I have the advantage of living in Austin, Texas, which is decidedly putting its money where its mouth is when it comes to Green issues and Sustainability. Ever since the first steam engines rolled down the tracks in the mid-nineteenth century, progress and innovation were focused on moving people and goods faster, farther, and more efficiently. The gas-fueled, combustion-engine automobile transformed the landscape and our lives. Slowly, the less positive aspects of a car-oriented society crept into the debate. Traffic congestion, air pollution, fuel costs, climate change, all issues that are consequences of our national love affair with the automobile, are now fair game for public debate. Networks have followed a parallel path with transportation when it comes to progress and innovation. Truly, electricity and the telephone were the miracle technologies of the early 20th Century. These technologies fueled the development of the modern age, and they rapidly moved from luxury to necessity. Broadband, the mature version of Internet access, has become what electricity and the telephone were to our great grandparents one hundred years ago. While some still view broadband as a luxury good, even going so far as to see dial-up access as a substitute (see What's Next? ..." City to provide FREE 8-Track Players?"), more and more are acknowledging the importance of high-speed internet connectivity. In Austin, transportation is a critical item, as we delayed construction of highways and loops until it was too late. Now, its harder and harder to move around our city, yet the city continues to draw in more and more newcomers. We are threatened by "non-attainment" under the Clean Air Act, so we hear public advisories on Ozone Action Days. "Don't mow your lawn or fill up your car on those days," we're reminded. Transportation and Congestion. Under the Intelligent Community standard, smart cities make good use of broadband infrastructure to promote economic development, but also move ideas and information around instead of moving people. In an Intelligent Community, workers have a choice to use broadband to facilitate working out of their homes, avoiding the traffic snarls. Alternately, they can do part of their work at home and go in to work late. As we make more and more of our purchases on-line, we eschew trips around town to shop. When we can pull an information signal out of the air as easily as we can an FM radio signal, then we can take care of our business by staying in place, rather than making the trek to a land line connection. The key in all these scenarios is that we have more options at our disposal when we have broadband infrastructure in place. Energy and Pollution. While making cars greener is a great and necessary first step, taking fewer car trips is a complementary strategy. Less road miles mean less carbon emitted into the atmosphere. But I haven't even mentioned the operational efficiencies that are promoted when an electric utility has a broadband network that overlays the energy network. One of the biggest contributors to greenhouse gas emissions is the electric power plant. By promoting conservation, use of renewable energy, and demand shifting (using less power during peaks and more during troughs), we can have as big or bigger an impact on carbon emissions as we can from making changes in transportation and fuel use. Innovation and Social Change. When broadband infrastructure finally reaches ubiquity in a society, the free exchange of new ideas and discussion of problems and solutions will be greatly facilitated. It will take a comprehensive effort to face the challenges in the coming decades, and communication will be paramount. The faster we get to a level playing field and put the Digital Divide behind us, the sooner we will leverage all of our collective brainpower to solve the problems we face. As Green becomes a way of life for more and more people, the social changes will be facilitated by use of the Internet. Becoming more efficient data and voice communicators will enable us to face greater challenges. Truly, our children face a different world in so many ways, and we will lead them to that future if we remain open to new ways of doing things and we work together. I take heart, for instance, in the rising power of citizen journalism, aka Blogging. In just a few short years, we've seen a new political discussion emerge on the Internet, which offers an alternative to the mainstream press. This is just an introductory article, so I'll stop for now, but keep your eyes on this section for more connections to be made between broadband and sustainability. That, my friends, is a message of Hope for us all. We won't solve our problems by doing the same things we've always done. We'll need to make some significant changes, we'll need to get used to that new way of thinking, and we'll need to enjoy ourselves and have fun while we're at it. I believe that a ubiquitous broadband infrastructure is a great way to set ourselves up for success in the years ahead. I hope to make the case that this is the Smart Choice, the Intelligent Community way of doing things. Posted on January 15, 2008 at 09:47 AM | Comments (0) The Party Never Ends ... Cartoon LemonadeI like this cartoon, and I really like this Robert Earle Keen song - great lyrics. Its Main Street after midnight just like it was before When handed lemons, I believe that real leaders are the ones you will see making lemonade, not bitching about getting lemons instead of chocolate, like the predecessor had. Still with me? Let's see over the coming months how our leaders-to-be make lemonade out of news that is getting ever more prevalent. The fact is, our economy is hitting some limits, as is our climate. Something's Gotta Give, like the movie of the same title. Outside the excited miniature world of "cool Hi tech stuff" covered in earlier posts on this site (here, here and here), I think it's time to roll out something I've been sitting on for a couple of weeks. I first came across this compelling little video on New Year's Day.
The Story of Stuff tells a story about the Material Economy, documenting its five stages: Extraction, Production, Distribution, Consumption, and Disposal. All that transpires to help us live the way we do is something we scarcely stop to think about here in the US, even as we remain extremely focused on our HyperConsumer lifestyles. The trash man comes on Friday morning and carries away my garbage..."For all I know (or care), it gets zapped by a ray gun," most seem to say by their inattention to the details and what they mean. Yet the message of this little cartoon was so compelling, and so in line with my world view, but at the same time, such a downer, that I quietly filed it in the stack of to-be-published-later blogs. I also wanted to give it some time to stew and to chew on how to put it into context. But look what's transpired in the days ahead... The very next day, author Jared Diamond penned this piece in the NY Times, What's Your Consumption Factor?, which echoes the sentiments expressed in the animated video. The estimated one billion people who live in developed countries have a relative per capita consumption rate of 32. Most of the world's other 5.5 billion people constitute the developing world, with relative per capita consumption rates below 32, mostly down toward 1. The population especially of the developing world is growing, and some people remain fixated on this. They note that populations of countries like Kenya are growing rapidly, and they say that's a big problem. Yes, it is a problem for Kenya's more than 30 million people, but it's not a burden on the whole world, because Kenyans consume so little. (Their relative per capita rate is 1.) A real problem for the world is that each of us 300 million Americans consumes as much as 32 Kenyans. With 10 times the population, the United States consumes 320 times more resources than Kenya does. "Is the universe/God trying to tell me something?" I wonder. At some point, the rational actor stops to ponder, one would think, whether or not our current lifestyles here in the USA are sustainable. But, let's face it, who wants to be killjoy that delivers this message. Who wants to play the role of Eeyore, the sad sack who turns off the lights and sends everyone home, shouting "PARTY'S OVER, FOLKS, TIME TO GO HOME." I seem to remember a certain speech by Pres. Jimmy Carter, delivered in his trademark cardigan sweater, urging us all to conserve. That sure worked out well for him - NOT. We're not good at this. Let's face it, Jimmy's National Malaise diagnosis never stood a chance against Ronnie's Make America Great Again message. Nor, did Mondale's candidacy, whatever it was about, have a prayer against Reagan's Morning in America. Looking back, was it the message, or the messenger? When is optimism misplaced? Now it's 2008, a generation later, and we still face the same issues, punted down the road from president to president. Will it be Mitt Romney who speaks straight talk to us all? Probably not. In his speech at the Detroit Economic Club, Mr. Romney took Washington lawmakers to task for being "disinterested" in Michigan's plight and imposing upon the state's automakers a litany of "unfunded mandates," including a recent measure signed by President Bush that requires the raising of fuel efficiency standards..... ...Even though he left the state decades ago, he has pledged to make Michigan his special focus if elected president, and he has set himself up in contrast to Mr. McCain, who has said he is merely being candid in acknowledging the economic shift that has affected the state so harshly. "I'm not willing to sit back and say, 'Too bad for Michigan,' " said Mr. Romney on Monday. " 'Too bad for the car industry. Too bad for the people who've lost their jobs. They're gone forever.' " Drawing a rare moment of enthusiastic applause from the students, Mr. Romney said, "I will not rest if I'm president of the United States until Michigan is brought back." McCain and Romney Battle for Lead in Michigan, January 14, 2008 The road goes on forever and the party never ends. Hello, Mitt, I have a Honda Civic Hybrid that gets 40+ MPG today, and 35 MPG is a low bar and 2020 is a full 12 years away. That's not a tough enough goal. The fact is, the Big Three auto makers chose to make SUVs with high profit margins years ago and killed off efforts to make hybrids, and to make matters worse, killed off efforts to raise the CAFE standards. They made their bed, so to speak. So now, they're losing market share and heading the way of the Encyclopedia Britannica and the Do Do bird - to oblivion, in other words. But are they going to sleep in the bed they made for themselves and their shareholders and employees? No, when viewed through the pandering lens of the candidate, the problem was not the Free Market at work, no, the problem was, and is, government regulation. Give me a break. That's called an Excuse, it's called Denial, and it shouldn't have a place in a conservative's speech. That strikes me as Cognitive Dissonance. I'm confused, or maybe "conservative" doesn't mean what I think it means, a la Princess Bride. Also in today's paper, Americans Cut Back Sharply on Spending We are restructuring and undergoing major shifts. Is this just a temporary phenomenon, or a sign of things to come? And consumer confidence, an important barometer of economic health, has plunged. Andrew Kohut, president of the Pew Research Center, says consumer satisfaction with the economy has reached a 15-year low, according to the firm's polling. Even wealthier consumers, who were seen as invulnerable to rising gasoline prices and falling home values, are feeling the squeeze. "People are clearly concerned that we are headed into a recession," said Stephen I. Sadove, the chief executive of Saks Fifth Avenue, the upscale department store whose runaway growth throughout much of the year slowed markedly in December. Clearly, the presidential candidates must do something to "get the economy back on track!" But what if a rail has gone missing? The road goes on forever and the party never ends. So what will scaling back look like, when it happens? Will we ever stop consuming? Can we do that and not have a catastrophic economic consequence? Can our country ever put itself on a diet and exercise program without the threat of a coronary to motivate it? I haven't had a whole lot of success in my life at personal discipline, so I'm not optimisitic - I think it runs counter to human nature, and I think that America's expanding waistline is a better indicator than anything...and I don't see too many leaders stepping up to give us the medicine we so desperately need, the truths we need to listen to. I think that more and more we'll have to look at different ways to do things. But I'm afraid that election cycle after election cycle will give the advantage to the snake-oil salesman who preaches that we can have our cake and eat it too. "We can be great again," will always have resonance in a campaign, because an aging beauty likes to hear she still has what it takes to rev a guy's engines. A guy likes to know he can still compete against the younger studs on the soccer field, despite his bad knees. "We don't have to scale back" will always have resonance, because, in this country, we like to eat our cake. It's one of the things we've gotten terribly good at doing. And people like to do what they are good at, especially when it's so much fun doing it. We're going to need a We need a different party to replace the one that My hope, and I cling to it, is that we'll be able to focus on the positive and focus on something else we're good at besides consuming. We'll be able to gain efficiencies through technology - like metropolitan broadband - that end up buying us some time to restructure our economy away from reliance on ever expanding consumerism, which has zero chances, I believe, in being sustainable. We're hitting real limits and the past seven years, no, make that the past 50 years, start to seem like the party that would never end. But after this party does end, and all parties must end at some point, so if even the Post WWII Economic Boom is in decline, we should imagine that one, folks - the hangover that follows is going to be a doozy for us all. We need something better and different to replace what we are losing. And that, I'm afraid, is one helluva basket of lemons to be handed. Lemonade, anyone? I'll take mine with a little Jack Daniels, thanks...let's start a new party to replace the old one. Let's reshuffle the deck. UPDATE JAN 27. The Story of Stuff is getting broader exposure, it seems. Daily Kos, a highly popular website for progressive politics, has just posted a discussion and came to many of the same conclusions I did. But they are more optimistic than I was in this original post. The comments at the end of the post are especially interesting (357 as of this update). Recommended reading. With the help of producer Louis Fox and artist Ruben DeLuna at Free Range Studios, Annie turned her one hour talk into a twenty minute film. A film that's been watched by more than one million unique viewers. A film that's available on line and which you can watch by clicking the picture above. If you haven't seen the film go now. Seriously. Right now. You'll be glad you did. Because this short film is as direct, effective, and eye-opening on consumer society as An Inconvenient Truth is on climate change. As we worry about the current economic downturn, even the way we attempt to measure our problems reflects this distorted shopaholic culture. Take a primal forest, kick out the people who have lived there for generations, cut down the trees, slice them into pieces, soak them in toxic chemicals, turn them into disposable products, and ship the discarded remains off to a landfill. On the business page of your local paper or the glitzy stock channel on your television, each of those steps has the same name: growth. What's a recession? Lack of growth. How do we end a recession? Stimulate spending on more disposable items, so we can buy more disposable goods, so we can cut down more forests, so we can have more... growth. But if the first part of Annie's film is devoted to describing the problems of our current unsustainable culture of disposable goods, it's the final part that deserves special attention. Rather than stopping with the bad news, Annie shoots straight on into the good -- we can change. The most engaging part of her description of our society is that everyone can find their place in the flow, and the same dynamic means that everyone is positioned to help change how things work. Environmental issues, social justice, and economics all play into making the change toward a fair, sustainable society. There are as many ways to insert yourself into the process as there are products on the shelves of the local big box store. Posted on January 14, 2008 at 01:46 PM | Comments (0) Fair and BalancedHere's what real "fair and balanced" reporting looks like - as opposed to the other kind. This OpEd in Just What I Need? in today's New York Times challenges some of the gee whiz reporting coming out of CES with this essay, questioning what it all means. OK, you could accuse me of some of the "gee whiz" hype in my last two posts (here and here). But rather than breathless reporting on how cool it all is, I'm trying to drive home the point of the ascent of mobility as a key component of consumer electronics. Back to Eduardo Porter's OpEd. To mangle a phrase (one of my favorite pastimes)... Next up - more on consumerism...and recession. Don't you just hate fair and balanced, also known as buzz kill. Posted on January 14, 2008 at 01:01 PM | Comments (0) Broadband Access Needs to Be Ubiquitous ... Uh, Yeah ...Here's a good link to see what Intel had to say about mobility and the Internet at CES last week: Intel's Paul Otellini keynote at CES, videos and all Here's CNet's coverage of Otellini's address (two excerpts below). However, such change will not happen unless four obstacles are overcome, Otellini cautioned. Silicon needs to become more powerful and energy efficient; broadband access needs to be ubiquitous; the Internet needs to be infused with a sense of context; and user interfaces need to be more natural. He exhorted the audience members to take on the challenge of overcoming those hurdles. And here's the money quote, IMHO. "We're now in the midst of the largest opportunity to redefine consumer electronics and entertainment since the introduction of the television," Otellini said. "Increasingly, computing and communications are coming together, bringing a new level of capabilities and intelligence to the Internet experience. The personal Internet of tomorrow will serve you - delivering the information you want, when you want it, how you want, wherever you are." See also the Google perspective today - icing on the cake, so to speak. Posted on January 14, 2008 at 12:26 PM | Comments (0) New Year Brings Renewed Emphasis on MobilityThere's some good stuff out in the news on mobility and wireless this past week, as the International Consumer Electronics Show 2008 (CES) winds up in Las Vegas and the world gets ready for Apple's annual MacWorld Conference - see this good article today in InfoWorld. Or if you just want to listen, check out NPR's Morning Edition today, which has a MacWorld Update. A common thread running through all this commentary is mobility. The mobile Web, Yahoo co-founder and chief executive Jerry Yang said, "is the next phase of the Internet." Intel Corp. CEO Paul Otellini said he thinks it will be even bigger than that. "We're now in the midst of the largest opportunity to redefine consumer electronics and entertainment since the introduction of the television," Otellini predicted in prepared remarks for a keynote speech late Monday. Intel announced that it is on track to deliver its latest chips for so-called "mobile Internet devices" - part computer, part phone, part Web browser - in several months. It is launching a major initiative, not unlike its Centrino wireless PC push, aimed at putting the Internet in your pocket. Otellini showed off prototype devices based on Intel chips, including a Web-based gadget that travelers can use to audibly and visually translate building signs, restaurant menus and conversations in real time. With built-in Global Positioning System technology, the pocket-sized device also could be used to get directions and identify and give background on local landmarks, via the Web. Tech and mobile phone companies, of course, have for years been promising better Internet service on phones and hand-held gadgets. The market potential is huge: Forecasters predict that there will be more than 4 billion cell phones worldwide by 2010, dwarfing the number of personal computers. Apple's introduction of the all-in-one iPhone last year jump-started the latest industry push toward improving mobile Internet. Push is on to make Web more accessible on mobile phones and portable gadgets Just how mobile can Internet go? in today's paper talks about some limits. Price, first of all, will limit adoption of these new mini-laptops. Cultural lag as well will slow things down. We just need time to get adjusted to this change, it seems. But then again ...I just read this little snippet of a product review and I find myself thinking, "I've got $400 for that, and it would work in a city network as a substitute for a cellphone, video camera phone, email reader, web portal, and emergency laptop. Put it together with the cheap 8Gb flash memory stick I just bought at Fry's for $29 - after rebate - and I'm good to go under a city Wi Fi cloud ... without a monthly cell phone bill." ... In Review: Asus' $400 Eee PC Wins by Breaking Rules we see some innovative behavior coming from a manufacturer in Taiwan. Asus, a Taiwanese computer parts maker (world's leading manufacturer of motherboards), got the price down on this ultra-mobile PC by breaking the rules. 1. Size - don't need a big screen or keyboard, make it small and very portable When you trash your assumptions and start with a clean slate and a motivation to get a high-utility product out there for the cheapest price, a tremendous number of cheap tools and parts can be brought together to create something very intriguing, and I'm betting, cheap will win a large number of converts as the bugs get worked out in this product over the coming year. Unencumbered by Windows, the Eee PC boots up so quickly I didn't bother counting the seconds. Its Wi-Fi chip links with the Web in a flash, and its Webcam - a feature missing from many laptops triple the price - turns it into a video messaging device with the help of eBay Inc.'s Skype, which comes pre-loaded. There are USB ports for peripherals, a port to connect to a monitor, and - most essentially - a flash-memory slot to expand its meager storage. Battery life is advertised at 3.5 hours. The Eee PC's custom version of the Linux operating system has a simple user interface that takes some getting used to. It organizes the software by tabs - Internet, Work, Learn and Play - but many users on the Eee PC forum dislike its look. An upgrade to a more familiar, Windows-like interface is available in "advanced" mode, which can be activated with a few minutes of careful programming. (But you'll do that at your peril. On my second day, a badly written command crashed my system. I had to reinstall the original software.) The Firefox Web browser, Adobe Acrobat Reader and OpenOffice - the open-source equivalent to Microsoft Corp.'s Office - come pre-installed, as do a music player, a video recorder and some addictive games. Google Docs - an online document suite for storing files remotely and sharing them - is also configured. Links to Yahoo Mail, Gmail and other e-mail programs are already on the desktop. A messaging program called Pidgin worked with AOL Instant Messenger and Google Talk. Skype, the voice- and video-calling program, also worked well when I called home from the international airport in Hong Kong. Users willing to learn a few Linux commands can add the Picasa photo sharing program, Google Earth and Audacity, a free audio editing program beloved by bloggers. The Eee PC runs quickly, despite a low-power processor. A disk drive made of memory chips is fully functional, but the four gigabytes installed on my model was insufficient for my needs. A memory card I purchased separately for around $30 doubled the space. The Eee PC's software package leverages recent advancements in open source and online software. It may be hard to believe, but you won't miss Microsoft Word, or Windows, for long. To dig a little deeper, check out Wikipedia's article on the Eee here. What we see here, then, is laptop/cell phone convergence, coming at things from the laptop side. Of course, there is considerable energy being invested from the other direction, making the cell phones more and more like a laptop. For a compelling story of how Apple is moving innovation into the wireless cellphone industry, see The Untold Story: How the iPhone Blew Up the Wireless Industry. Be sure to track the Keynote in tomorrow's MacWorld debut. It's sure to have some intriguing new news. They like to use this forum to make a stir, and I'm sure it won't disappoint. Of course, the bottom line for cities looking at networks is The cheaper these devices get, the more they penetrate the marketplace and the more valuable the network investment becomes, because we need a broadband network to make these devices come to life. Skeptical? Well, don't just take this on faith from me. But I wouldn't be caught betting against Intel, Apple, Yahoo, Google, eBay, Adobe, and a host of other wildly successful, innovative companies, all intent on putting the Internet in your pocket, either. This will happen - soon - because these guys will develop the guts, and then get it made cheaply in East Asia and count on mass production to get the cost down. We are seeing the Internet and the PC evolve, right before our eyes. They need to make something exciting happen to keep us buying their products. And this one has lots of legs. Posted on January 14, 2008 at 10:28 AM | Comments (0) Really Achieving Your Childhood DreamsHere is the Last Lecture of Dr. Randy Pausch, a Virtual Reality professor at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh - to really dig in after watching this video, check out this website ...and here's Randy's personal website, with a link also to update the status of his cancer. Carnegie Mellon Professor Randy Pausch, who is dying from pancreatic cancer, gave his last lecture at the university Sept. 18, 2007, before a packed McConomy Auditorium. In his moving talk, "Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams," Pausch talked about his lessons learned and gave advice to students on how to achieve their own career and personal goals. What better time to sit down and think deep significant thoughts than on one of the first weekends of the new year? This morning, I came across this YouTube video sensation - over 6 million on-line viewings so far - and I have to tell you, this is one of the best 76 minutes and 26 seconds you can spend...unquestionably one of the most motivating, enriching, and enlivening lectures you'll ever hear/watch/attend...after reading this blog, I recommend you take the time to get comfortable and watch this video, with a cup of coffee, tea, glass of wine, beer, whatever refreshes you...you won't regret it. After you see it, I'm betting you'll want to share it. This has really cool information about virtual reality, but far more valuable life lessons - I'll be sharing this with my kids... In the end, listening to a brilliant man who knows he is soon dying is a gift that should not be passed up. Here are some of the most memorable quotes and key lessons he shares. And a running theme throughout the lecture is this:
A Short List of Memorable Quotes and Life Lessons Achieving Your Own Dreams On dreaming: "It's important to have specific dreams." On disappointment: "Experience is what you get when you didn't get what you wanted." On learning: "A head fake is when we learn more important things while ostensibly learning less important things." On persistence: "The brick walls are they to stop the other people, the ones who don't want it bad enough to keep going." On personal relationships and difficult people: "Wait long enough and people will surprise and impress you." Helping Others Realize Their Dreams On conflict: It's very important to know when you're in a pissing match, and it's very important to get out of it as soon as possible." On diplomacy: "How you say things is often as important, or more important, than what you say." On his Vision: "The best way to teach someone something is to have them think they're learning something else....Millions of kids having fun while learning something hard. That's pretty cool. I can deal with that as a legacy." Lessons Learned On the role of parents, mentors, and students: "Mothers are people who love you even when you pull their hair." and "If your kids want to paint their bedroom, let them." and "You're such a good salesman ... be a professor ... you might as well be selling something worthwhile, like education." and "If you present (the task) as a story telling activity, they (girls) are perfectly happy learning to program." On having fun: "I don't know how to not have fun. I'm dying and I'm having fun. And I'm going to keep having fun every day I have left. Because there's no other way to play it. You have to decide whether you are a Tigger or an Eeyore." On loyalty: "Loyalty is a two-way street." Best Piece of Advice for young ladies: "When it comes to men, just ignore everything they say and only pay attention to what they do. It's that simple." On persistence: "Never give up." On listening: "Get a feedback loop and listen to it ... when you do the right thing, good stuff has a way of happening. The hard part is the listening to it. Anybody can get chewed out. When people give you feedback, cherish it and use it." On suffering: "Don't complain, just work harder." And three final pearls: "Be good at something, it makes you valuable." and "Find the best in everybody. No-one is all evil." and "Be prepared, luck is truly where preparation meets opportunity." The bottom line: "This talk's not about dreams, it's about how to live your life."
Finally (this conclusion from me). The Hook, the connection to metropolitan broadband, is this: "City leaders have an opportunity to provide for dreams to be achieved for those in their cities whom they lead. Broadband infrastructure holds the key for some kids somewhere to become leaders as adults, to fulfill their own dreams. We should all work to give them that chance, to help make their futures. It's not easy, but it's worth it in the long run. This is what motivates me." Happy New Year! Posted on January 12, 2008 at 05:29 PM | Comments (0) Wii Little ExperimentAs the Consumer Electronics Show gets underway out in Las Vegas, it's good to keep in mind that all this cool new stuff ultimately gets torn apart and put to new uses by smart people goofing around... For instance, though my son has had a Nintendo Wii for nearly a year, I never knew about this... See also Unstrung's take on CES, from a Wireless perspective... And, these Wii commercials... Posted on January 09, 2008 at 05:00 AM | Comments (0) What's Next? ..." City to provide FREE 8-Track Players?"When asked, one official explained that they got the players for "a very low price," adding that 8-tracks for the free players were readily available at garage sales locally. "We all need to listen to music, and there's some good classic rock on 8-track ...you know, not everyone can afford one of those Sony Walkmans," said the anonymous city leader, who declined to give his name. In related news, Westland: City to provide free dial-up Internet service. I'm glad I don't live in Michigan... ...Meanwhile, over in Belgium, they're moving in the other direction .... Belgacom shuts down dial-up service. Such is the smell of decline. Posted on January 07, 2008 at 10:40 PM | Comments (0) I would have voted for Wide StanceRan across this one while blogging this afternoon, watching the Longhorns play St. Mary's - sadly basketball, learning to let football go... Check it out - American Dialectic Society's Word of the Year is (drum roll please .. dududududdududududu...."subprime.") The number after each nomination is the number of votes it received. Numbers separated by slash marks indicate a run-off. Voting totals are for each category might not be identical because the number of voters might have changed for each category. WORD OF THE YEAR WINNER: "subprime," an adjective used to describe a risky or less than ideal loan, mortgage, or investment. 79 There are many more good words in other categories, such as "bacn," "global weirding," and "earmarxist" ... never heard of any of 'em .... worth a look.... Posted on January 05, 2008 at 05:50 PM | Comments (0) Top 10 Wireless PredictionsGovernment Technology on-line magazine has a good article - very appropriate for this time of year - Top 10 Wireless Predictions for 2008. I'd direct your attention especially to Prediction # 2, 3, 6, and 8. While this particular wireless analysis focuses on the 3G/4G cellular wireless world, there are overlap and implications for the metropolitan broadband wireless world that is the focus in this space. MNIQ and analysis and comments follow this summary below. inCode, a VeriSign Company, has again issued its Top 10 predictions for the game-changing events that will shape the wireless industry in 2008. The predictions cover major trends ranging from who will win the communication standard wars, what role Google will play in the wireless world after January's spectrum auction and whether or not consumers will finally open up to digital content and mobile advertising. The predictions, first created in 2003 by inCode, a global business and technology consultancy acquired by VeriSign in November 2006, are designed to help wireless industry players, partners and consumers better plan for the coming year. "The coming year is going to be incredibly important for the wireless industry as new business models begin to take shape," said Jorge Fuenzalida, vice president of communications consulting for inCode, a VeriSign company. "Beginning with the spectrum auction in January, to the continuing battle between fourth-generation (4G) technologies LTE and WiMAX, to what it's going to take to make converged wireless a reality, wireless will look significantly different in several critical ways one year from today." 2008 predictions highlights (complete predictions follow highlights): -- The WiMAX/LTE wars will end with a whimper. The long-awaited "take-off-the-gloves" battle between next-generation wireless technologies LTE, HSPA and WiMAX will not occur since they are in different stages of maturity, with HSPA already enjoying widespread adoption and a flourishing device market. -- A new wholesale carrier will emerge. The 700MHz spectrum auction presents a large opportunity for the emergence of a new wholesale carrier (i.e., no retail operations or direct customer) that focuses on being the most cost-effective player in the market and avoids the retail game. The wholesale carrier model will be driven by companies such as Google - but the question remains: How much control will Google be able to garner? -- Peer-to-peer (P2P) technology goes mainstream. Long used for pirating files, US distributors follow the UK's lead and begin to utilize next-generation, secure and DRM-protected P2P for mobile content distribution. -- For the eighth year in a row, mobile service quality will continue to deteriorate. The combination of new technology (3G), multi-band, multi-access technology, advanced and complex handsets, least-cost routing and under-investments in network coverage have made mobile services less reliable than they were before the introduction of 3G. 2008 Top 10 Predictions for the Global Wireless Market 1. RF Technology Convergence Will Finally Start to Materialize MetroNetIQ Comments after the jump. MNIQ:The opening of wholesale wireless markets will be supported by Wi Fi networks, where available... 2. A New Wholesale Carrier Will be Born MNIQ: Already, T-Mobile is advertising dual use cellular phones with Wi Fi capability. Look for more device and handset vendors to add Wi Fi as an amenity to differentiate their products. And where these devices can run on Wi Fi metropolitan networks, they will be able to carry more data-rich advertising. 3. Device Proliferation: Open Access as an Emerging Business Model MNIQ: Metropolitan broadband networks will also reflect this new media-driven trend, where P2P business models target specific audiences for custom content delivery. 6. P2P -- From Theft Model to Business Model MNIQ: In cities that have metropolitan networks, mobile carriers will become additional anchor tenants, using the citywide networks to augment their other backhaul options. Posted on January 03, 2008 at 01:10 PM | Comments (0) The Universe is in Synch, the Internet Connects It (and Us)I posted the other day on Perceptions of the Future, using as an example my childhood fantasies about jet packs (see Christmas Letter VIII - Jet Pack/Hovercraft, iPod/iPhone/Prius, or "None of that Nonsense...". In the comics in today's paper, one of my favorite strips - F-Minus (another New Year's Resolution - bookmark this site at Comics.com)
And to my surprise, in response to my post I received an email yesterday morning from Ray Li in Florida, telling me about his efforts to develop a recreational jet pack that is safe. Seems he's making progress. His website is JetLev News.
Posted on January 02, 2008 at 09:10 AM | Comments (0) Look Before You Leap, Part 6I posted Part 5 in this series on December 22, which seems like a year ago...not really, just my first chance to use this joke that never gets old. :) The holidays are already fading into a blur, and I'm coming to the realization that Regular Time has returned. But with a twist. We have a brand new year to work with. This is exciting. And that's how champions and change agents should look at the potential of metropolitan broadband. A project of this type offers a tremendous opportunity to focus a constituency on a new way of looking at things, a new way of getting work accomplished. Here's a recap, in case you missed the first five parts of this series...first, I proposed a sliding scale where multiple dimensions of decision-making help a leader faced with a difficult decision to break down the elements that drive his/her choices. Not unlike the way a computer audio control breaks down the components of sound to let the audiophile tune to just the right sound quality.
In previous posts on this topic (See Part 1 - the Background: Disruptive Change, Part 2 - the Set Up: Framework for Decision-making, Part 3 - Foundational Perspective, Part 4 - Organizing System and Part 5 - Functional Process), I described a changing world that is increasingly networked and tied together and oriented around digital technology. I argued that to make local changes to accommodate and leverage these new opportunities and this changing landscape, we're faced with decisions and analysis along several dimensions (as on the sliding scale graphic above). So, on to the next element, Part 6 - a Holistic, Comprehensive and Sustainable Solution...
4.1. Moving from Applications (Point Solutions) to Networks (Holistic Solutions) - Traditionally, city departments have built proprietary solutions into their individual budgets and the applications came with a communication platform bundled in. The result has been a system where the vendor holds leverage over the public sector consumer, which manages an increasing array of proprietary devices and software applications that do not work together, require expensive upgrades, and have differing legacies and shelf lives. In contrast, moving to a general purpose communication network that supports any IP-based application gives the public sector consumer much better leverage over vendors, where standardized products can be interchanged and no one vendor has an exclusive. 4.2. Proprietary to Standards-Based - We've learned a considerable amount about the value of standards over the past century. In the 1800s, it was common for an artisan or craftsman to work alone and make unique goods. Starting with Henry Ford's innovative ideas on mass production, the business world began to understand the efficiencies and benefits of reaching economies of scale. The technology era went a step further by gathering together industry leaders to come to agreement on production standards, thus allowing products to interact efficiently, providing consumer benefits and stimulating demand. That moves the whole industry rapidly through the product adoption cycle and lowers costs of production as cost efficiencies are achieved, creating a self-sustaining virtuous cycle, a great outcome if you can get it. The best example in our field of this phenomenon is the successful work of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, or IEEE, which gave us among other popular standards, IEEE IEEE 802.11a,b, g and soon, n and s - standards that support Wi Fi and mesh networks - and IEEE 802.16d and e, standards that support WiMAX. I put together this graphic a few years ago for a client to demonstrate the concept of a virtuous cycle based on standardization and collaboration.
4.3. Moving from Service Purchases to Infrastructure Provisioning - The move to digital platforms and the automation of manual processes raises the profile of the network on which services are delivered. As the network becomes a more critical component for the city, the city can begin to look at provisioning services over its own network infrastructure as a compelling and valid alternative to buying network services by-the-drink, gaining not only lower costs over time, but also greater security. Until the advent of relatively cheap new equipment and unlicensed spectrum, which together keep the costs of such networks low, entry by the public sector was simply not an available option. This approach of owning the network infrastructure is a significant departure from tradition, but should be viewed no differently than owning other critical infrastructure that the city uses to provide itself services, such as the water and electric utilities, and any fiber that it owns. Next, we'll tie all this together to show how this methodology can lead to less anxious, more sound decision-making when faced with technology change. Posted on January 02, 2008 at 08:35 AM | Comments (0) Best Blogs of 2007Here's a good site to bookmark and go to when you have a few moments. I plan to work through this list of the best blogs of 2007 - my first New Year's Resolution. How about you? Jon Swift: Best Blog Posts of 2007 (Chosen by the Bloggers Themselves) Posted on January 02, 2008 at 06:27 AM | Comments (0) Top Ten Posts for 2007
So here I am, on the first day of the year, trying to watch football, cook steak, drink a 10-year old Merlot, and write this blog. Something tells me this blog post may go into tomorrow... Little did I think the Christmas letter I started a week ago would need to go out in 8 parts, but as I reviewed all the ground we covered in my business, and all the topics we posted on, there was no way to do the year justice without spending some time on review. It was an interesting ride to go through all the documents and business activity, and to go through all the blog posts for the year. I hope you readers found it so as well. Having processed all that material this far, it's just one more step to compile a Best of the Year series, so here are my favorite posts for the year, rolled into one post. I'll go ahead and try the Top Ten format, as that is so popular, and it has value because it makes me focus, something I struggle with... 1. Cities as Complex Ecosystems: Mother Nature Knows Best Frenay thinks so and makes a credible argument. I would urge anyone in the city management business to take a look at this perspective. If anything, I believe that cities are complex ecosystems and they're best managed holistically, by thinking with a nature paradigm about how all the parts work together in harmony. Change is more easily accomplished at the local level, which gives relevance to this train of thought. Thinking about the future of your city holistically, you are bound to consider a network project at some point, because any complex ecosystem needs a communication medium, and metropolitan broadband offers that medium. 2. What's Municipal Wireless Good For? The Whole Enchilada I think that telecom is an inherently complex operation, and that cities, especially smaller ones, benefit when they assume a partnership role with private players. Cities are best served leaving the risky and complex jobs to the private sector where possible, focusing on what they do well: providing for the general welfare of the citizenry, principally with better public safety, better infrastructure, better prospects for the future (eco dev), and increasingly, better protection of the natural environment. Not to say that cities can't and shouldn't still be great catalysts for change, and that is the essence of what Municipal Wireless is good for. It helps cities be better at what they are good for - taking care of their citizens. In summary, Muni Wireless provides 1. a stimulus for national debate on broadband... 3. What's in a Name? A Lot, if it Signifies an Attitude and an Approach So, imagine this paradigm shift driven by a simple name change. What if we look at a Metropolitan Broadband Network not as an IT Project led by the IT team, with backing from city government leaders, to accomplish the laudable city goals of more efficient city government? What if instead we start of thinking of the task as a Community and Economic Development Project, led by a cross-section of government, business, and community leaders, to provide not only efficient city government, but also widespread access to broadband for all citizens, as well as long-term, sustainable economic development? Now the perspective shifts, and the IT Director / CIO becomes a leader and technology adviser to a much broader project, and one member of a much larger team. MetroNetIQ is using just such a shift in focus to give a new perspective to metropolitan broadband projects. There are trade-offs that come with this shift, but they are worth it. The project will take longer and will have more up-front expenses. But it is likely to turn out better in the end and pay long-term dividends. 4. Small, Simple, Cheap, and Fast - OHMMMMMMMM That is what I believe is the bottom line on the need for different approaches to broadband provisioning: A divergence from the status quo is called for, and an opportunity presents itself to model the success of Open Source software development. This is what we will see more and more of in the coming year - more experimentation, more innovation, more change. As consumers, we should open ourselves up to new ways of doing things, exploring what we value and what we can do without. There are multiple lessons to be learned if we will set off on this path. 6. On the Cutting Edge - Citywide Broadband on Steroids FTTH can lead, if the community is ready to make the leap to a 21st Century Future-Proof Broadband Network, if community and economic development are front and center, and if more competitive broadband market rates are needed. Wireless Broadband will be important as well for mobility, and that can come initially with Hot Spots, Hot Zones, or more ubiquitous coverage. Wireless Broadband can lead, if it's mobility that's most crucial, but a fiber loop will be needed for back haul initially, and the network will need to grow into a full FTTH network over time to provide necessary capacity to meet future capacity requirements. 7. Phoenix MetroNets, Rising from the Ashes Municipal Wireless 2.0 - the Trial Stage. The bottom line from this industry stage is that these networks counted on a new private sector industry developing and taking on the risks of these projects. Big city leaders were willing to launch initiatives as long as they bore little of the risk. When that "scenario" finally began to unravel, with the withdrawal of free deals by MetroFi and EarthLink, and the sputtering of Kite, the air went out of the balloon that was Municipal Wireless, or so it seemed. The announcement of the Death of Municipal Wireless was premature, however. Municipal Wireless 3.0 - the Emergent Customization Stage. I think we're emerging into a new stage of this industry, where we'll see the adoption of a variety of new business models, call it "MuniWireless 3.0," which I've labeled the Emergent Customization Stage. Imagine a shotgun blast, where pellets emerge from the gun barrel and explode into a broader, widening pattern. That's where we are with business models - we've matured to the point that interested parties have a menu of options to consider, and they can browse (pardon the pun!) to get the right option for their particular needs - a Custom business model, if you will. As cities learn more, they are able to take a more autonomous role, and we will see several different paths emerge, because cities are widely divergent in their local situations and preferences. Long Live Freedom of Choice! 8. Tangled Webs, Wicked Ways "How shall we move our country onto a more sound footing when it comes to broadband infrastructure? For it will either be by working through these large companies, or by working around them." For better or worse, our very complex communication web in this country is based on a history of government outsourcing development risks to the private sector, in most cases, to a regulated monopoly (AT&T). From the start, it's been a complicated yet incredibly successful venture, one that has evolved into a myth, starting with Alexander Graham Bell's "Watson Come Here" line and moving forward to Bell Labs series of technical discoveries in the 20th century. The measures this administration and its supporters would take cannot make us any safer, but they do offer to make us feel safer, in exchange for long-lasting political changes that serve their agenda. In response, we should be demanding hard evidence, we should demand to know: "How do massive violations of our laws to survey all data communications make us any safer?" What's the track record to date? It's been six years, after all. We're fed the impression that we're being protected, but in fact, that's not possible by such means. In fact, our civil liberties are being traded away for a pittance in an historic power grab. We're buying a temporary feeling of security, in exchange for handing over our most precious asset: the system of laws, checks, and balances that are the very foundation of our government and our stable civil society. This issue is coming to a head in the Senate, and I'm concerned. In the Senate, two competing versions of the FISA Act have passed out of Senate committees. One, passed last month by the Intelligence Committee, saw Democratic Senators Schumer and Feinstein vote with the Republicans in favor of a version that contains immunity for telecom firms that cooperated with requests from the executive branch to break laws and provide surveillance of domestic data traffic without warrants. 10. Shamalama Ding Dong - Life is a Highway We believe that the somewhat-spontaneous experiments of the open world of the Alternate Broadband universe are pushing out the envelope as fast or faster than the planned experiments and careful steps of the closed Conventional Broadband world of cable and DSL. And we also believe that there is room for both. Those large companies need the Alternate Broadband world to go out and take the risks, to experiment and come up with new broadband models. The smart ones among the Conventional Broadband players will watch advances in the Alternate Broadband space and adapt, while the overconfident ones will deny the changes until it is too late. Change is happening fast, the world is not the same as it was four years ago when I started in this space. What will the railroad operators do when the tracks no longer go where people want to go? What will they do when alternatives, like roads and cars, come along to compete with their railroad monopolies? Some will adapt, but others will go away. It's been a fun year...next, a look forward at 2008. 2008 ... that's going to take some getting used to.... Posted on January 01, 2008 at 11:11 AM | Comments (0) |
METRONET VENDOR DIRECTORYMY OTHER BLOGSMetroNetIQ E-Store - Be sure to visit the MetroNetIQ E-Store and pick up a copy of The ABCs of Community Broadband: How Digital Transitions Will Transform America's Communities, One at a Time. The E-Store will offer special discounts on this valuable guide for community leaders, discounts that won't be available to the general public on Amazon! |
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