San Marcos Takes One More Step Forward

In 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)

San Marcos Project in the News

The San Antonio Express News covered the San Marcos wireless project in Sunday's paper, with a surprising title to the article: San Marcos isn't bailing out on citywide wireless project.

I had to chuckle a little - perhaps the consultant is always the last to know, but I hadn't heard that there was any risk of San Marcos bailing out, so that title caught me a little off guard.

From the outside looking in, I guess it's easy to assume that cities are all jumping out of wireless projects, given the mainstream press coverage of late. But the point was made well in this article that this particular city project is not that similar to many of the projects that have shut down recently. It was a good article though, more or less accurate in its portrayal of the San Marcos wireless project.

It's NOT based on Free Wi Fi.

It's NOT based on providing general public Internet access.

It's NOT based on a business model that requires a private sector company to achieve great retail subscriber levels to break even or make money.

It's NOT a big city wireless deal.

It IS based on paid retail rates, some free access, and a variety of government, commercial and residential access options.

It IS based on multiple applications providing multiple benefits, both in cost savings for city government departments and in new revenue opportunities for the city.

It IS based on a business model that requires multiple cost efficiencies and revenue sources.

It IS designed to make sense for a medium sized city in a high growth corridor.

So besides those things, I guess, it is a wireless broadband deal, like others we have read about.

Posted on December 17, 2007 at 01:58 PM | Comments (0)

So, What's Next Then?

Here's what I see on the horizon, as Earthlink takes a poca siesta after all its hard work (see my previous post). I make these conclusions based on my observations in Texas, which I believe is a pretty strong indicator for the rest of the nation.

First, the market is stimulated. There are literally hundreds of city leaders who are actively looking at this topic at this point, and not just in Texas. The prospect of a free lunch is a powerful stimulant (if not all the way into what we would call an attractive aphrodisiac). So, EarthLink got a lot of attention from cities, and like the Belle of the Ball, she now wishes to retire to her table to contemplate her next set of dance partners. Makes sense. Understood.

Second, a number of choices for engagement in metropolitan broadband loom before those city leaders newly interested in connectivity infrastructure. Sure, the Public Private Partnership model may have been the Model Du Jour, as long as cities thought they could get a great deal from service providers. And while many projects will not let go of that hope too quickly, the smart city leaders are already moving on and considering their alternatives.

Medium-sized ciites have realized they need a full-boat of engaged parties to attract a private partner - they may just take all those agitated and excited anchor tenant parties down a different path, into a new and different business model discussion, like say, a city-owned network - a bond issue or a grant proposal is not out of the question with sufficient community support. Other cities will no doubt strike up a dialogue with their incumbent broadband service providers, challenging them to expand their purview and vision for their particular service territory, based on all this newfound interest. And some of those discussions will bear fruit.

Third, wireless broadband applications are getting almost as much attention these days as the wireless broadband network technology itself. As the market matures and general understanding of Wi Fi mesh and WiMAX gains ground, city leaders shift their attention to the business case and the applications that will run on the networks. This is a rich area that is bound to see much more attention during the remainder of this year.

And finally, another big player may just come along to partner with these big cities who have active plans for metropolitan broadband. There are a limited number of attractive markets in the US and we are falling further behind in broadband penetration. And, watch for some medium-sized players to get more active with the smaller cities. I'm not convinced that the Public Private Partnership model is dead, just because EarthLink took a breather.

So, if just these four trends play out as described above, will we view the impact of EarthLink's announcement with a positive or negative spin after six months? Is it so bad if motivated cities maintain their momentum and take control of their destiny, engaging their communities in a healthy strategic discussion? If new business models emerge and gain press attention? If new, exciting wireless broadband applications stimulate new dialogue about the impacts of anytime, anywhere broadband networks? What is the true potential of public and private sector joint innovation? This is a national discussion on the future of broadband in the US that has been needed for quite some time, after all. So let's keep on talking!

There's much more to come, but like EarthLink, I need to take a short break right now and go check on my hamburgers, smoking out on the grill. It is Saturday evening, after all, and burnt hamburgers for the Cooper clan, while not as significant as a corporate catastrophe, are certainly a more immediate and personal risk for me!

Posted on April 28, 2007 at 06:46 PM | Comments (0)

Inspiration at the Beach

I went to my first TAGITM annual meeting this week. It felt a little like that first trip to meet the parents after you've been dating that special someone, in so much as the gathering had a family feel to it, and I was clearly new to the party and not even a public sector employee - an outsider on two fronts. But I was warmly received and felt at home from the start.

And a party it was...The Texas Association of Government IT Managers clearly knows how to have a good time and still get some work done. It was a blast, and I met some very nice people. It didn't hurt that we were in South Padre Island, a Spring Break getaway at the southernmost tip of Texas, and the weather was as pleasant as it could be. I came back yesterday evening tired, but with my fill of shrimp, sun, and cold beer.

And I came back inspired, because my vision of what municipal wireless networks can be here in Texas was confirmed. One interesting analogy came to me this morning, as I reflected on the week.

On Tuesday afternoon, I participated in a sandcastle building contest, which was really a teambuilding exercise. It turned out great - they had a Sandcastle Consultant (your mental image is correct - think Robinson Crusoe and you're not far off) start things off by giving us a 15-minute Basics course, and then we had a sandcastle expert assigned to each of the five teams. Good start.

The team captains were designated according to which person on each team had signed up first - the most motivated were our leaders? Good start. As we milled about, I whispered in our team leader's ear that I had received cudos in the past for a sand octopus I had built on a previous vacation, and it was pretty easy to do. Could we work that into the project guidelines?

The contest gave each 10-person team a set of tools and a consultant and a common goal of building a sand object with a "computer-based" theme. What if our octopus were typing on a laptop? He went with my idea and I volunteered to go up to my suite to bring down some beer. Ten minutes later, I show up with a twelve-pack and the octopus was already taking shape. As I watched the consultant and another working on the laptop and the head, I saw the majority of the team working on one tentacle each. The teambuilding part was working well. We were ahead of the competition, and had ample time to work on details. The tentacles spread out, looking like wires to me. What if the tentacles turned into cables - I spread the suggestion that we have some fun with the tentacles - one ended up sporting an RJ45 terminal.

Each of the other tentacles took on its own ending: besides the two tentacles typing on the laptop, we had one holding a Blackberry, another a cell phone, one with a can of Bud Light, a curled tentacle holding a pen, and finally, the piece de resistance, a tentacle grasping a pair of crimping pliers. The finishing touch had the Octopus sporting a big grin and a badge that read "CIO." After all, what CIO wouldn't be happy with eight arms to help him/her get all their work done?

Through some mix up in the judging, we ended up with a second-place trophy. I won't go into the winning team's design, but clearly, there had been some bribing of judges going on. In the end, the exercise worked and we had a lot of fun playing in the sand.

It was a fun exercise, and for me, it showed both the organic nature of creativity and the concept of emergence. From a kernel of an idea and a vision, the team went on to create personal touches and add florishes that only came to mind as they built the tentacles. I couldn't have imagined a better outcome.

I see the same process unfolding in the wireless projects at hand here in Texas. An important first step is to establish some clear project guidelines and an open spirit of teamwork and cooperation. Everyone involved should have a say and the project should be flexible enough to include flashes of inspiration. The end should not be pre-ordained, but should have a goal in mind to start with.

Once a process like a metropolitan broadband network is kicked off, it's impossible to say where the chemistry of the project will take it. The leaders should maintain sufficient flexibility and an open mind, so that when a better idea or modification floats up from the surface, it can be accommodated and added in, as long as it conforms to the general idea, is acceptable to most on the team, and is an improvement. That way, the project truly will reflect the interests and desires of the local community and they will have a sense of ownership and authorship.

The cooperation, team spirit and sense of fun that I saw from this group of public sector IT professionals bodes well for Texas and its connected broadband future. As long as we find a way to let everyone contribute, I think our future is in good hands and we will see plenty of creative energy and innovation shaping the outcomes.

Posted on April 27, 2007 at 08:41 AM | Comments (0)

The Power of the Press

We'll be talking more and more about this, the power of good press, especially regarding Community Involvement and Economic Development. There are two key constituencies in a metropolitan broadband deployment: Internal and External. Good public relations ensures that the groups that will be impacted by your project get the appropriate messaging.

And the messages to each group will vary somewhat. While common material will explain the basics of the project to all audiences, the benefits message will vary based on your audience. After some exchanges with reporters after the press release went out on Wednesday, I realized the complexity of the message and wrote a blog to capture the important details. It's important to have a consistent message, and I hoped the blog could serve as a resource until we get a website up (shortly). I see it as in our interest to help the press out, to provide a common touch point for the press to get background information, which both makes their job easier and ensures consistency of message.

Here's a list of the positive press we received over the last three days (one outlier is the coverage of the 3/6 City Council meeting, before we released the Press Release on 3/28). Just imagine your city's name substituted in press releases like these. At the outset, the press reports are universally positive. Pretty Cool.

3/8 - San Marcos Daily Record

3/28 - Fox 7 News

3/29 - KLBJ-AM Morning News; Austin American Statesman; RoadRunner Portal / News 8; and Wi Fi Networking News

3/30 - MuniWireless; and San Antonio Express News

UPDATE: 4/1 - Seguin Gazette-Enterprise (Seguin is a town about half the size of San Marcos, about 30 miles to the south ... this is an example of the "Ripple Effect," where like ripples in a pond after a stone is thrown in, the impact expands in the region)

UPDATE: 4/4 San Marcos Daily Record

UPDATE: 4/5 - Texas Government Insider

UPDATE: 4/11 - University Star, student newspaper of Texas Statue University

So who is reading this stuff and why does it matter?

The lists of Internal and external constituents are each quite detailed - there are more different parties who are impacted by a project like this than one would think at first. They include a laundry list of community stakeholders and industry types. Here goes:

Internal Audience (Community Involvement)

Government
City (City Staff, both Management and Line); City Council (Mayor and City Council Members)
County (County Staff, both Management and Line); County Commissioners Court (Judge and Precinct Commissioners)

Education
Higher Education (Universities and Community Colleges, including Administration Management, Administration Employees, Faculty & Faculty Organizations, Students & Student Organizations, Families of Students)
K-12 Education - School Districts & Schools (Administration Management, Administration Employees, Faculty & Faculty Organizations, Students & Student Organizations, Parents, Relatives, & Guardians, Volunteer Groups)
Vocational - Job Training, etc. (Administration Management, Administration Employees, Faculty, Students & Student Organizations)

Business / Commercial
Economic Development (Chambers of Commerce, including Management, Board, Member Businesses, and Convention & Visitor's Bureau; Economic Development Council, including Board & Staff; and Downtown Association, including Member Representatives)
Businesses - Owners and Managers (Major Employers, Industrial, Retail, SMB, Locally-owned, National chains, and Franchises)

Community (i.e., Residential)
Groups (Council of Neighborhood Associations, Neighborhood Associations, Clubs, Service Organizations)
Individuals (Neighborhoods & Subdivisions, Apartment Complexes, Dormitories)

Health Care
Hospitals & Clinics (including EMS, Doctors Offices)

External Audience (Economic Development)

Neighboring Communities

Economic Development Targets
Business considering relocation
Indivduals & Families considering relocation

Telecommunications & Applications Providers
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and Wireless ISPs (WISPs) (Incumbents, including Telecom ISP, Cable ISP; and Competitors, including ISPs and WISPs)
Hardware & Software Application Providers (Public Sector Applications, including Public Safety, Emergency Responder, Field Mobile Data Communications, Utility Automated Meter Reading (AMR), Utility Field Sensors & SCADA, Voice over IP (VOIP), Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), Video Surveillance, and Video Streaming; and Consumer Applications, including Voice over IP (VOIP) and more - much more - but I'm out of steam). - See www.wikimetronet.com for a more comprehensive list of wireless applications.

As you can see, there are an amazing number of groups and people who are interested in what you are doing to bring metropolitan broadband to your community. Metropolitan Broadband is exciting stuff. Really.

So if one has an exciting and positive story to tell about one's community and about one's project (and EVERYONE doing a project like this does), why on earth would one want to soft pedal it? The rule of thumb is: be proud and be loud - your project will be the better for it. As long as you stick to facts and don't embellish, you're on solid ground. The more excitement you generate, and the better you educate all concerned, the more your project will be energized and the more resources will come out of the woodwork to make it happen. Don't underestimate the importance of wide-spread support and don't shirk in your efforts to recruit it.

The press is your friend, so take care of them and they will communicate better, which will serve you well.

Posted on March 31, 2007 at 06:02 PM | Comments (0)

A Divine Comedy: Paradox, Competition, and Cooperation

A paradox is an apparently true statement or group of statements that leads to a contradiction or a situation which defies intuition. Typically, either the statements in question do not really imply the contradiction, the puzzling result is not really a contradiction, or the premises themselves are not all really true or cannot all be true together. The word paradox is often used interchangeably and wrongly with contradiction; but whereas a contradiction asserts its own opposite, many paradoxes do allow for resolution of some kind.

The recognition of ambiguities, equivocations, and unstated assumptions underlying known paradoxes has led to significant advances in science, philosophy and mathematics. But many paradoxes, such as Curry's paradox, do not yet have resolutions which are accepted by everybody. Wikipedia on "Paradox"

I visited another Texas city that is considering metropolitan broadband and the paradox of cooperation and competition was an underlying theme of our stimulating 2 and 1/2 hour conversation. What a rich topic this is! I sincerely hope that most cities are having or are going to have soon a conversation like we had last Friday.

Resolution of paradox is no easy thing. Just try to make it simple - it won't work. To get past a paradox requires some deep thinking and wrestling with conflicting ideas. The good thing is that the exercise, while necessary, provides ancilliary benefits, like muscles that show up after your workout. A community that wrestles with paradoxes by talking and working things out to their mutual advantage is demonstrating healthy behavior that is a great indicator of future success - and this is success that begets a pattern of success, because working together is an essential component of a healthy society.

This reasoning underlies my argument that the best metropolitan broadband project is begun immediately - no sense waiting if you know it's a long journey - but then proceeds slowly, with steady attention to inclusiveness and diversity of opinion and steady mutual learning of lessons on how to work together better. Lots of listening ensures that the entire situation gets fair consideration and the odds of maneuvering past all the obstacles dealing with a paradox throws your way go up considerably.

When considering cooperation and competition, you see that on the one hand, they lie on either end of a scale that defines how we interact in society - seeming polar opposites. On the other hand, in our daily lives we regularly switch back and forth on our attitude about the two - the answer to how one feels about cooperation and competition is most often "it depends." These lessons start immediately in life, from the Terrible Twos onward, because its the Ego that tells us we are separate and have to compete, but the rational brain recognizes the benefits of cooperation in society. It's situational. It's a nuanced answer, no way around it. Ambiguity on this subject is unavoidable.

You may think you have a rock-solid hold on the situation. "I'm in favor of private sector competition - it's the bedrock of our market economy. It's a matter or principles." But let the market fail you on competition - it can go stale, be abused, or simply be unattainable or impractical - and watch your strong convictions fade. At least I hope they do. There are few things more frustrating than one who holds on to a conviction in the face of overwhelming evidence of the need to let go. When conviction yields to reason is the point at which a market or a society really begins to function in a healthy way and progress is attainable.

When it comes to infrastructure, the underlying support for our daily lives, we tend to benefit from cooperation more than competition, so we turn to the government at its different levels to help manage the situation. In the US, we have a tendency to turn to competition and the private sector whenever we can, sometimes almost to a fault, to our detriment. Other societies and economies have less of a bias to the private sector, and whether or not you favor that approach is a matter of political persuasion.

We mostly build our roads in cooperative fashion, primarily with different public sector entitites coordinating so that the road system, as the physical connection mechanism for our communities, develops to serve all of society. Toll roads, the exception to the rule when it comes to streets and roads, are making a comeback in more congested areas, in the face of difficult financing decisions, but they remain a hotly debated topic in Texas today, especially with the Legislature in session this spring.

But with our electric and telecommunication infrastructure, two other vast connecting networks that we depend upon, the situation is more varied and regional. It's an incremental, mostly blended solution, where prime markets received the first attention from very large private corporations, which built out infrastructure in exchange for agreeing to be regulated to ensure societal benefits. Smaller markets are served in regulated competitive fashion by larger private companies, smaller private companies, or in cooperative fashion by either public sector entities or non-profit cooperatives. It behooves us to re-examine this situation in light of today's market realities, as the need for affordable and ubiquitous broadband connectivity grows inexorably and challenges old paradigms.

In our particular case on Friday, we talked about these subjects in two contexts. First, we talked about market failure: the current availability of affordable broadband in the community and the fact that residential cable broadband is priced at nearly $100/month. Ouch! One could make an argument that competition in this case no longer works for society, but primarily for the benefit of the cable company. The question is how longer society deems this situation to be tolerable, and when they decide to act, just what they intend to do about it. This is the engine that is driving this new industry.

Second, we talked about the issue of regional cooperation - when does it make sense for a community to cooperate with other communities on a metropolitan broadband project? In an ideal world, I would argue for a larger region to cooperate, and I have on this website. But practically speaking, those in a region often consider themselves as competing against each other and do not share my views, and I've gotten the message. There is a middle way though.

It appears the rational choice for city leaders is to a) limit the size of the initial project to the immediate region; b) invite other smaller satellite cities or neighbors in the immediate vicinity to participate in the initial project, while ceding control to the majority partner; and c) hold the larger or more far-flung neighbors at arm's length, at least until after the project has been completed. In a rural county, this probably means the major city drives the project and invites county neighbors to join in. In an urban county, it looks like this is translating into every man/woman for him/herself.

Viewed through the lens of regional competition, this approach makes some sense. "Let other cities model or join in with us AFTER our project is completed, which provides the benefits of cooperation to the region, yet by deferring interaction, preserves the benefits of competition to our first mover community - after all, we pioneers deserve some benefit from going first and taking that extra risk, but we still have the long-term vitality of the region to think about."

As for the first case - where free market competition has failed, at least temporarily, the introduction of a metropolitan broadband project by the city government is corrective, because it changes the fundamental market dynamic, which can lead to two principal outcomes, both beneficial to the society.

First, it can cause the monopolistic service provider to recognize that its hold has slipped, so it drops its high rates back down to a competitive level voluntarily, to prevent mass defection of customers. There will still be many subscribers who will leave if given the chance, for reasons other than price, but the incumbent can preserve revenue by proactively dropping prices. I'm still not so sure how common such magnanimous and far-sighted executive management is. They have to accept the shift to a competitive market, and denial is a powerful force.

A second, more likely scenario is that after the project is underway, the incumbent lowers its rates, but not dramatically. The result is that they let more competition into the market and while you have redundant infrastructures, consumers get more choices and this leads to longer-term competitive behaviors in a more fair market.

Either way, the community wins across the board when it accepts the paradox and works together to embrace and launch a metropolitan broadband project:

- they are hastening the advent of local access to THE infrastructure of the 21st Century - MOBILE BROADBAND;
- they are acting in healthy cooperative fashion as a community, which is contagious and a lot funner than the alternative of incessant bickering of competing interests;
- they are stimulating greater market competition in a commodity service and/or lower prices, with either outcome beneficial;
- they ensure greater social equity by including more citizens in the Have category and addressing the Digital Divide, especially among school kids; and
- they jump-start their economy with a newer, more vital market scenario and greater access to new digital applications and content.

To resolve the inherent paradox of metropolitan broadband, communities need to acknowledge the validity of BOTH competition and cooperation, accept BOTH private sector and public sector roles, decide to move immediately but slowly in order to be more successful, and embrace the fact that WIN/WIN is the only pathway out of the forest and into the sunny meadow, for long-term, sustainable, healthy community interaction. That is what makes a city a desirable place to live and work, and achieving that nirvana is a worthy goal and the sign of strong leadership.

Posted on March 26, 2007 at 05:57 AM | Comments (0)

It's Time ... Let Your Light Shine

Here's a radical idea whose time has come.

From the outset of a discussion and investigation into the potential of building a metropolitan broadband network, public officials and city leaders should go public and speak out, highlighting their intention to bring a broadband network to town and their discoveries along the way, leading up to their decision and ultimate deployment of the network.

I've watched these network launches for a long, long time and come to the conclusion that there is little downside to shouting from the mountaintops at each stage of your investigation into metropolitan broadband. I'm not crazy, I just think we are all way too shy about this process. Sure, some well publicized projects have received this treatment, but way too many have kept their projects and plans under wraps. It reflects well on a city and its leadership if it has an open process, and the fact that leaders are leaning in this direction to take action to provide for their broadband connectivity is a very positive sign of their city's potential as a place to live and work in the 21st Century digital economy.

Together with Patti Hill at Blabbermouth PR, MetroNetIQ issued a press release today announcing our strategic partnership and our plans to work together with cities to tie together metropolitan broadband, economic development, and a strategic PR program. Please check it out.

Even though economic development is touted as one of the three principal benefits of municipal wireless networks (along with efficient city government and ubiquitous access to cheap broadband) - even though it's right there as a key benefit - there still aren't that many cities yet that have a strategy per se about leveraging their metropolitan broadband plans to the hilt, and that are very vocal about what a great city they are for thinking about this. They should shout it from the hilltops that they are the best thing since sliced bread, and their broadband plans are but one more piece of evidence to make their case.

Curiously, at the outset, as they wade into the stream and test the waters on what is initially viewed by most as a city IT project, they seem to wing it from an economic development perspective. It may take cities one or two years to investigate the many different aspects of broadband and come to a decision on what to do. While some projects get a lot of press, many leaders tend to do their investigative work in the background until they come to some consensus and take some decisive action. It's as if they don't think they should make public announcements until they've decided that they're serious in their intentions to do something regarding broadband (and are assured that they are going to act on their intentions).

But seriously, what community today does not consider broadband communications as critical to their future? It's not just local area network connectivity either (for instance, a municipal wireless system). Cities need to ensure that they're on the Internet superhighway with a big fat pipe. There's a good analogy here with the transportation system: it's not unlike having not only great streets inside the city, but also good roads to physically connect your city to the state and national highway system and by extension, to other cities. This applies equally, or even more so, to the small cities and towns as it does to bigger cities that get all the press attention.

And right on cue, here's an article confirming my point. See today's Government Technology magazine: Digital Prosperity by Robert D. Atkinson & Andrew S. McKay.

The authors provide significant facts and arguments to show that all around the world, ICT - information and communication technology - is increasingly responsible for a lion's share of economic wealth creation. All the drivers of ICT - the servers, storage, communciation gear - they're all getting better and cheaper, and over time, the cummulative effect is to kick us all into high gear, efficiency wise.

There is no doubt that the IT revolution has enhanced quality of life, from improving health care, to making it easier for children to get better information and learn more, to giving consumers more convenience in their interactions with business and government and making it easier to measure environmental quality. But while these and other benefits are important, perhaps the most important benefit of the IT revolution is its impact on economic growth. The diffusion of information technology and telecommunications hardware, software, and services turns out to be a powerful driver of growth, having an impact on worker productivity three to five times that of non-IT capital (e.g., buildings and machines). In fact, in the United States IT was responsible for two-thirds of total factor growth in productivity between 1995 and 2002 and virtually all of the growth in labor productivity. Atkinson & McKay

So if I'm in an economic development position in a city, why shouldn't I crow about the money I'm investing in IT and communications capacity and my plans? Let the other guys brag about new buildings and factories - odds are, my plans will play out positively. A 21st Century Digital Infrastructure - done rght - is going to pay off in spades and those cities that go about this process of bringing in a metropolitan broadband network in an open, diligent, businesslike fashion have nothing to hide and everything to gain by bringing along their community as they learn, by talking loudly, widely, and long to the outside world about what their new plans will do to make an already great place to live even better.

It's time to speak up and let your light shine. The future is bright for those cities that invest wisely in IT and communications and let the world know about it.

Posted on March 20, 2007 at 11:13 PM | Comments (0)

Deployment Best Practices

This session sponsored by Cisco Systems provided four speakers that talked about their experience in public broadband deployment. Here they are. I enjoyed this session, lots of good info.

1. Eric Dentler, Wireless Specialist for Cisco Systems
2. Dennis Holmes, Director of Wireless Services, Outsource, Inc.
3. Bob Phelps, Mayor, City of Farmers Branch, TX
4. Ray Cagle, COO, Kite Networks

1. Eric Dentler, Wireless Specialist for Cisco Systems

Eric has prodigious experience in this field. Formerly with Pronto, Air Magnet, and most recently, with Aptilo, Eric is now with Cisco, which I take as evidence of Cisco's hiring. Good Job, Cisco!

"Innovation" has become a buzzword, perhaps "the" buzzword in this space. The five primary deployment models for these networks are as follows: 1) Mixed Use; 2) City-Owned; 3) Ad-Based & Monthly Subscriber; and 4) Specialized netoworks (these migrate to Mixed Use). (Isn't it interesting to see how different people define this industry and the business models?).

Quote of the day, so far: "With Mesh Networks, you are building bridges, so when you go down this path, be sure to look for staying power."

Cisco provides its Service Providers with "Calculator Tools" to measure revenue collection from a mesh network.

Here is the Prescription for Success:
- Take a fresh look, don't recycle an old RFP!! Please!
- Focus on a good End-to-End solution, not a cheap solution
- Look for a regional advantage
- Imagine 1% net new jobs from a wireless deployment
- Look at TCO - total cost of ownership - seek longevity and staying power
- Define the service levels you need
- Calculate the cost of Free
- Envision city micro subsidies, whcih tie wireless system (and capabilities) to city goals

2. Dennis Holmes, Director of Wireless Services, Outsource, Inc. - Dennis provided a more technical focus to his presentation.

3. Bob Phelps, Mayor, City of Farmers Branch, TX - Mayor Phelps gave a testimonial on his personal experience about his wireless project (he's been mayor for 11 years!).

4. Ray Cagle, COO, Kite Networks - This company is seeking to establish a national footprint but with "local sensitivity," by way of participation in municipal wireless projects and through its work with Sprint Broadband. Interesting.

Deployments planned, underway, or complete include Tempe (40 Sq. Mi), ASU (campus deployment), Farmer's Branch, TX (12 SqMi), Longmont, CO (22 SqMi), Yuma, Chandler, and Gilbert, all in AZ.

Be sure to get these slides and look at the one entitled "Assessing an Opportunity" - this is a key slide with criteria to determine if there is a fit between the city and the private partner. While this tool is for the assessment of a city, city officials shold find this helpful b/c it shows you what the vendor is looking for.

Factors that drive a network's viability include 1) population; 2) density; 3) size of network / project; 4) terrain; 5) costs; 6) municipal asset disposition; and 7) Return on Investment. Also, you'll want to assess a) the goals of the municipality; b) key stakeholder players and roles; c) details and costs of network; d) vertical assets; e) backhaul and fiber access; and f) business model.

Finally, think about the power company and the need for both power to the nodes, but also the right to attach to the streetlights. There will be decorative pole issues, as well as the potential need to stabilize existing poles.

Posted on March 05, 2007 at 02:46 PM | Comments (0)

Official Conference Kick Off, Houston & Earthlink Share With Us

Gary Bolles (MicroCast) and Esme Vos (MuniWireless), our conference organizers, launched the conference this morning to a full room of apporximately 300 (400?) attendees.

Esme began by highlighting the difference between this year's MuniWireless Texas 07 and the MuniWireless Atlanta 06 conference,. Bottom LIne: We've Come a Long Way, Baby!!

- Last year, the municpal bans of 2005 were still out there and fresh, and now, the tide has turned and a bill is in front of the Pennsylvania Legislature to roll back the ban they passed in 2005.

- Incumbents entering the market: AT&T is getting active, with projects in Riverside, CA; and recently announced in Napa, CA; and St. Louis, MO.

- Large city networks launching, witness Digital Houston.

- Wi Fi / Mobile Phone convergence is underway - this will save users big money, when users route a call using Skype or something similar - call made at no cost, no cellular minutes. Why do muniicpal employees need to use a cellular network if they have a municipal network.

- The wireless LANs being built will bring more and more benefits and the EcoSystem will keep growing.

Here follows a presentation of the Houston CIO Richard Lewis, on Houston's deal with Earthlink.

City of Houston Perspective

Richard Lewis is the CIO of the City of Houston. Be sure to look for the PowerPoint slides on MuniWireless.com. These are good slides!

Wireless Networks are an important Public Policy Issue - big deal for cities because of the assets to electric utility assets, and broadband is a critical infrastructure now for cities, similar to elecric grid and water supply.

Houston is unique because the project was initiated by a busines group, which in August 2004 published a white paper on the importance of ubiqutous, affordable broadband. That gave the city political cover, to be responsive to a group, rather than the initiator.

The RFP came out in October 2005, and just last month Earthlink was awarded the project. The project had these objectives:

1. Reduce field data costs and improve access options.
2. Digital Divide
3. Increase Consumer Choice and Lower Prices
4. Promote Economic Devleopment

Public Private Partnership is their model, where the city leverages its private real estate holdings to help a private party make a business case and an investment in the city.

Multiple applications will ride on the network. Houston has a long way to go: Corpus Christi currently has 23 wireless applications, where Houston currently has two.

Evaluation Criteria for the Respondents:

Value to the Community 25%
Value to City Government 10%
Financial Capacity 10%
Experience 30%
Deployment Strategy and Plan 25%
MW/DBE P/F

June 2009 is the projected date for project completion - hold on to your hats!

Five proposals were received in May 2006, with the two highest rated proposers invited in for negotiations: Earthlink and Convergent Broadband, a local consortium led by former Houston Lighting and Power CEO Don Jordan. Only a few weeks ago, February 13, the City announced that they had picked Earthlink as the most experienced provider to go forward with. This process served the city well.

The city used an investment banking firm to help them with the negotiations. They started with 10 key deal terms, but they didn't conclude negotiations until all deal items had reached conclusion. Earthlink was selected based on the following points.

1. Finance - they offered a Cash deal v. the highly leveraged deal offered by Convergent
2. Project Management Plans and Staffing - Earthlink plans were for an on-site management team, which they had already formed.
3. Earthlink would Finance, Design, Build, and Operate the Network at its Sole Expense.

Some other aspects of their deal:

City committed to a minimum bandwidth purchase of $500,000/year, for 4,000 users (out of a total 22,000 municipal employees). Lewis believes that as applications go up, that minimum will rapidly be dwarfed.

Earthlink will provide quarterly project management briefings to the city's project team.

Richard Lewis wrapped up the presentation with one question, an easy one, thank goodness!

How Big? 408 square miles of coverage is anticipated, making this the largest network out there!

Earthlink Perspective

Finally, Earthlink VP Janet West (VP Access Sales and Marketing) concluded by providing the Earthlink perspective, not only on the City of Houston deal, but also on the industry opporunity in general. Luckily, as my battery ran dead, Esme Vos provided a good recap on her website here.

Posted on March 05, 2007 at 09:23 AM | Comments (0)

Impressions on Muni Wireless

It's Day Two, waiting for the Main Session to begin at 9:00 am. First impressions - well attended, one thing that stands out from last year - really stands out - many of the city staff I met last night have more sophistication, and they have money and budgets for their projects. We couldn't say this a year ago.

It appears we're moving out of the investigative stage, at least for some of these cities, into the active stage - the question last night had to do with head-scratching, with city officials wondering how they can best start their project, how to spend the money they have budgeted.

The general mood among the industry cognoscenti, and that was a fun part of yesterday evening, is that things are more and more real.

One question is the availability of expertise: with so many projects about to happen, where will the talent come from to guide these projects?

And another one - smaller towns getting together to collaborate and make their projects larger, and thus, more attractive to a private partner.

Session is about to start, that is all for now!

Posted on March 05, 2007 at 08:54 AM | Comments (0)

MuniWireless Texas 07 Kicks Off!!

MicroCast Executive Gary Bolles kicked off the Wireless 101 opening session today to a full room - my guess is about 100 people! - I was surprised at the level of participation at what is essentially a conference-opening seminar to provide some new and some remedial education on Wireless Broadband.

Gary asked the audience what topics we wanted to cover.
Here's the list they came up with: 1) Wireless Application Integration; 2) Business Models / Public Private Partnership; 3) WorkArounds of Telco and local providers/using them for backhaul; 4) Municpal Requirements; 5) Sites, Rollouts.

Gary urged the group to consider a holistic business model, with issues running a spectrum of options, with such items as financing, operations, network design, etc.

A holistic architecture features a variety of technologies - what I tend to call a "vegetable soup" - where the different technologies bring different benefits to the network.

A holistic ecosystem of public and private entities are emerging to make up a new industry.

There followed a number of speakers...this is real-time blogging, and they are moving fast, so please forgive my typos, etc...Can't find a fresher blog, folks!

Business Models - Glenn Strachan

Glenn's background comes from working overseas in the Developing World, building wireless networks in Africa and Eastern Europe. He built the first country-wide network in Macedonia, for instance.

Non-profit Organization Model - using a new organization to create, fund, and manage the network provides flexibility in funding and pricing, among other things. Philadelphia, San Francisco, and Boston.

Cooperative Model - Geek-led, weave together grass roots access points into complex FREE networks.

Contracting Out Model - hands off approach in exchange for discounted services. Cerritos, Madison

Advertising Model - using ads to support the costs of the network. Annapolis

Public-Private Partnership Model - the most popular model by far, the public entity seeks a private partner to cooperate on a network project. San Francisco, Philadelphia, Rhode Island, Macedonia

Glenn focused some on his experience with Macedonia, where Internet penetration use grew in a year from 4% to 14% in a year.

Over 300 RFPs processed in the past 12 months.

Municipal Model - City owned and operated. Chaska, Corpus Christi

Government Loan-Grant Model - in favor for rural broadband solutions...

Other Models: Educational Purposes Model, Off-Peak v. Peak; Free Residential/Fee for Commercial-Govt, etc.

Cost Savings potential for a city of 40K population - $1.2 M!! Including ...
Pub Safety 72K
Schools and T-1 Lines 120K
Muni Backhaul - 50K

The Role of the Nonprofit - Anne-Marie Fowler, SeaKay

SeaKay's slogan is "Opportunity. Broadband. Everyone." Fowler focused on what a non-profit does well - it is entrepreneurial, more than non-profit-like...a success enabler with the community in mind. If the network is more profitable, the penetration increases. Non-profit brings focus to the project, acting in a bridge role. I like this one " the non-profit is the dash of salt in the soup"... business modeling, finance modeling, consensus building, facilitation, economic development, service learning (to educate parties to the network).

Rather than keep a non-profit as an afterthought, consider what adding a non-profit to the mix to bring in more versatility to the project. They can open up new opportunities and perspectives. Adding social goals requires financial profitability, ironically, the non-profit ensures the finanicial soundness of projects, so that there is money to fund the social goals.

Some shared objectives of non-profits and for-profits: Coverage Ubiquity and Customer Ubiquity
Local Relevance and Sustainability
Cutting Edge Technology that Works
Open Markets

The SeaKay Network Model, was next, where Anne-Marie elaborated on the Portfolio Theory, demonstrated here with one of those flower-shaped graphics, showing that putting a basket of different assets together is a key way to manage revenue risks, something a non-profit can help a city do - put philanthropic, private, and public revenue sources together.

Seakay's Digital Opportunity Initiative - all technology users are customers and should be treated as such!

Applications - Ken DiPietro, NextGen Communications

There is no one right business model for a network - but, there are a bunch of bad ones.

Stay away from Kbs - that's 20th Century - need to think about Mbs, even Gbs. Focus on several years into the future to futureproof your network.

Good list of high-bit rate applications - Get this!

Higher Initial Investment = Greater Return (and Future Proofing!)

The Future is Here and more is coming on fast: YouTube / Video on Demand & Business quality VOIP --- and see Joost, a new video-on-demand service as the next Napster, which will bring huge demands on networks...and also, Polycom's RPX HD - Real Presence Experience and High Definition) see Polycom's application

Business Model, Applications, and Network Design are all tightly entertwined.

Wireless Mesh Network Design - Drew Lentz, Meshtek

Overview of technology currently available...Mesh Networks have evolved to provide more value:

Generation 1: Single Radio & Frequency
Generation 2: Dual Radios & Frequencies
Generation 3: Multiple Radios & Frequencies, Dedicated Bandwidth

This analysis showed a preference for more and more complicated equipment...one challenge I'm familiar with, which I believe a planner should balance and that Drew finally brought up, is the cost per node and its impact on overall network budget. You will always need to balance technology capability with requirements (how you want to use the network) with equipment and operating costs, to find the balance that works for you.

Generation 4 will be exciting - single chassis with modular design, and you can BYOB - bring your own bandwidth - WiMAX and Wi Fi will play complementary roles in this new industry, not a case of either - or. I agree, they will co-exist and provide different functions, because both technologies have their own strengths - combined, they are better than separate.

Community-Based Networks - Ash Dyer, MIT/Cambridge, MA

Bring Your Own Router - the Socialist Perspective :)

Super Geeks teach a city how to do networking. Very energetic and passionate presentation!

In turns of cost allocation for connectivity, out of a $40 Broadband bill, $15 is for last-mile access, $16 is for Metro-access - most of the costs are local...

Bring serious capacity into injection points, then use ad-hoc mesh nodes - plug and play. That is the theory. *(From my conversations, there is considerable complexity remaining in network configuration, deployment, and operations, even with Meraki nodes - we are not there yet, IMHO - I think these home-grown community networks, which look good on paper, require a sophisticated user base to work - I'll continue to think so until convinced otherwise - Comments?).

Good model for consensus building! Get this...

I like this one - technology and network support, leverage high school students, volunteers, and/or outsourced firms or city departments.

Digital Inclusion - Karen Archer Perry, Karacomm

How will the community benefit? With public involvement comes the expectation of community benefit...

Leaders need to step up and communicate that the service windows are going away and that everything is going on-line...

Access, Affordability, and Appicability (aka access, speed, digital literacy, and equipment)

On Access: Pew Center says 68% of Americans use the Internet, but the population is off-line tends to be minorites, seniors, disadvantaged...so these factors need to go into program design.

Network Speed is uneven ... 42% have high-speed Internet, but that's under 200 Kbs...when speed/dollar is measured, we stink in terms of value for broadband...

Application Use and Relevance varies widely across user groups.

PC Availability mirrors general ICT access - have to keep in mind also, the age of the PC, because functionality declines with age!

For Success in Digital Inclusion -
First: Vision, Plan, Programs, & Partners
Then: Implement, Evaluate, & Extend

Contract Considerations - Jim Baller, The Baller Herbst Law Firm

Legal Issues are very important ... contracts are new and still being tried out...

Jim gave a fast-paced review of regulatory and legal issues - too complex to cover here - SORRY! His website is a great resource, by the way, so check it out!.

That's all folks - laptop battery going dead, have to go look for an electric outlet...Wish there was wireless electricity, only if Tesla had lived longer...sighh.

Posted on March 04, 2007 at 04:38 PM | Comments (0)

From Wi Fi! to Why Fi? - Storm on the Horizon?

There's a flapdoodle a-brewing out on the West Coast. Esme Vos shares her analysis on MuniWreless.com, as does Om Malik on GigaOm. Second guessers are challenging the mayor's plan for a Wireless Network in San Francisco built in partnership with Earthlink and Google.

I added a comment on Esme's analysis, which is awaiting moderation (I hope I make the cut!!!). I copied my comment at the end of this post. I'll add a couple of remarks here on my own blog, where I can feel free to run on and on (I'm not a big fan of extremely lengthy Comments, but you regular readers know I feel no such constraints here at home on my own blog).

First, Municipal Wireless Networks are by definition a Political Process. That's the "Municipal" part. Successful projects will acknowledge that and run a parallel political campaign as the wireless project progresses. Lesson for Wannabe Networkers: Make a plan and include a political campaign at the outset, identifying ALL potential stakeholders and bringing them along as you go. Stick to your guns and your timetable, don't rush things.

Second, we're still in the Learning Phase here, where a multitude of small and medium-sized projects will provide more lessons for this new industry than will a handful of mega-projects. One or two mega-failures can cause major setbacks for a new industry, when people tend to focus on the failure and draw conclusions about the entire industry. Alternately, mistakes and growing pains in smaller projects will provide similar lessons, but more of them, and if we're lucky, they may not even make the mainstream press. Lesson for Wannabe Networkers: Work with smaller cities and make liberal use of demonstration networks and pilot projects, with an intensive feedback loop. Get ready for an iterative learning process, and prepare your community for the same.

Third, the hungry appreciate food more than those already fed, so when it comes to network projects, focus less on bringing broadband from 60% penetration up to 80%, and more on taking it from 10% to 60%. Lesson for Wannabe Networkers: Go to where there is an intense, WIDELY perceived need for broadband (Hint: you won't find that in the Big Cities, where many people already have what they need with DSL and Cable). When the comparison is no connectivity or dial-up, people tend to be less critical of a municpal wireless project and its progress and just happy they have a project. As Karl Edwards points out in his recent Resolutions whitepaper posted on this site, focus on where the need is. I know why the industry is gravitating to the NFL cities - early promoters like the coverage they get, and there is a land grab underway - I just don't agree that its the best path for the industry to take at this stage. I see more and more interest being expressed in the Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities, which I define as between 15,000 and 200,000 in population - my own arbitrary segmentation.


My recent comment.

Here here!

Esme raises some great points in her post, as does Om in his follow on commentary. And Craig is right - there's no substitute for doing things by the book.

Just as there's no way to repeal the law of gravity, there's no way a city (i.e., a "political" subdivision) can get a large or significant project through completion without building political consensus around it, and a municipal wireless network fits both of those criteria.

As a consultant, I've tried to find a path to simplicity and frankly, I don't think there are ways around some of the complexities inherent to this business. This is one case where short cuts don't pay off.

So far, mainstream awareness of the municipal wireless industry has been heavily skewed around a few highly visible projects, as Esme points out. We all watch these parties going through the inevitable growing pains of a new industry under the bright lights of media scrutiny, and it's painful to watch.

Still in its infancy, this industry is just now defining its own set of "Rules of the Road." I think we're seeing one of those rules being driven home. If I may paraphrase Craig's comments: "Go slowly, assess needs and raise awareness, build consensus, and be sure to pick the right technology, business model, and business plan to meet the short and long-term needs of the ENTIRE community." I have no doubt that the mayor and his team thought they had done just that in SF. But they are now getting feedback that they didn't do enough.

A top-down-driven project done on the QT may temporarily avoid the political hangups that would have otherwise slowed it down, but those who promote that method are only temporarily pushing off the difficult issues until later. Inevitably, those left on the outside of the decision making process will find a way to torpedo plans and slow things down - ask a maker of fine wine (that analogy should work in SF) - a quality result requires time. A wireless project does not ultimately benefit from being rushed: because these projects involve people and political issues, there's no getting around the need to forge a consensus of divergent views.

I feel for the folks involved in the San Francisco project, and all those waiting for the service, because this is a painful process to go through. But if all the project promoters outside of SF can draw this valuable lesson of early political consensus and due diligence, then the municipal wireless industry will have taken a big step towards maturity.

Posted on November 21, 2006 at 02:21 PM | Comments (0)

Tyler "Rose" to the Occasion

Yesterday, I made the long trip up to Tyler from Austin, at the invitation of Cisco, for my fifth road show in almost as many days (more about the road show in Belton on Wednesday in a minute). Tyler is a major population center about an hour or so east of Dallas along I-20. Until my visit, I knew Tyler only from afar, for its rose industry, and for one of its most famous sons, UT star running back and Heisman Trophy winner Earl Campbell, affectionately known as the "Tyler Rose."

So why Tyler? Tyler is known as an innovator and another regional player, Longview, has expressed interest in getting a citywide wireless network. The prospect of networks in Longview and Tyler is exciting because these two cities are well over 150,000 in population - right in the sweet spot for a wireless project as far as I'm concerned. The show provided an opportunity for a conversation wtih a council member, city attorney, police chief, deputy fire chief, and IT director, among others. Tyler is moving forward, if the picture remains a little murky.

I also managed a phone conversation with the IT director in Longivew, although I had hoped to make a personal acquaintance, since I was so close. The process yesterday, and throughout the five shows, for that matter, demonstrates what I consider the principal value of the road shows: namely, getting the conversaton started. It's a necessary first step: as I've said in the past, "Anything interesting starts with a conversation." We come away with a fresh perspective when we compare notes in a conversation, if each party keeps an open mind, and that has been the intent of Cisco's Imagine the Possibilities tour - to seed open minds with new ideas that will take them in new directions. I think it's working.

And these smaller towns are where it's at when it comes to metropolitan broadband. Ironically, while so much press time is offered to the very large cities that capture the public's imagination (Philadelphia, NYC, Chicago, Houston, San Francisco), it's these smaller cities, with from, oh, say, 15-200,000 in population, that tend to enjoy mulitple benefits from wireless networks, offering great ROI profiles and rapid payback, yet with a network size that is amenable to a low-risk, high-success network deployment.

Cities smaller than 15,000 in population, too numerous to count, can also benefit significantly, but their networks will be much simpler in design, the market opportunities less rich for private players, and they often lack the developed city government departments to fully benefit from the potential cost savings that the larger cities can enjoy. But that's not to say there is no benefit, I just think they will need to approach this opportunity from a little differnt angle. That's the subject of a different blog, coming up.

I'm convinced this market segment of "Tier 2 & Tier 3" cities, and those Tier 4 cities with a different business model, will be the future of metropolitan broadband. As the giant projects slog their way forward, these projects will be able to start up and get finished in a reasonable length of time, and start offering great results and positive public feedback.

Meanwhile, a few words about Belton. These road shows have taken me out of my comfort zone, and out of my hometown, out to neighboring communities, many of which I have only driven past in my many years in Central Texas. I've been consistently impressed and have enjoyed this process immensely. To a city, these representatives, from public safety to city managers to city council members are actively investigating wireless options and the potential of bringing a citywide network to their community. I found that in Belton on Wednesday.

I had a long conversation with the director of the Bell County communications center (coordination of communications for public safety organizations), where I learned that they're a leading, best-practices, center-of-excellence-type player when it comes to regional coordination, held out as an example to other regions - nationwide! Are you listening, Homeland Security? Clearly, this type of cooperation does not come easily or without significant effort; this gentleman explained to me that it had taken years to reach this level of cooperation, but that now his efforts are supported by regular communication and institutional connections at different functional levels. They've reached a sustainable level.

Taking this first step bodes well for the four major towns in the county as they consider regional wireless infrastructure - they have a real asset to leverage that other regions will have to start to build. If they so choose, they will be able to accomplish much more with a shared approach to a metropolitan wireless network than they ever could separately.

Imagine the possibilities (thanks for letting me borrow that phrase, Cisco!) when Killeen (100K), Harker Heights (30K), Temple (55K), and Belton (15K) go in together with Bell County on a joint project for their Metropolitan Statistical Area (ranked 138 nationally, with close to 330K as measured in the 2000 Census) to bring in a regional wireless network. Such collaboration and cohesion are greatly appealing to a potential private sector partner, which would then be looking at a much larger and more economically efficient project - all would win in an approach like this. The challenge for local governments is to get over the initial hurdles that often inhibit such regional cooperation, still rare in this new wireless industry.

Back to Tyler, or at least the drive up here... Driving up there in the wee hours yesterday morning, I passed innumerable towns along State Highway 79, which runs parallel to a railroad track for much of the way. Driving east, you pull away from the urban sprawl of Round Rock along I-35, past the Dell Diamond, and out into the country. It's been a while since I was up so early, so I had a front-row seat to witness Nature's daily wonder: dawn breaking over the countryside, revealing dew-covered meadows, fog-tinged creeks, and grazing cattle, where only 30 minutes before there had been only darkness. it took about 30 minutes for the show to unfold as I drove along, and I enjoyed it more than most man-made entertainment! Passing three trains along the way, my mind wandered to the way in which our society managed to connect our broad landscape, first with simple roads and paths, and then in rapid succession, a railroad network, highways, electricity, Interstates, and telephones. Broadband is just one more network to tie our towns together.

Reaching Palestine, which became for me the promised land as it marked the first major turn in hours, and only 60 miles to go, I turned onto Highway 69. All along the way on that journey, I thought that each one of those towns would be a candidate for at least one access point. Imagine the possibilities if I had pulled through a Hot Zone every twenty miles, with the option of pulling to the side to get gas, use the facilities, buy a Coke and a snack, AND check emails or even make a VOIP phone call. That reminds me of the network of payphones that used to dot the landscape before cellular phones became ubiquitous - add that network to the list above. We still have a long way to go to connect ourselves.

Now imagine if the county sheriff or Texas Dept of Public Safety officer could do the same. The evacuation of the Texas Gulf Coast would have been aided by such a network of Hot Spots and Hot Zones. We've got to push Texas in this direction - with so much ground to cover, this challenge truly brings to mind that analogy I often use - the best way to eat an elephant is to take small bites. This is a vision that Homeland Security should latch on to, using Texas as a test bed and then engaging local governments nationwide. We need to unwire these small towns that line our highways, so that everyone everywhere in the US is never more than a few miles from a broadband Internet connection - it's time to start taking some small bites.

Posted on November 18, 2006 at 06:08 AM | Comments (0)

On the Road Again (Apologies to Willie)

Up in Leander yesterday for my second Central Texas Cisco road show, I'm feeling the pain of a compressed schedule, as I type away at 6:00 am. I'm leaving this morning to drive down to San Marcos, then up to Belton tomorrow morning early.

As for the Leander event yesterday, Cisco, and all the attendees, were blessed with another beautiful autumn day in Central Texas, with deep blue skies and a temperature in the mid-70s, with a gentle breeze. You can't order up better conditions than that. And we had delicious beef and chicken fajitas for lunch. Yummm.

The revelation yesterday was a conversation with Williamson County EMS officials, who are responsible for providing services not only to Leander, but throughout the rapidly growing county that sits just north of Austin. The EMS director asked one provider when they would get coverage on their roads througout the county, so they can take advantage of some of these compelling new applications. "We're working on it" was the game response. We talked some about how to get things moving at a regional level, which is a continuing challenge. I'm convinced that regional collaboration is key, more specifically the key in this local region may lie with the Capital Area Council of Governments, or CapCOG, as it is known in these parts.

CapCOG, a regional entity that includes 10 counties in Central Texas, has a primary focus to serve as advocate, planner and coordinator of initiatives that, when undertaken on a regional basis, can be more effective and efficient. These include emergency services, elderly assistance, law enforcement training, criminal justice planning, solid waste reduction, infrastructure development, and housing and economic development.

From the CapCOG website:

What Is A Council Of Governments (COG)?

Councils of Governments are voluntary associations of counties, cities, and special districts formed under Texas law. These associations deal with the problems and planning needs that cross the boundaries of individual local governments or that require regional attention. Although known by several different names, including council of governments, regional planning commissions, associations of governments and area councils, they are most commonly referred to as "COGs."

A council of governments is defined by law as political subdivision of the state, but it has no regulatory power or the authority possessed by cities, counties or other local governments. Decisions by a council of governments are not binding on member governments. As a political subdivision, councils of governments are subject to state laws governing open meetings, access to public records and conduct of public officials.

I made preliminary attempts to engage with the CapCOG staff in January when I was planning a regional seminar on municpal wireless, but because staff lacked specific guidance on broadband infrastructure development, I didn't get too far. I came away thinking that the way to get them focused on regional collaboration to support broadband infrastructure development will need to begin at the board level. I'll have to have another go at them, since the November elections brought in some fresh county leadership, and those judges and commissioners sit on the CapCOG board.

More on this later, as I believe it will bear fruit ultimately. It reminds me of my white paper on Regional Broadband Authorities from a few years back.

Posted on November 14, 2006 at 06:46 AM | Comments (0)

MetroNetIQ Offers Starter Kit Bundled Consulting to Cities

My experience in San Marcos since June of this year has inspired me to put together a package of consulting offers for cities to help city staff and leadership get started on a municpal wireless project. You can read more about those packages in this descriptive brochure. But first, download this Executive Background Brief entitled MetroNetIQ Exlains Wireless Broadband brochure and get it in front of the decision-makers in your city. Digest it and then use it to start a conversation to stimulate a project in your city. Why is this the recommended route?

Over the past four weeks, I've met with representatives from half a dozen cities in the local region and shared my impressions with industry veterans and the feedback on both sides has confirmed my assumptions about the fundamentals of this new market. Most specifically, I have a clearer picture on the constraints that slow things down, prevent projects from launching, and keep the market from exploding.

A hint: it's not about convincing the IT Directors and CIOs. By and large, they already get it. So do the Police and Fire Chiefs. The target has to be the decision-makers, the Mayors, City Council Members, and City Managers, those who control spending, make strategic decisions, and give the Green Light to new projects. Here's a short list of the barriers, leading to suggestions on necessary steps to get going.

1. A general lack of understanding of municpal wireless networking among decision-makers. Municipal wireless networking is a fast-changing landscape with its own vocabulary. Few elected decision-makers have the fundamental background, or in many cases, the interest, to make informed decisions without some help. Of the few consultants active in this small industry, most are positioned to help cities that are all ready to go. Until more city council members and mayors have grasped the basics of this new opportunity for cities, "caught the bug," if you will, the industry will be slow to develop. Think like a virus.

2. A conservative bent in city governments that keeps projects from happening until there is overwhelming proof of benefits - risk aversion honed to an art form. Many city government leaders define their jobs in a very narrow sense, as keeping to the tried-and-true formula of maintaining the status quo and dealing with crises when they arise. New projects have high hurdles to overcome to get attention. For municpal wireless to take off, it will have to be on the agenda of the city council, once, twice, multiple times to raise leaders' attention and awareness and spur them to action - call it the "Squeaky Wheel" method.

3. A perception that the oppportunity is too big to handle, too risky to enter into, or too complex to understand, which often results in a deferral of the issue to a later date. This attitude is understandable and when viewed as a strength, it is what keeps cities functioning and operational. But when taken to an extreme, it can lead council members and mayors to postpone dealing with an issue that is perceived as either too complex, too expensive, or too politically risky. At some point, their window of opportunity closes and by playing it safe, they have missed out on a chance to bring benefits to their citizens. I'm reminded of the old saying, "The way to eat an elephant is to take many small bites."

I've been watching this new industry develop for three years and my observations have been recorded on this website (and its predecessor, UnwireMyCity.com last year) since May 2005, about 18 months. I've posted nearly 400 articles, some long, some short, some deep, and some as superficial as they come. And the only conclusion I can make about the slow adoption curve and lack of momentum is this.

The key to generating momentum is raising the level of awareness among a wider circle: until the awareness of opportunity spreads beyond the technological cognoscenti, the IT directors and staff, to the decision makers and non-technology people, these projects will be slow to get going.

For those of you who are interested in getting a project underway in your city, my advice is straightforward:

1. Form a small group of dedicated action-oriented "doers" and put together a simple plan.
2. Use the tools offered by MetroNetIQ to expand that small circle of cognoscenti through a series of conversations.
3. Define a starter project to catch attention and get more people in your city excited.
4. Refer back to the tools on MetroNetIQ and track your progress on WikiMetroNet.
5. Engage with a consultant to bring focus and attention to your project, accelerate your project, and generate more momentum, sooner.
6. Repeat Steps 1-5.

Lather, Rinse, Repeat. Shampoo Daily.

Posted on November 13, 2006 at 08:45 AM | Comments (0)

Cisco Puts Its Best Foot Forward, Shows Leadership

The MetroNetIQ Perspective: Cisco Ties It All Together with a Fantastic Road Show

Today, November 8, the City of Boerne (pronounced "Bernie") hosted an event on a beautiful autumn day, with ample turnout, interested city staff, and lively conversation amid the splendor of the beautiful Texas Hill Country, one of the most fabulous parts of the country in my book. Cisco Systems is hosting a series of road shows in Central Texas, a multi-city "Imagine the Possibilities" Tour, where they set up a mobile network so that city government officials and other interested parties can experience first-hand the new applications that are well on the way to transforming how cities and towns get their work done.

This event today was for me the first out of the shoot, and I was not disappointed. To the contrary, I was impressed! What makes this type of event especially interesting is the inclusion of Ciso Solution Partners, application providers whose products and services leverage Cisco's wireless infrastructure solution. To top it off, the host cities for these events are local cities whose leaders are actively considering or launching wireless network programs. This is a winning combination, and it went well indeed. With many more events like this, it's not hard to imagine the pace of municpal wireless deployments accelerate considerably!

Next week, there will be three more, all in a row: Monday, Nov 13 in Leander (a northwest Austin suburb), Tuesday, Nov 14 in San Marcos, and Wednesday, Nov 15 in Belton. These events are not only good for local staff and leadership, but also an opportunity for regional collaboration and discovery: for example, the invitation list for San Marcos, which I helped coordinate because San Marcos is my client, includes city government officials and staff in neighboring Kyle, Buda, Dripping Springs, Wimberley, New Braunfels, and Seguin, as well as Hays County officials and staff, and regional public school officials and staff. Who knows what good things may come from getting those folks together in one place to "imagine the possibilities?"

As mentioned above, these shows are not just about promoting Cisco wireless gear. Besides the Cisco staff demonstrating the Cisco wireless networking solution that ties everything together, a number of application providers (Cisco Solution Partners) are on hand to showcase their special hardware and software that works with the wireless network to enable lower costs, new levels of service and new ways of doing the old business of running a city. Including these partners and their solutions really leant relevance to the show, because this is where the benefits of networks accrue for city staff, and these applications are the best way for a city to make the business case to go forward with a wireless network project.

Here's a list of some of the different applications and specialty appliances that are being showcased at the road shows.

ACCELA provides enterprise software solutions, including asset management, mobile permitting, mobile inspections, and citizen access.

ARINC provides the ARINC Wireless Interoperable Network Solutions, known as "AWINS," which is a standards-based architecture that utilizes data networks to enable interoperability among disparate radios and other communication systems. This solution enables Cisco to tie together the disparate applications highlighted in this road show for an integrated and manageable solution for local government.

Azulstar Networks is a network operator that provides design and engineering services, as well as usability applications, such as billing and customer support systems. Azulstar combines WiFi (802.11 a/b/g) and WiMAX (802.16) for a comprehensive wireless network solution.

Blue Sky Mast provides portable masts for mounting wireless equipment. Such "elevating solutions" deliver speed, portability, versatility and dependability.

Cellnet provides automated meter reading solutions for electric, water, and gas utilities that rely on a fixed wireless network to bring the data back to the utility for a management solution.

Coban provides public safety digital video solutions in the vehicle.

e-Watch provides enterprise-class video security solutions that are operational on a wired or wireless network.

Naztec provides advanced traffic control hardware and software.

Parkeon provides digital parking meter solutions.

Spacenet provides customized broadband VSAT satellite networks to multi-location enterprises.

TracStar Systems, the leader in tracking innovations, provides two-way mobile broadband satellite solutions.

From what I saw today, I encourage all who read this to investigate these companies and understand better how they work together to make a comprehensive solution. I'll add any relevant documents I find to accompany this review.

This is a great opportunity for city government officials who have been curious about municipal wireless broadband, or have heard about it and wondered what all the fuss is about. But the event is helpful for all levels of experience - others have read about the trend for cities to take a more active role in leveraging wireless technologies or have even been to a conference or seminar to learn more. As stated above, some attendees may have direct experience with current engagement on a wireless project. Whatever the state of experience, attendees have a compelling opportunity to "try on" these new technologies and meet their counterparts from other cities in the local area, to compare notes and accelerate the learning process.

From the perspective of MetroNetIQ - we provide consulting for city and county governments, from early stage organizational awareness and business planning up to RFP design, vendor integration, and network deployment oversight - I found it fascinating to talk to city officials and see the similarities among different and disparate cities. The conversation today with City of Boerne staff, as well as staff from Kendall County (Boerne is the county seat), was very familiar, given my most recent experience with the folks in San Marcos.

These conversations so far reveal to me that it is likely quite common for city staff and elected officials to struggle to get over the hump and get a project started. Interested cities appear to share common issues of gaining focus and setting priorities, of generating awareness and building community consensus around a common vision, of overcoming political objections, and of simply managing the business basics of planning and execution.

So for me, with today's perspective of learning about the City of Boerne and its exciting prospects with these technologies in the near future, the process I went through with the City of San Marcos is looking more and more instructional. Today's experience shows me that it pays to move ahead deliberately and prudently when considering such an innovative approach to city government. It pays to build consensus and stakeholder buy-in. It pays to fully investigate the options before acting. And finally, it pays for a city to pony up a little money early on in order to move forward more quickly, with lower risks and better potential for long term success.

I'm looking forward to gathering more data points and additional perspective next week in Leander, San Marcos, and Belton, three very different communities. But three communities that, I suspect, may well have more in common than one would think initially, if today's experience holds true.

Posted on November 08, 2006 at 08:07 PM | Comments (0)

Share What You Learn

Municipal Wireless Broadband has been around the block a few times by now. We've come a long way from three years ago, when this fledgling technology was taking its first baby steps. Not to say that it doesn't have a long way to go, but the very idea that MuniWireless.com can predict that $3 BILLION will be spent on public wireless projects in the next four years is astounding!

About a year ago, MuniWireless.com hooked up with MicroCast and began having conferences on municpal wireless. It's been a couple of years that the World Internet Institute's Digital Cities conferences have been offering a chance for interested parties around the globe to learn more. Papers from your daily local to the New York Times to the Wall Street Journal offer the semi-regular review of this new municipal wave of technology projects. Heck, I've been blogging now for 18 months - hard to believe. There is no shortage of information or resources for the interested party who seeks to learn more on metropolitan broadband these days.

So with some confidence, we can assume that there is an IT Director, a Finance Director, a Police Chief, a Fire Department IT guy or gal, a utility department head, a City Manager, or a Mayor in your own city government who has taken an interest in this new way of doing things and pursued an education sometime in the last year or two. But - here is the rub - how widespread is the knowledge of broadband and the awareness of the potential in your city or town? We still have a long way to go to get our city governments to change the way they look at things.

For truly transformative change, we need to teach each other about the possibilities of new technology, and move beyond generalities that have "some day" written all over them, to practical approaches that realistically consider the steps that such change would require.

A first step to enacting change has to be a community dialogue - start hosting meetings or brown bags in your department in order to pool knowledge on new possibilities and discuss potential changes. This is a creativity exercise at first. Stretch your collective brains around the new possibilities.

I'll be attending several regional roadshows sponsored by Cisco in the next few weeks here in Central Texas, where city officials will have a chance to experience first-hand a wireless network and see applications in use. Any number of Cisco Solution Partners will be on hand to talk about how the business of city government can be transformed with mobile applications, and to show attendees a glimpse of the future of providing service to citizens with the latest tools and revised business processes. I'll be there to catch those who are ready to go and help them to get a project started with a MetroNetIQ Starter Kit.

"Anything interesting starts with a conversation." I like this phrase because it represents a deep truth. The first step on the road to change is sharing viewpoints with another on how things are and how things could be better. Solving problems is what we do as human beings. I commend Cisco and participating vendors for starting the conversation. Now its up to city officials and staff to pick up the ball and run with it. I urge all of you readers to start a conversation today and spread the word about the changes on the horizon and the potential to do better for our citizens.

Posted on October 27, 2006 at 05:49 AM | Comments (0)

Taking that First Step

So, you've been reading about this Municpal Wireless stuff for some time, and now you're thinking its time to take a more active role? Figuring out how to get started with something new is often the biggest challenge in any new major endeavor, whether its a diet or exercise regime, job change, or new business project.

I would argue that your organization, whether it's a city government, city council, county government, or private sector entity, should make an internal project be that first step on the road to enhanced access to wireless broadband. If you're typical, your organization probably has one or more individuals assigned to this task over the past few years, monitoring events, maybe attending one or more conferences, and maybe even providing regular briefings to senior management.

Taking a project focus will add momentum and bring order to your desires to move ahead. By raising internal awareness, getting consensus, defining an objective and putting it into writing, establishing milestones, assigning a budget, hiring a consutant - all those steps one takes when one gets serious - your organization will send a signal to its constiuents and to outsiders that you are ready and serious, and your odds for success will rise accordingly.

One headache with Municpal Wireless is that it's a many-headed Hydra, a beast that requires some time to get to know it in order to figure out the best strategy for your particular set of circumstances. Another headache is the rapid change that characterizes this new industry. Perhaps it's not unusual for any new industry to have a shifting deck of options that make market entry difficult, but that's no reason to back away from Municipal Wireless Broadband and all that it offers you. I haven't seen a better time than now to jump in, and those who waited have been rewarded with a much beter set of options than they had even one year ago.

Keep an eye on this space as I outline several opportunities to move ahead. I will be engaged in a series of activities in Central Texas in the coming months that will highlight what we all face in the near term. If you're nearby, I hope you'll contact me and we can make an appointment to meet in person. If you're distant, keep an eye on the activity and discussion in this space and see if you can use it as a model for your own area.

Most importantly, make a resolution to move ahead with plans in the next six months. There has never been a better time, and that assessment has been confirmed by conversations I've had with a variety of industry experts, from hardware manufacturers to service providers to city government leaders.

The starting gun has gone off on this race. Strap on your sneakers and tighten your laces! Warmups are over and now the real race has begun! Your actions in the next six months will go a long way to determine whether your organization and its constituents are on the front wave of beneficiaries from these new technologies and new industry changes.

Posted on October 23, 2006 at 09:49 AM | Comments (0)

Staying Focused, Within Your Circle of Control

How does one act when all about oneself, things are swirling and turning, changing daily? What to do amid chaos?

When does one act, when there never seems to be enough information to make a good decision?

I would argue that there has never been a better time than now for those in leadership positions in cities - be they mayors or council members, city managers or finance directors or IT directors - to take a long hard look at how they fulfill their responsibilities and how they use technology and telecommunications.

This is a time for cities to borrow a phrase from Greek wisdom: "Know Thyself." That phrase is inscribed on the Temple of Apollo at Delphi, and the essence of that ancient wisdom is to emphasize the value of spending time contemplating your belly button. Cities have a tremendous opportunity to take advantage of these new winds of change in telecommunications and wireless broadband that I wrote about earlier today. But to run at the same pace as private sector providers in this world of rapid technology change, cities need to get a good grasp on what is within their Circle of Control. Only then can they hope to be successful in a Public Private Partnership.

Those who read this blog no doubt realize that I often refer back to Stephen Covey's Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. Staying within one's "Circle of Control" is an admonition to focus on what you can control and let the rest fall by the wayside. Too much time is spent worrying about things over which we have no control. This concept enables people to maintain focus on values and principals that align with their priorities, which helps them to manage their time and resources to do First Things First, the Third Habit of Highly Effective People. Cities have a great opportunity, but they need to know how to play the game in order to partner with private sector providers who will have more and more choices on which city to partner with.

Cities that spend the time to take a long hard look at what they do, how they do it, and most importantly, why they do it, whether they work with consultants or do it on their own, will be in the best position to engage with private sector partners to take advantage of opportunities coming down the pike. Those who do not do their homework or spend time in such belly button gazing will take what fate throws their way, and I think that will be the case with most cities.

The special elite few cities will do as I suggest herein, spending time and energy and resources to get it right. Others will do as they are used to. Some will get lucky and hit a home run and feel pretty good about themselves, many will dink out singles and feel like they did well enough, and many more will strike out. And there will be those cities that sit outside the stadium wondering what all the fuss is about.

For all those in city government who have day dreamed about what they could do with a wireless network, now is the time. I would recommend that you take the bull by the horns and take the first step: lay out a plan to take advantage of any opportunity in the near term. Diagram your strengths and weaknesses, and map out your possibilities. The winds of change are blowing, and now is the time to understand what makes your city tick, and how your city is different and unique - special - when compared to other cities. Now is the time to Know Yourself and thus, separate your city from the pack of cities who carry on with business as usual.

When the opportunity arises, those cities that know themselves will cut the best deals with private sector partners, because they are a Joy to do business with, providing profitable results and low risks and minimal hassles. Those are the cities that private sector providers want to do business with.

Posted on October 17, 2006 at 08:22 PM | Comments (0)

Watching for Changes in the Prevailing Winds

From my perspective inside a city government the past three months, I'm noting winds of change starting to blow through the muncipal wireless industry. But is this just a new perspective for me - my own personal epiphany? Or is this really a potentially signficant change we are witnessing?

The change I'm talking about is the entry by large telecom firms into this budding industry. It has been an exciting time for the past three years, as the pioneers bravely forged into the woods, creating a new path to connectivity and municipal possibilities. So what does it mean now when BT, AT&T, Verizon, and Sprint begin to get engaged in municpal wireless? Will they compete by the same rules, or will the name of the game change altogether?

Long written off by the pioneers of municipal wireless as opponents to change, large telecoms were even villified by some as evil incarnate, by others as sluggish dinosaurs on their way to extinction. The view of these struggling entrepreneurs and consumer advocates was understandable, given the battles they fought in state legislatures in 2005 over the rights of municipalities to determine their own connectivity destinies. In that worldview, telecoms were aging behemoths incapable of change and resistant to ceding of any power to municipalities. But we should all beware of holding onto worldviews challenged by change in a dynamic environment.

The winds started to shift with the passage of a statewide franchise bill in Texas in the summer of 2005 (and the failure of muni wireless opponents to secure a municipal ban). In Congress last fall, we detected a shift in perspective at telecoms, away from such municipal prohibitions. And that change in perspective was certainly helped along in 2005 when the Public Private Partnership emerged as the dominant business model for these new municipal deployments. No longer was the focus on whether or not municipalities should be able to own and operate their own networks.

Now it is apparent that these large telecom companies have taken a new look at the municpal wireless industry, or that their plans are unfolding so that this new perspective is becoming apparent. Either it's an evolving perspective or they've been looking at this arena all along as having promise, but have just been biding their time for the right moment to enter the fray. I would argue for the latter, which is borne out when we look at this timeline of events regarding AT&T and municpal wireless, over just the past five months.

May 10 ATT / IBM not selected by Waukeshaw, WI - rationale for not picking ATT

August 29 comment and analysis on ATT win in Springfield, IL

October 6 update on Sacramento, CA reissue of RFP, with ATT / MetroFi as one of four respondents

October 14 comment and analysis on ATT / MetroFi win in Riverside, CA - estimated completion in 2008

October 15 ATT / MetroFi make Sacramento ATT's second municipal wireless win - its official, they're players in muni wireless

The coming months will no doubt see more activity by AT&T, and I'm thinking other large telecom companies as well. It is inevitable that the entry of these large companies into this still relatively new industry will change the landscape. The challenge for all of us who have put so much into this industry to date will be to adapt and ensure that such change results in improvements for the cities and citizens of the US. For cities, this should be seen as yet one more sign that they should move these projects up on their agendas and begin to devote serious attention to their readiness to take advantage of any new opportunities the winds may blow up on their doorsteps..

Municipal Wireless is for real, and woe to the cities caught napping and unaware, lest these winds of change blow right by them and leave them in the dust.

Posted on October 17, 2006 at 03:00 PM | Comments (0)

Head Down, Working for a Living

I've had my head down, working for a living the past month or so. I'm engaged with a local city government on an exciting project. Phase One is to interview city government officials about their departmental functions and brief them on the potential uses of a wireless network to provide business process improvement.

I told my IT Director client that each interview was like a miniature field trip. You remember the visit to the local cheese facory ... fill in the blank here... there was a certain excitement in elementary school when you found that instead of class, you would be piling into the big yellow bus and going someplace new to see how things really worked on the inside.

I can remember going with the Cub Scouts to tour the Air Force Base and getting to go inside some of those really big airplanes. I'm feeling that level of curiousity and wonder at how all things work together in a city. It's really fascinating. I've finished 15 interviews and have one remaining today - with the Engineering Department.

I've learned that the Fire Department does a number of other things besides fight fires, which actually takes up less than 20% of its time. I've learned what happens to the dead animals that you see by the side of the road. I've learned aobut the impact that kids coming back to school has on local traffic patterns. I've learned that Sales Tax is the predominate form of revenue in this little city, and how that makes it somewhat unique. I"ve learned that water planning cycles look far into the future. I've learned that regional collaboration, while sound policy on paper, is a challenge because competition among regional entitties for economic development is real and fierce. I've learned that the county and city government are interwoven to a surprising degree.

I'll present my findings and preliminary conclusions to the City Manager at the end of this week, then meet with City Council members and the Mayor later this month.

This process of digging into the details is very healthy for a city contemplating a move to a wireless network. It has the added benefit of raising the awareness of individual city government workers and beginning to generate a buzz about positive change. There is no substitute for the heavy lifting that will provide the necessary details to make a strong business case. There are no short-cuts on the way to modernizing city government and bringing new benefits to citizens.

It takes a long time to turn a ship, and there will be detractors and others who fear change along the way. But surprisingly, there is a groundswell of potential innovation lurking in the small town governments of America and an eagerness to solve nagging problems that confound the efforts of employees to do a good job. This is an exciting time to be involved with wireless.

Posted on August 28, 2006 at 05:03 AM | Comments (0)

World Comes, World Goes

I posted up a storm this week, and will probably post some more on the World Congress on IT - WCIT 2006 was quite an event in Austin. It was exhausting, but time well spent. I'll be more than a few days getting back into the swing of things, but it is a very exciting position we find ourselves in.

Follow up will be key in the next several days. Besides about 10 deployments around Texas, based on the conversations I had this week, I perceive opportunities for wireless networks in Guatemala, Uganda, Malaysia, and right next door, in Nuevo Leon, Mexico. Clearly, with 10% IT penetration among the middle tier of 4 Billion individuals, there's room all around the world for the benefits and accessibility that MetroNets and NANOnets bring.

The exciting aspect of the WCIT 2006 for me, is the focus that the crowd put on Digital Access. A few reflections as the week comes to a close:

1. We are all much more alike than we are different. When we gather a group like that and discuss IT, despite our different perspectives, we have so much in common and I'm impressed with the openness and willingness to connect and to do business that I saw last week.

2. Of the three main topics of focus - Health Care, Privacy & Security, and Digital Access - it was the third that tied the conference together and became the main focus of the conference.

3. Widely acknowledged was the need for better connectivity, starting with hardware. Whether AMD's PIC, Intel's Discover the PC Initiative, or Nicholas Negroponte's $100 laptop (One Laptop Per Child), much of the focus last week was on the hardware at the end of the network.

4. But much of the conversation among the attendees was on communiciation, which was acknowledged as a missing element at this IT conference. Despite the fact that much of the presenters talked about ICT, the conference is missing the C - the communication companies have not been included in the past, but I think that will change going forward. Communication will be an ever bigger deal, and while everyone looks to mobile phone growth among the poorer segments of the world's population, many were also talking about the new broadband technologies that we talk about here - Wi Fi Mesh and WiMAX.

5. The NANOnet solution offered on my new website, www.metronano.com , is made to order for meeting the needs of the Developing World. It's Small, it's Simple, it's loaded with Local content, and it's Cheap. Small, Simple, Local, and Cheap - that's the secret that the Gates Foundation talked about last week for the Developing world. And that's what we've put together. Stay Tuned!

Posted on May 07, 2006 at 09:35 PM | Comments (0)

Prime Minister of Malaysia Anticipates WCIT 2008

Prime Minister Dato Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi of Malaysia promises to keep up the standard set here in two years, when his country hosts the next WCIT. We must focus on the barriers to access that remain - until everyone has access, we won't be successful.

The Digital Divide is the New Poverty of our era. As the leader of a developing country on the way to becoming developed, as the chairman of ASEAN and other organizations of developing countries, the PM sees technology such as ICT and its usage as essential for economic development.

In many of these areas, access is pivotal. The statistics highlight a large gap between developing and developed countries. Over 90% of the content on the Internet is English, but a small percent understand this language. The Divide will widen without intervention. Ever expanding innovation risk widening the gap further.

But innovation focused on access can close the gap. Automatic translation is one such innovation. Telemedicine is another.

He encourages us all to play a role to ensure that technology is utilized in the developing world. Leaders in ICT must play a role in this endeavor. While we celebrate new innovation, we must guard against harmful uses of ICT. Governments must be prepared to deal with threats in cyberspace. A nationwide blackout, collapse of check clearing systems, collapse of trading systems - we can't ignore these threats.

Leaders must work together against such dangers. Malaysia will establish and host an institution against cyber terrorism. As a public/private endeavor, IMPACT will create a platform to allow governments to work together and devleop best practices against threats. World class companies are already participating. Activities of IMPACT will include training, certification, and R&D.

Hosting the conference in two years is a great opportunity to influence and stimulate the development of the ITC industry. Please join us, the Prime Minister urged the attendees in his closing address. Malaysia is transforming itself, and hosting the WCIT 2008 is one more step in the process.

The latest five year development plan (2006-2010) places a key emphasis on ICT, with a goal to create a knowledgable base for ICT and technology business development, giving Malyasia the fastest growing ICT climate in Asia. Malaysia's diversity makes it a great launch pad for ICT in the region. Come to Malaysia and see for yourself!!

And with that, the conference ended with the passing over of the Crystal to the WCIT 2008 team by the president of WITSA. Phewww! I'm looking forward to a nap.

Posted on May 05, 2006 at 12:46 PM | Comments (0)

Former Sec. of State Colin Powell Wraps it All Up

Featuring a keynote address by former US Secretary of State Colin Powell is a great way to wrap up this conference, which has brought a focus to the issues facing the world.

He opened by applauding the conference and looking forward to the next one in Malaysia. He highlighted the changes in his personal life as a RETIRED Sec of State. He reflected on other changes in his life, such as when he left the military and retired. Then he transitioned to work in civiilian government. But he worked on managing his own personal change - aging gracefully at the age of 69. Change and transition are a theme that I see developing here in his speech?

Now that he's out of government, he's speaking a lot around the world. He's also a limited partner in Kleiner Perkins VC firm in Silicon Valley, which gives him a seat at the table to look at coming innovations in IT. And, he's part of the Revolution Health Group, which will use the power of IT and innovations to do a better job of taking care of our citizens. They are working on a portal to allow individuals to manage their health care costs, funds, information, and issues. He's active raising money in the non-profit world, he has a Center named for him at his alma mater, City College of New York. A no-cost education, from kindergarten to college, made a big difference in his life.

New opportunities that come along are fulfilling. Does he miss being in charge in the military and government? Not so much - he's focusing on business, a new area for him. He does miss his airplane however. No kidding.

He introduced 9-11 and our national responses with a funny anecdote about flying commercial and getting searched at the security gate. He's a good speaker, moving us from laughter to seriousness, and back again. Powerful. For security, he highlighted the problems of integrating databases in federal government that left us exposed to unnecessary risk.

In the new, globalized "flattening" world, the US is competing for talent and young Muslim students are likely to be discouraged from coming to the US to study, fearing harrassment and discrimination. Other countries pounced to go after those disenchanted young talent pools - another example of new global competition.

New ways of thinking bring on new patterns of behavior. Our future is in our youth, worldwide. Young people who come to the US leave with a better understanding of life here, based on reality, not what they hear when abroad. He related a story about young folks in Brazil who came to America and went home - later, when he asked them about their experience, one student told him that he was shocked that people laughed at him for putting ketchup on his pizza. No big surprise, that's wierd.

Another said that they went out to dine while in Chicago and discovered they couldn't pay the bill because they had made a mistake. The proprietor offered to pay as a gift because they honored him with their visit. This message of hospitality that had a wide-ranging impact on them - the act of generosity of one man, who showed the face of compassion and giving in America.

The key message: As we fight the War on Terror, we have to keep our minds and attitudes open, like that restaurant owner in Chicago. We win when we maintain our attitude of openness and welcoming.

The State Department had Wang computers in 2001 - good grief. In two years, they put new computers throughout the State Department, connected computers. They had to also change people's attitudes. Sec. Powell was always on line, and the rest never knew when he would send him an email, so they got on line. He learned a lot from his grandsons - Digital Natives. This is a recurring theme of the conference, lessons from youth.

His grandson started with a PC before a book. Its how the world is transitioning and changing. We all need to shift our thinking. On the State Department website, there are "Country Background Notes," but they were not keeping them up to date. Updates every three months were not sufficient - "we are not in a lunar world anymore," Sec. Powell admonished. The world runs at the speed of light, and we have to keep up with our business practices. It will only get faster and faster. No brakes on this sociological phenomenom.

A key message: Using information faster than others confers a competitive advantage, so those with access to information have an advantage, and those who don't are at a disadvantage.

The world continues to have challenges, but also tremendous opportunities. Sec. Powell's experience with the Cold War was real, and it dominated all of our thinking - Contaiment was the watchword and physical closing in was vital to that strategy. But Gorbachev promoted Glasnost - Openness, which unravelled the world as it was, and ultimately, the Berlin Wall fell, and the rest is quite literally, history.

Now, more democracy than ever. Problems persist. But, the old world is gone, forever. Now, shifting to Asia, Deng Xiao Ping became an agent for change in China, and he said "Black cat, white cat - who cares, as long as it catches mice."

The key message: its about wealth creation, the bottom line, and not so much the political system.

In India, Finance Minister Singh drove change to focus on wealth creation. Asia enjoys increased stability now, because of changes in India, China, Thailand, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, and elsewhere.

In Japan, Prime Minister Koyazumi (?) drove change with friendly attitude towards US policies. The PM quoted an Elvis Presley song that reflects the relationship: "I want you, I need you, I love you" !!

Today, economics is the name of the game, and every nation should be entering the modern global economy. It makes a difference.

Africa is in dire need of reform, and IT revolution is likely to be the tool to educate these people to take part in the world. We have opportunities, and we have problems that affect smaller populations.

Iraq got some attention - we need to build up the local institutions and support the will of the people - its a terrible challenge, but the people of Iraq deserve a shot at democracy. Every time we think we are progressing, we seem to slip back (e.g., Hamas in Palestine).

We have a world now with more peace and more democracy than every before, new challenges like infectious diseases, but one thing is essential - the US must play a leadership role in addressing the problems of the world. We have to keep listening to friends and allies, remember that we are part of a larger world. To the degree that people are unhappy with the US, remember that the nation remains composed of people, like the restaurant owner in Chicago, who care and will act to show that.

Posted on May 05, 2006 at 11:54 AM | Comments (0)

IBM, Innovation, and the 21st Century

Innovation in the 21st Century is important, and it is different. That is the key point of Nicholas Donofrio, Executive at IBM in charge of International Innovation. This is a fascinating, paradigm shifting outlook on innovation and change.

ts always all about moving ahead, and innovation is the driver. In the 20th Century, it was driven a lot by technology - sometimes, the invention was the innovation. In the 21st Century, that is no longer the necessary and sufficient condition - why? Because its a different world now. Consider this:

* Network Ubiquity - more than a billion Internet users worldwide

* A State of Openness - Open Standards are the best evidence - widely-adopted technical and transaction specs

* New Business Designs - horizontally integrated operations - connections are the driver

According to a survey by IBM, leaders in big business acknowledge that fundamental change is necessary in the next two years. Innovation is the key. And, they think that Collaboration sparks Innovation. Ownership is less important than progress and problem solving, and applying the solutions.

People understand that the concept of value is migrating. Technology still matters, in fact, more and more. It will always matter. But technology is no longer the necessary and sufficient condition for success. It takes more. Collaboration and Innovation are now needed.

More transistors now than grains of rice. What a concept! And everyone is getting connected. Everything is getting connected.

By 2010, the amount of coded digital information in the world will double, TWICE A DAY. Profound. By 2010, one quadrillion of calculations per second... Windows XP has 40 million lines of code today, but the automobile in 2010 will have 100 million lines of code, the Airbus will have one billion lines of code. YIKES.

Opportunity for Innovation abounds.Under IBM's Global Innovation Outlook (GIO), IBM's forecasting processes for businesses and technology have been opened. In 2004, three primary focus areas for GIO 1.0 (healthcare, government, and work/life balance). Expanded in 2005 and 2006 with increased focus on developing new markets and capitalizing on business opportunities. Topics of GIO 2.0 are Future of the Enterprise, Environment and Energy, and Transportation and Mobility.

What do the data and insights of this GIO 2.0 process show?

Horizontal Themes of GIO 2.0
* The power of networks of people
* Better lines of sight
* Flipping the equation

Enterprise of the Future
* definition is changing from entity to a network
* innovation is a culture - from intellectual property to intellectual captial

Environment and Energy
* reverse supply networks
* mining existing landfills
* clearer line of sight into the consequences of our actions

Transportation and Mobility
* Transportation paradox - easier, but harder, with megacities blossoming in the developing world
* Need to work on shipping - moving to virtual borders to alleviate congestion and bottlenecks - paperwork delays loading and unloading, passage through borders

Innovation Requirements
* Think broadly, act personally
* Integrate business and technology
* Defy collaboration limits
* Force an outside look, every time
* Listen for early weak signs to determine what is happening

Closing Quotation from Donofrio's father:

"If nothing changes...nothing changes."


Posted on May 05, 2006 at 11:20 AM | Comments (0)

Digital Access Panel Focuses on Connectivity & Empowerment

This panel, as others the past two days on Digital Access, was moderated by David Kirkpatrick, Senior Editor, Internet and Technology, FORTUNE Magazine. The panel consisted of the following unique perspectives.
* Ibrahim Kaliisa, Special Advisor on Information and Communication Technology to the President (Uganda)
* C.K. Prahalad, Professor of Business Administration, Stephen M. Ross School
of Business, University of Michigan (United States)
* Henry Rivera, Partner, Vinson & Elkins (United States)
* Theogene Rudasingwa, Visiting Scholar, California at Berkeley (Rwanda)
* ? Gates Foundation
* ? Uganda

Given the state of the world, why don't more of us work together? asked Theogene from Rwanda. Why do we rely so much on competition and neglect bringing the market along to make it bigger? We need more collaboration. While skeptics deride Negroponte's vision of a $100 laptop - one for every child on the planet - one can't challenge the vision that he has and the passion he uses to communicate. But what about tying together the Intel initiative, the Microsoft initiative, and others to connect and enable the developing world?

This conference has been PC oriented, without much discussion about cell phone based technologies. PCs have a role, but also mobile telephony, voice and data devices and applications offer hope and potential.

CK Prahalad talked about connectivity, not a PC - but connectivity to what? Local connectivity is as important as global connectivity. Should we have a PC oriented view or a telecom view? So many initiatives have been done with a lot of initiative but they accomplish little. Why? Let's look at local and global responsiveness and orientation - together. Until we understand how to bridge the global and the local, we will not be able to scale these experiments. Third, the goal should be to remove asymetry of information between the rich and the poor. Poverty is caused by asymetry, so we should give them the tools and they can adapt locally. Poor people know what they want, if you listen to them.

Do poor people want devices? No they want cell phones and the communications that they bring. There is a different level, the lady from the Gates Foundation said. Global health crises are immediate and compelling. The need to get technologies into the hands of communities - the organizations that work with communities. They need international and global perspectives, but they need to deliver their local data to the world. Avian flu drives home the point. Connectivity and PCs needed by communities and organizations, but individuals need phones.

The impact on government is a question, because access to information is liberating and promotes democratic behavior. The role of technology in the process of government is revealing: local poverty leads people to exist on OLD technology - muscle power, simple tools. But new technologies enhance productivity and then it liberates. If people cannot access technologies, they are less productive, and that is the connection story between technology and economic development.

The gentleman from Rwanda suggested that IT is a powerful tool to empower people, despite the efforts of government to limit that. It impacts politics by distributing information. It is transformative to liberate women and the young people. They are the leaders of tomorrow, and IT is a weapon in their hands that equalizes the debate.

Rwanda telecom has one of the most robust broadband networks in the capital - how will that impact politics?

Theresa from Gates Foundation has a story about cell phones and rules for successful IT in developing world. Small, simple, local, and cheap. There is a drive to scale but it is counter-intuitive for the problems in the developing world. TB treatment at a village in South Africa is an example, where their health is compounded by AIDS as well. If they miss medical dosages and drop out - they have to start over. There is a dilemma of proper following of protocol to ensure they eradicate the disease. The doctor pushed SMS text messages out to cellphones and moved treatment compliance to 100%.

Henry, the V&E attorney and former FCC Commissioner, commented that emerging markets require training. UN Telecommunications Training Institute is a tool to provide that training. Motorola provides free training. They tend to use the equipment they are trained on.

A challenge for WITSA and WCIT in the Q&A session was to converge the IT Industry with the Communications Industry to converge on the world radio. Comments were that prices drop with scale production, so we should look at that more. Do we need to focus on this or is the market working? Yes, hybrid partnerships need to examine sustainable projects. The GSM Foundation has been looking at a $30 cellphone and they are being produced. Estimates are for half of humanity being connected by 2010. Prahalad stressed that Connectivity and Microfinance enable development and productivity. Health and Energy complete the equation, but they do not receive the same focus from the private sector.

Henry sees activity at CTIA to address world problems. Theresa said that the private sector will not solve all these problems though. The last mile places have difficulty, and the donors and the aid community have a role to play. Sustainability can happen when organizations are effective at delivering social goods, so that the community demands subsidization and practices group behavior. The private sector will not solve all problems.

WCIT should evolve to WCICT, said the gentleman from Uganda, and he received applause. Makes sense that all week the speakers have talked about ICT, but the conference is focused on IT. IT and Comm are also converging to form ICT, and it appears the organization should reflect that fact. The Brain Drain is becoming the Brain Bank, as talent comes back home when infrastructure and opportunity come to the developing world.

Posted on May 05, 2006 at 10:11 AM | Comments (0)

BT sees a connected world

Ben Verwaayen, Chief Executive of the BT Group (United Kingdom) talked to us about the disruption of the need to be physically located somewhere to accomplish something. We have killed the distances that separate us as a people on this planet.

Convergence is blurring the lines between the definitions we used to have of industries, roles, and responsibilities. The change is underway, and the definition of success will be more and more defined on end results. We simply say the business concept and the expected end result, and we let the business figure that out and deliver. That puts the supplier and the customer together around the strategic goal - a convergence of strategy.

Until now, to be global meant lots of buildings - that is still what a multi-national looks like. No, that's not so - you can be a multinational with a web business, linking together employees, suppliers, customers, all to make a market. The POWER OF ONE is the next revolution.

The distinctions in strategies and success are complemented by the convergence between size and effectiveness. You can combine world class with world class and you have recreated the power for people to participate on a global basis, shifting the power from a massive amount to a massive amount on the number One. That will impact how we organize ourselves and our systems. We enable people to make a difference.

All of this is based on knowledge - you possess it, you transfer it, but something is lacking. Everyone with a college degree understands, but what about those who are left out? They're out of touch. Policies need to address a third leg of convergence. We have a role as leaders - technology convergence - check, strategy convergence - check, but the most important convergence is the gap between policy and capability. That gap is based on 1) language and goals; and 2) time - many of the things we have talked about cannot be delivered in the timeframes set by policymakers.

We need to talk to the influencers and leaders, to make sure they understand what the capabilities are, but also to create a sense of urgency. Local environments provide our understanding. Let's get busy!!!

Posted on May 05, 2006 at 09:56 AM | Comments (0)

Sun Research Director On Health and Wealth

John Gage, research director at Sun, envisioned a world in 1984 that is now coming to pass. He kicked off the presentation with a tour of relevant sites using Google Earth - what a trip that software is - its like you're a bird flying around the world. If you haven't used this yet, you should check it out.

Next John Gage used a software developed at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden - at the URL www.gapminder.org, a free open software that helps people to tell stories using data and demographics - some incredible graphics show statistics in more meaningful ways, which explain what has gone on in world economics and world society, and what is likely to happen in the next 10 years. This is a fascinating and sobering look at the world - what a difference pictures make in telling a compelling story.

Gage urged the audience to use this tool to better understand the problems of the world - why do some regions do so much better with child survival, for instance, than do others of equal circumstance. It boils down to government policy and where we put our emphasis when it comes to weatlh and health. This analysis makes you wonder why we don't spend more to save children's lives...

Search engines are identifying current data via blogs and websites and you can use Google Earth to pinpoint WHERE the event occurs. Gage urged us to go home and think about what we can do with regard to Avian Bird Flu, for instance, and we need to be prepared to deal with such a public heatlh crisis. We need to link the poor parts of the country, because that's where bird flu will happen, and we need to know about it sooner than later - the message I get is that we are all connected more than ever in this world - so we have to make the network connect everywhere, and start in the poor parts of the world.

Economic development is tied to connectivity and that's where MetroNetIQ and NANOnet come in. I'm encouraged at the possibility of working to close the Digital Divide and include more of the world's population by harnessing the latent energy and knowledge that sits in the local sites, untapped because they are unplugged from the global communication network.

Posted on May 05, 2006 at 09:31 AM | Comments (0)

Gov. of Nuevo Leon, Mexico and the City of Knowledge

It's Friday morning at WCIT 2006 and I'm dragging. While this conference has been an exciting and informative and productive week, the 15-hour days are taking their toll on my 48-year old body.

But, we have one half day to go and the agenda is rich. After a Cinco de Mayo breakfast with mariachi bands - what a wake up that is - we went upstairs for the last series of keynotes. Starting the last day of keynotes is Jose Natividad Gonzales Paras, the Governor of the State of Nuevo Leon (Mexico).

Monterrey, the key city for business in Mexico, located about a four-hour drive south of the Texas border, is transforming from an industrial city to a knowledge city. In fact, they have a project called the City of Knowledge Project - it puts new emphasis on knowledge, promotes innovation, ensures Monterrey offers the infrastructure and amenities to promote knowledge and innovation and help spread these concepts throughout society. The Institute for Information Technology and Transfer is assisting in providing access to technology with grants and commercialization, promoting regional collaboration and links between education, government, and business.

The RTIP (I lost the thread, so I'll have to look it up) is a technology park in Monterrey to focus research and innovation efforts. It has 74 acres of buildings and 98 acres reserved for locating businesses - an environmentally responsive and alternative energy approach to architectural design. They are seeing so much cooperation among the three participating universities, where they will offer shared credit for students taking courses there. This is the Triple Helix Model for Innovation - linkages between industry, academia, and government interwoven to create new opportunities and synergies.

Another project in Nuevo Leon is the Software Industry Development Initiative - an important initiative to position Nuevo Leon as the leading provider of IT among Latin American countries for the USA. It reflects on the program, Prosoft, that the Economic Minister of Mexico talked about yesterday. Since that federal initiative was launched, Nuevo Leon has worked to implement and advance the iniitiative, contributing more than $30M over the last two years.

Market development, export assistance, business development, entrepreneurial development, all focused on creating opportunities for public participation and job creation. Nuevo Leon, clearly, has what a region needs for economic development - they're calling offshoring "nearshoring," which emphasizes low risk environment and a preferential offshoring opportunity.

Posted on May 05, 2006 at 09:13 AM | Comments (0)

Spectrum, Telecom, and Digital Access

Back at WCIT 2006, we had a nice good lunch - (note to self - good eating, diet next week) and now I'm sitting in on an "Executive Briefing Panel" on Digital Access and telecom alternatives.

"What's the role of govenrment - all levels - in infrastructure development?" Antony from the UK asked. Taipei responded that regulation is to ensure a level playing field and no obstacles for interdisciplinary operations. Local government, on the other hand, seeks to create new and better opportunities and alternatives.

State Department respnded that muicipalities come in when major carriers ignore certain markets. That's up to the market forces and now, carriers are realizign that they have been avoiding certain markets, where now they risk letting others in if they don't get active.

One of the issues is the distribution of broadband access (availability) and the price (affordability). The issue of broadband in the US is also skewed by the definition of broadband, so the US would be even lower if the definitional standard were raised. The people that cannot access video because their fake broadband will raise a hue and cry among consumers, who cannot access high-speed applications because their "broadband" is not high-speed enough. That will be the day, but it may come sooner than we think.

Posted on May 04, 2006 at 02:25 PM | Comments (0)

Texas CTO and Panel on National IT Strategy

At the WCIT 2006 in Austin, here on Thursday morning, immediately following the presentation by the Mexican Minister of the Economy, is an interesting panel on national IT strategy. The panel is compelling:

Moderator Larry Olson, CTO for the State of Texas and Executive Director of the
Department of Information Resources (United States)

Panel:
* Jamaludin Jarjis, Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation (Malaysia)
* Ibrahim Kaliisa, Special Advisor on Information and Communication Technology
to the President (Uganda)
* Montasser Ouaili, Minister of Information, Communications and Technology
(Tunisia)
* Antony Walker, Chief Executive Officer, Broadband Stakeholder Group (United
Kingdom)
* Oleg ?, Minister (Russia)

First question by Larry Olson was posed to JJ, the Minister from Malaysia - how do you work with government officials that don't know IT. The country has an economic imperative to move in the direction of IT.

Next, Olson asked Antony from the UK about a focus on technology to the exclusion of government, education, and other policy areas that are goals of their society. A shift to people, economy and society gets people's attention. Health Care problems stand out, so tying technology to health care, for example, can pay a dividiend because its a highly relevant outcome. Focus on outcomes is very important.

Oleg from Russia added that technology demands of the global community impact the national strategy - meeting global demand for IT is more important than digital access, for example, where the focus is on individual consumption rather than production. Human Capital is the greatest resource of all - its important to focus on the environment that will enable that Human Capital, and generate awareness and visibility of IT to the domestic and international markets. In Russia, they documented readiness across over 80 states, and that created a competition and best-practices benchmarking discussion among regional IT leaders.

For Montasser of Tunisia, Olson asked about international collaboration, ICT and education. Education is vital because Oil is not a natural resource for the country, so they have focused with education on their Human Capital - they are only 10M in population, so they focus on human resources more than infrastructure, as do many other countries.

Over 60% of GDP is based on services, and now they are moving to higher value added services and a knowledge-based society. Tunisia has a high rate of literacy, and is considered socially progressive in its treatment of women, which makes it stand out among many Muslim nations. ICT strategy is the only way to build a knowledge-based society. Availabilty, accessibility, and affordability are important for this to succeed. I'm very impressed with Tunisia and their inclusive and comprehensive approach.

Ibrahim (Uganda) was asked about resources and strategy - he said his situation was very similar to that in Tunisia, with a focus on education and youth IT knowledge development. The leaders born before digital economy have naive perspectives, because the lack of infrastructure deployment and awareness. It has taken an awareness campaign on the benefits of digitization and ICT to move the culture in the direction of eGovernment and eBusiness. The biggest challenge for Uganda is resources, where you will have 1000 students and only 10 computers in a lab.

In Malaysia, IT infrastructure is important to draw investment and economic activity. Too much focus on highways and physical infrastructure. Risk is another issue for technology development. Government can invest to lower risk and create jobs. IT has to have a different way of looking at this, if "the world is flat" as the Friedman book says (the most quoted phrase here at this conference, nd probably at conferences the world over - good work Tom on branding and marketing - he has given the world a catch-phrase for something that everyone sees - thank God for such shorthand, even though it does get tiresome to hear, its true). This kind of talk is just what I want to hear. It sounds like Malyasia is open for business.

Antony from UK says that you have to learn that this is a competition and its about how competitive your nation will be. The challenges of mature economies, while still equally challenging, are different than those for the developing world. Legacy infrastructures slow down the pace of change, putting mature economies at a disadvantage. Korea and Japan have focused on detailed, wholistic strategies for ICT development and making them work. How can we take that lessons learned and adapt them for the UK? The same could be said for the US. The speed and complexity confound planning. On the supply side, vendors are routinely disrupted. On the demand side, governments have to adapt to the pace of change. In general, we are too "short-term" oriented.

In Tunisia, they view competition a little differently. What are your objectives for domestic national strategy - if you define a domestic goal differently, there can be many winners - its not all about competiing with different countries. A focus on niches that are vital to Tunisia, for instance, may be different than in another country.

In Uganda, with 26M people, we work to define a bigger East Africa regional cluster, where we work together on ICT strategy, and leave implementation to the individual countries and states. We make large investments in education, and use politcal champions to set policies that stimulate the development of ITC. Uganda is well-positioned in between the US and China, making Uganda a good partner for outsourcing. Infrastructure and WiMAX is deploying rapidly in Uganda. Student labs in the day turn into call centers at night. We need to increase individual incomes (30% of the country still lives in poverty, for example).

In a short Q&A, the question of class and cultural norms was raised. Internet is disruptive to older styles of control and hierarchy. In Malaysia, government works with ISPs to manage the downsides. In Tunisia, it takes some adjustment, but innovation involves young people so we are all learning, with the old wise ones learning from the young - its very invigorating! We leverage IT to break old bureaucratic thinking. In Russia, the government is responsible for maintaining a cultural norm - censorship is a slippery slope, but some censorship makes sense.
In UK and Europe, cultural control is seen in the way that broadcasting is regulated. Broadband and IPTV is leading to fundamental discussion on regulation of converged services. There will be pressure to extend cultural control to new media - is this wise?


Posted on May 04, 2006 at 11:07 AM | Comments (0)

Minister of Economy in Mexico: "Se Habla IT"

Next up on the keynote front at WCIT 2006 is Sr. Sergio Alejandro Garcia de Alba Zepeda, the Minister of Economy (Mexico), who highlighted Mexico's economic status, but first opened with an announcement that the government of Mexico will make digital blackboards available in all K-12 schools in Mexico, starting with the Indian villages in Mexico.

The boom in oil prices is giving Mexico an opportunity to spend revenues to build up their IT industry and infrastructure. Inflation is always an issue in Mexico, as elsewhere, but it hs come down steaily over the years, and it was at 3.3% last year, for the first time, less than what the rate is in the US.

IT sector growth in Mexico is three times the average growth in the Mexican economy overall, which makes it a very important focal area for local, state, and national government. Nearly 2100 IT firms and 500,000 IT professionals work in Mexico, and that number grows yearly, adding 60,000 new professionals per year. Young people get IT and want to participate in this area. Government programs stimulate this natural career trend and move it along. And IT sector growth is projected to steadily gain over the next decade.

Prosoft is the organization in Mexico that promotes IT sector growth, and they anticipate by 2013: IT services annual production level of $15B, OECD average IT GDP expenditure, and Mexico as a leading IT powerhouse for Latin America. (I believe they will get there - I've seen a lot of energy and entrepreneurial spirit among the delegates from Latin America over the past two days).

Prosoft Strategies include:
* Exports and Investments
* Human Capital capabilities
* Digital Economy legal framework
* IT domestic market
* Local IT industry
* World class process capabilities
* IT cluster development

Prosoft is active in 26 states in Mexico, with 110 universities. Prosoft makes cash grants that fund total costs on a 50% basis, as well as a tax credit for up to 30% of total R&D expenses.

Outsourcing is of growing importance in Mexico - they see the global market for outsourcing growing from $300B in 2005 to $1.1T in 2010, and offshore business growing from 8% to 15% in that time period. Mexico's proximity to the US makes it an attractive business climate for US businesses (they call it "nearshoring"). NAFTA provides investment protection.

Mexico is promoting WiMAX strongly, and believe that infrastructure is a key component for economic growth.

In a short Q&A, my friend Fermin Navarro with Bridge 360 asked about how Mexico will differentiate itself from India, China, and other IT markets. Mexico is promoting its nearshore capacity and has a focus on niche markets, the minister responded.

Posted on May 04, 2006 at 10:39 AM | Comments (0)

Michael Dell Shares His Vision for Global IT Growth

Dell CEO kicked off the program at WCIT2006 this morning with a Keynote speech giving us his unique perspective on the state of the IT world. We see global IT growth of outstanding pace, he said. What's more, we see an increasing pace of Innovation, fueled by Standardization and corresponding Collaboration. These factors are spreading IT ever faster around the globe.

And more IT is a catalyst for economic growth - especially for smaller companies.
As US and other G7 countries have benefited, so have developing countries - and that's where much future growth will come from. Dell highlighted such companies as FON in Spain, which is making broadband available, PacketFront as a pioneer on Triple Play services, and Asterix, an open source PBX software providing VOIP.

It's hard to envision where we'll be in two decades, Dell said...the computation speed and capability will dwarf today's capabilities. Productivity and efficiency benefits of IT are shown in two examples. Dell Connect allows Dell Tech help to remotely connect to customers' Dell computers, making for more efficient Help and Customer Service. And in India, in Bangalore, children are teaching their parents about the Internet and computers.

The economic impact of global phones in developing countries is fascinating. Mobile phones reduce transaction costs, spur information flow, and substitute for physical transport. There is a direct, documented correlation between number of phones and economic growth.

eBay, Google, and Yahoo have created tremendous new economic opportunity, And, such innovations as blogs and Peer-to-Peer networks and Massively Multiplayer Online Gaming are leading the disruptive disintermediation that challenges existing solutions and providers. But in the developing world, Digital Access remains a challenge. One of the biggest challenges we face is leaving parts of the world behind.

We need to bring everyone along and at this point, Michael Dell shifted his focus to the role of Government in dealing with this issue. First, education is vital to provide the necesary skills to succeed in the 21st Century economy. Schools must play their part, and they often are the only place to gain the critical IT skills kids will need.

Second, infrastructure is important, not only cable, wired, fiber, telecom, but also the more modern wireless networks. We will need much more than we have now, that is for sure.

Third, governments should set goals for Digital Access, so that anyone in the country that wants broadband access can get it, affordably. Some nations have yet to do this and that will hold them back. Governments should open their markets to other technology, which will spur their economies.

Here are some success stories for smaller countries. South Korea has broadband adoption of over 70%, thanks in large part to efforts of the government. IT now counts for 30% of exports. IT839 program looks to create 8 new technologies, 3 new infrastructures, and 9 new IT engines.

Ireland has had a very focused program, funding research targeted at new technologies. Favorable tax policy and welcoming foreign investment policy has stimulated the economy in Ireland.

Malaysia ranks in the top quartile in countries for network readiness, they have reasonable regulation, and they make IT a priority. And, they favor external investment in their country.

Finally, Ethiopia is investing in infrastructure that will enable access throughout the country. IT is the fastest way to end their isolation, according to the president of Ethiopia.

Michael Dell urged sustainable and responsible IT development, balancing their plans with the immediate needs of their citizens, such as clean water, affordable medicines, etc. As development proceeds, they will need to support responsible access that stewards the environment - for instance, we need to consume less power with our IT infrastructure and devices, and Dell is moving in that direction.

Digital Access challenges must be met together. First, we need to improve lives by making IT solutions more accessible to more people. Second, we need to view Digial Access as an opportunity for growth. We can encourage and nurture the skills that IT needs to thrive.

In a brief Q&A following his presentation, Dell was asked about the slow pace of broadband deployments in the US. Dell responded that one of the most exciting areas is fiber to the home and fiber to the curb. But we have a long way to go, he said and in the US, competition will work, if in time. Second, Dell was asked about the health of the IT industry in general and the future of both Dell and the IT industry, and its impact on our economic future, here in Austin and elsewhere. Dell responded that his company's business has grown considerably faster outside the US, and that growth should continue at Dell. They remain a growth company, expanding all over the world. In North Carolina, a new factory, and elsewhere, growth will continue. Third, a comment on the stock price of Dell, which has fallen considerably over the past several quarters. (on this, I sympathize with Michael - give the guy a break) Michael Dell reminded the audience that his company saw growth of 10X over 10 years, with share appreciation of around 1000% during that time. Sustaining that pace of growth is not possible, and there is no linear path to success. Dell Corporation is a significant leader, it will remain so, and it is focused on long-term growth. Fourth re Green Grid membership, what about energy efficient processors by AMD, another delegate asked? What's taking so long to get there? We are working on it. And with that, he was off.

This is an exhilerating, if exhausting conference, with a lot of focus on Digital Access, which is a topic near and dear to my heart. More later.

Posted on May 04, 2006 at 08:27 AM | Comments (0)

Innovation Exchange II

Mr. Chuang Beng Wei, Group CEO, REDTone Berhad, from Malaysia is speaking in the session I'm in now. Supply Chain and payment is under the microscope, and he's making a good argument for mobile commerce as a rapidly developing segment of e-commerce.

I made a good contact with a consultant in Australia - he recommended I look at Bendigo Community Telco. They're a partner of a broader group, Community Telco Australia. Their approach is a validation of the site I just launched this weekend for my new venture, NANOnet, where we talk about a new apporach to deployment and management of community networks. NANOnet, like Bendigo Community Telco, enables communities, be they neighborhoods or Chambers of Commerce, to take control of their telecom destiny.

I'm back focusing on the next presentation - Rackspace is a service company approach to making webhosting work, where they promote "Fanatical Support." They seek to compare themselves to Nordstroms, Lexus, and Ritz-Carlton, none of them tech companies, but all of them radically focused on service that screams "We care about you!" I think there's a future in this.

CEO Graham Weston says that IT services are becoming like utiliy services, where you will buy more and more services. So, he's trying to differentiate his company's offer based on service. IT could use more of this attitude, and I agree that its the future of IT. What a gulf we have now between technical competence and ecstatic customer experience. We all more or less put up with poor service levels and unmet expectatoins, as if its a natural in the IT space. Maybe this attitude wil catch on with other aspects of IT. We can only hope.

I've got to change batteries now or find a plug. More later. This is really something to have the whole world here in Austin. And we've only just begun.

Posted on May 02, 2006 at 12:16 PM | Comments (0)

Innovation Exchange: Australia Communication Minister Gets It

Back at it on Day 2, its Tuesday and I'm attending the Innovation Exchange program that is adjunct to the World Congress on IT 2006, which kicks off tomorrow morning. We attended a great Texas Welcome party last night out at the Oasis Restaurant on Lake Travis, which sits up on a cliff overlooking the lake and provides some of the best sunset viewing you'll see anywhere. I met an interesting gentleman who is setting up a telecommunications infrastructure in Afghanistan - what a trip that conversation was.

This morning, I had a nice conversation with a gentleman from Malaysia who is running a telecom network south of Kuala Lumpur, using Motorola Canopy.

Right now, I'm sitting listening to The Honorable Helen Coonan, Minister, Ministry of Communications, Information Technology and the Arts, in Australia. She is saying the right things from my perspective, indicating that focus on extending broadband infrastructure - Australia is the 5th most connected country in the OECD.

Australia is a low-cost, skilled-labor, multi-cultural country that is attracting foreign investment, especially among companies looking to enter the Asian market. Top multinationals are choosing Australia as the hub of their Asian operations because of these reasons. Minister Coonan stressed the importance of infrastructure to businesses - they want to see security measures and a commitment to improvement and extension of the infrastructure.

Here's a surprising statistic - 47% of trade takes place in Asia Pac. According to Minister Coonan, Australia is positioning itself as the gateway to Asia Pac, stressing its location, its openness, and its innovative approach.

Finally, here's the takeaway - "technology is delivering huge benefits and Australia is an innovative nation ripe for investment." To put a Texas spin on it, we'd say "Doors Open, Come on Down Under!" In Australian, Minister Coonan says "Where the Bloody Hell Are You?"

Posted on May 02, 2006 at 10:31 AM | Comments (0)

New Experiments in Austin's Digital Media Sector

Digital Regions: Public/Private Strategies for IT-Cluster Development in the Global Knowledge Economy

Session Four: New Experiments in Austin's Digital Media Sector

Overview of Austin's Digital Media Initiatives - Chair Jim Butler, City of Austin introduced the panel.

Computer Games: A Global Perspective. Richard Garriott, founder of pioneering video game company Origin Systems and currently CEO, NCSoft, claims the title of the "oldest" game developer in the business, as he was an early pioneer programming games - as far back as the Apple II. Pheww! The business is growing incredibly rapidly, and is now one of the fastest growing industry in the US. Growth is expected to double over the next five years, and by 2011, be about a $66B industry. In comparison to TV, movies, and music, games are bigger. Than all of them. And the gap is widening.

And within the gaming space, online gaming is the fastest growing sector. And Austin has a leadership role in online gaming. In fact, a “plurality” of games is developed here in Austin, with NCSoft as one of the few on-line game publishers. Richard explained why online gaming business model works so well – lots of fresh content, for one, and online revenues tend to be sustaining, given the subscriber base of online business. As opposed to traditional retail where revenue spikes and then fades, leaving developers constantly short of cash, online developers get cash to invest in new product, new promotion, etc. Lots of retail startups go out of business in the gaming world before they get going, because of this cash flow issue.

Worldwide in the gaming industry, Korea leads the PC world, China follows, and the US and EU trail. Korea beats the US ten-fold, in fact. And the rest of Asia is developing much more quickly. Why is that? Korea still has import restrictions for no game consoles (from Japan), so gamers just play on PCs – that’s the way it developed. And, the government, given the density of the country, invested in broadband, so video online flies compared to elsewhere. And there are PC Bangs (Internet Cafes) so that games are accessible to everyone, not just the ones who have computers and are online. China is the fastest growing, where per capita revenue is very low, but the number of people using online gaming is huge. Thus, US is trailing.

And, the costs and game development cycle for console and online games are increasing, which makes it even harder to be successful. But for an economic development industry, its one of the best, because its clean, high revenue, and growing. To be successful with online gaming, a city needs a tough mix of resources and traits: 1) strong high-tech resources; 2) strong arts community; and 3) a strong education system. Austin scores high on all three of these scoring criteria. Lucky us.

There are some developer issues that plague the industry though: 1) a development staff shortage has materialized (the pace of program sophistication is so quick); 2) lack of sufficient training; and 3) the challenge is exacerbated by competition for good resources, with raids on talent. Hard to keep good help. This raises costs, as positions sit open and recruiting costs go up. This even leads to outsourcing, to access distant talent – not the best way to do it, but necessary because of the rarity of the skill set and lack of local talent. That said, this is a profitable and fun industry, and opportunities still remain.

Rethinking Regions, Digital Technologies, and Competitive Advantage. Alex Cavalli (director, Digital Convergence Initiative – “DCI”) and Eliza Evans (IC2 Institute) described a new way to look at regions and technologies and economic development. Alex spoke first about DCI, explaining how current convergence is now as a topic – its become a reality around the world. The paradox is that as the computer becomes more and more simple to the end user, the back end becomes more and more complex. Thus, more collaboration is needed to produce products, more time is needed, etc. etc.

Convergence is causing industry leaders to depart from their core businesses and reach out into new industries to remain competitive. Why did Dell move into home electronics? Because that’s where the market is going. PCs are merging with home electronics, converging into “media centers.” Why is ATT moving into provisioning content? Because they have to – they must be more than just a pipe provider. We call this a “horizontilization” – is that a real word? Whatever, horizontal movement comes about with convergence. Digitization makes this possible. Verticalization in industry segments, the history of the IT industry, is being followed by “digital intersections” that blur the lines and the IT industry is disappearing into a new, converged reality.

Collaboration – there’s that word again – is necessary and that’s where regions can flourish, by working together to provide all the pieces of the puzzle, all the assets needed to compete globally.

It’s a shame, but I had to leave to go pick up my car at this point. This was a stellar panel and I’m sorry I missed these guys: AMD and the Future of Digital Media and Digital Entertainment. With Charlie Boswell (AMD); and Reengineering UT-Austin’s Film School: Private Enterprise at a Public University. With Tom Schatz, UT’s leading authority on Radio, Television, and Film and now running the Burnt Orange project.

Posted on May 02, 2006 at 08:19 AM | Comments (0)

Austin and Texas in Transition

Digital Regions: Public/Private Strategies for IT-Cluster Development in the Global Knowledge Economy

Session Three: Public Private Partnerships for Cluster Development

Austin and Texas in Transition

Chair David Smith (Technology Futures Inc) introduced Dr. James Truchard, CEO and co-founder of National Instruments; Dr. Gustavo de Veciana, Director of the Wireless Networking Communications Group (WNCG) at UT; and Erin Defosse, Director of Technology Sectors at the Austin Technology Incubators, Director of ATI Wireless, and Chairman of the Austin Wireless Association.

David Smith offered an interesting look at Austin's future via some laws.
o Sarnoff's Law: the value of a network is proportional to n (one-way broadcast), Austin into the 1980s;
o Metcalfe's Law: the value of a network is proportional to n2 (value shop), Austin from 1990-2000 - this value graph has a more steep slope, and we see this in Internet business valuation, for instance; and
o Reed's Law: the value of a network is proportional to 2n (the law of self-forming groups). This is a value network, putting together the right core competencies creates a compelling proposition. This graph turns steeply north as n grows in size. Instant messaging and P2P computing are examples of Reed's Law. Dr. George Kozmetzky's Technopolis wheel has evolved to a combination of local and global networks.

Building a Globally Competitive IT Company in Central Texas. Dr. Truchard opened with one of our favorite pictures here in Austin: the UT tower lit up with a large number one on its side – we do that when we win a national championship, which we did last year for the first time in 35 years! This is a metaphor for goal setting, said Dr. Truchard. The team never gave up, even though they failed to achieve their goal of a national championship 34 times in a row .

National Instruments, a local productivity software company and one of our best local success stories, has been around for 30 years, with near steady growth except for the downturn in 2001 and 2002. With $600M in revenue and operations in 40 countries, this company is a good example of what a region wants. A leader in the Virtual Instrumentation space, National Instruments evolves software programs to solve lab problems more effectively. Their product LabVIEW allows virtual programming of a variety of instruments, including the new LEGO robot application!

Design and Test are converging, which presents a challenge for NI – but they are turning this into an opportunity to produce a combined hardware/software solution.

WNCG-UT: Building a Center of Excellence for Research and Entrepreneurial Excellence. Dr. de Veciana spoke about operating a Center inside the UT environment. Formed in 2002, the group has 14 faculty, 70 graduate and 10 undergrad students. Joint Organizers of the Austin’s Wireless Networking Summit. Their mission is to be a “breeding ground for technical innovation, imagination, and entrepreneurship in the wireless networking and communications area.” But to be successful, WNCG has to work with industry. Technologies start with universities, but it is industry that will create a standard and drive an industry.

What did they learn in the last four years? WNCG faced these challenges in relationship building: 1) Attract faculty talent; 2) Attract and develop student talent; 3) Build industrial affiliates support - think strategically about industrial affiliates and consider what’s in it for companies? 4) Connect to the right people (at multiple levels); 5) Intellectual Property Rights … can be a brick wall; 6) Entrepreneurship and Faculty Attrition – have to let go to accommodate entrepreneurship cycle (like college and pro football); 7) Build a team of highly independent individuals (need a strong shared vision, create valuable shared resources, and real opportunities and a sense of achievement); and 8) Space, Infrastructure, and the Right Staff Support.

The Austin Technology Incubator: New Strategies and Experiments. Erin Defosse challenged the audience with a provocative statement – “The era of the regional incubator is dead, long live the incubator.” By that, Erin explained that the role and value proposition for incubators has shifted, as the entrepreneur has grown more sophisticated and self-sufficient. There’s a new role for incubators though. In 1989, when the ATI was formed, the value proposition was: 1) low cost infrastructure; 2) access to mentor, angel, and VC network; 3) access to key service providers; and 4) access to UT students and faculty. Of 150 companies incubated to date, 4 have reached IPO, 30 are still in operation, and 17 have been acquired. In sum, 10,000 regional jobs created because of the ATI.

When ATI was formed, the founders didn’t know where the hits would be, so they had to recruit from any number of industries. In the next 15 years, that scenario is changing. Now, sectors and clusters like semiconductors and digital media gaming have emerged. ATI has succeeded and created a supportive ecosystem, wherein the entire city incubates businesses, and that makes the original goals of ATI moot.

Current challenges for ATI to address: 1) global competition (open markets, etc.); 2) faster competitive environment (distributed development, open source models, and global communications have made it cheaper and faster to launch companies; and 3) global customer base (the “next one-billion middle class” people will be outside the US and developing global channels is costly).

Meeting those challenges will involve the following strategies: 1) a Hub and Spoke model (sector-focused accelerators led by industry experts with high-touch strategic assistance); 2) Go Global on Day One (establish partnerships with global reach and factor global customer strategy into the business plan); and 3) Accelerate innovation (Interlink accelerators to drive convergence).

Posted on May 02, 2006 at 08:15 AM | Comments (0)

The Role of Government in Regional Economic Development

Digital Regions: Public/Private Strategies for IT-Cluster Development in the Global Knowledge Economy

Session Two: Accelerated Knowledge-Based Growth

Role of Government

Jon Roberts, our provocative moderator introduced the topic of how public policy works on a local and state level. He introduced the panel as Austin City Councilmember Brewster McCracken and Ron Lehman at the state level. “How do you grow a cluster when you don’t have the preconditions for such?” is a question we have to ask. OK, so now, hold on to your hats, WAKE UP! In the spirit of disruption, Roberts offered these thoughts: 1) The world is not flat, it is “spiky.” Talent and capital do not flow freely. Rather, they flow to a few select areas of the world and being in one of those areas is a good place to be. Lucky You. But we can anticipate that the climate will grow increasingly difficult for those regions to capture talent and capital if you’re in the wrong place. 2) Regions don’t matter. What defines a region is a dominant metropolitan area – Austin, in this case - the rest of the area is more or less, along for the ride. There are tremendous differences between areas and regions – yes – but whether a region can really collaborate to its own advantage remains to be seen.

The first issue for economic development – talent – is defined by this factor. Talent is being concentrated in urban centers, with flight of human capital from the rural areas. Concentration of talent is increasingly defined in less than a dozen communities. What about the rest? We must ask how to keep rural areas sustainable in light of the flight of human capital. The second major issue is integration of a large, growing, uneducated domestic talent pool. Witness the boycott today on May 1 in the US over immigration issues. Growth in opportunity for immigrants is in the service industry – not in the technology industry.

Interstate 35, our major transportation artery, neatly divides Austin on color lines, for instance, with almost exclusive white population to the west and non-white to the east. Also, we must consider environment concerns as barriers to economic development. More and more, populations will value environment and may slow down economic development out of respect for preservation of the environment.

On the role of government, two ways to look at it: 1) Status Quo: regulation and tax policy are predominate concerns; and 2) technology policy side: targeted and cluster recruitment – how to integrate university and business activity, and how to influence the location of businesses in a targeted fashion.

Role of State Government. Doug Ridge manages the development and implementation of the Texas Cluster Initiative. Regions do not stop at a political subdivision. Some are larger than 17 other states. You have to look at economic activity to define the region. Doug’s particular background is in the energy industry, and in that field, he’s been in charge of mapping possibilities for a state plan regarding energy economic development.

What does it take to make it easy to do business? Texas wins the business friendly award once more, but there is room to grow and improve the business climate in Texas. The cluster strategy in Texas goes all the way down to the local level, where planners gather data at the local level. State Economic Development has many facets – under the area of Strategic Investment Tools, for instance, is the Enterprise Fund, which is a “deal closing fund.” The mantra among economic development professionals is to be “market driven, collaborative, and cooperative.”

Diffusion of technology in particular, development of new and disruptive technologies, is a key area of focus for Texas. The Emerging Technology Fund ($100m/year for two years) is governed by a committee of 17 members – locally recognized leaders. The local/regional Centers for Innovation and Commercialization promotes ideas and then manages them when they are approved and implemented.

Role of Local Government. First, Brewster McCracken highlighted convergence as a primary area of focus for local economic development. Technology and clean energy are no longer separate concepts, for instance. AMD in particular is gaining market information by engaging with local companies to gain new information for marketing chips for film making and video games. The City of Austin is redeveloping the old airport site for convergent digital industries.

Second, Austin is investing in entrepreneurial organizations, in particular Clean Energy and Wireless Incubators, exclusively on technology companies. Next, a key facet in Austin’s ability to emerge as a global region is the Quality of Life in Austin. We have to keep it vibrant. Tolerance and social liberalism are alive and well in Austin, and that cultural attitude makes it very different from the rest of Texas. Fourth, a key strategy is using targeted recruitment packages for specific companies that matter to you (global technology companies – read Samsung). And, fifth, Austin Energy has the largest clean energy program in the nation – we use it to beta test emerging technologies in the energy field. Wireless, digital media and video games, on-line applications are key industries, and our focus on Independent creative types make us a differentiated area v. the more conventional areas (e.g., Hollywood). Clean energy will get attention with a venture contest and hopefully, they will stay in Austin.

A region’s strategy should have no silver bullet – it’s more complex than that. It’s a combination of factors that COMBINED make the region attractive and appealing to businesses. Government has to be a partner with business for a region to succeed, most effectively as a catalyst. If the goal is private investment leveraged through public infrastructure, then the perspectives are oriented around economic development.

This debate is shaping the way I feel about municipal wireless and in fact, is confirming my opinion that government's role should be more moderated than it is currently.

Posted on May 02, 2006 at 08:13 AM | Comments (0)

The Austin Model for Regional Economic Development

So back at the Digital Regions: Public/Private Strategies for IT-Cluster Development in the Global Knowledge Economy Seminar today, Session Two was about to start:

Session Two: Accelerated Knowledge-Based Growth

The Austin Model

After a good opening round, setting the stage with city and UT leadership, now we get into the meat of the program. What is being billed as the Austin Model is this panel discussion that includes Pike Powers, founding partner at law firm Fulbright and Jaworski (and Austinite of the Year 2005); Kirk Watson, former Austin mayor and president of the Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce (and now candidate for the Texas Senate from our region); Arjun Sange, UT System Associate Vice Chancellor for Technology Transfer; and Juan Sanchez, VP Research at UT.


Relational Capital: Public-Private Networking for Accelerated Regional Development. Pike Powers talked about the role of government in building a technology cluster for our region, but his talk really emphasized the role of relationships. Pike started off with a sports metaphor as an analogy (apt in our region given the current dominance of UT in national sports). Gil Brandt, 73 years old and long-time recruiter and scout for the NFL's Dallas Cowboys, still focuses on "fertilizing relationships." He's set himself apart for several reasons. He's a "people person" who knows everyone and lives for building relationships. He shares his information with others. He communicates widely and deeply. He's a "concierge" who shepards people through the process.

That reflects the situation in Austin - we fertilize relationships, share information, and seek to ensure that the best practice wins in the end. Read these two books: “Grassroots Leaders for a New Economy,” about Austin and its success, and “The Southwest Airlines Way,” because they both focus on the strategic value of “high performance relationships.” Thousands of people work on regional Economic Development projects, but nobody ever said, “I can’t do that,” or “That’s not important.” This kind of commitment and prioritization in a relationship setting creates a level of trust that begets success.

Pike shared two particular pearls of wisdom: “Economy is cyclical,” and “College Rankings matter,” but the bottom line pearls of wisdom from Pike : Austin has dared to dream and dream big – will you join us? Have a long term strategic plan and stick to it; push the envelope, there’s always something new on the horizon – be disruptive; be bold and ignore the critics, find the way around the obstacle; rely on the bonding of your key collaborators; celebrate the wins and victories – smell the roses, however little, because that brings the community together.

Ingredients of success in regional economic development
o Bright people
o Willingness to adapt to technology
o Commitment to advanced research
o Leave the private agendas at the door
o Strong university
o Passion to get the job done
o Educate, Adapt, Innovate, Collaborate
o Risk is in not acting at all, assuming that a good economy will carry you through

Lessons Learned in Building a City of Creativity and Innovation. Kirk Watson is a “Man with a Vision,” according to a recent Texas Monthly article. And his vision focuses on Austin, Texas, to the benefit of those of us who call this region home. Austin is going through a dramatic transition, as a result of moving from a college town with dominant state government to a truly global town with technology as a primary driver. The community has come together on these two lessons:

1) Lesson: Economic health and wealth is defined by regions in this century, which is not as it was in the past – we no longer need a large mass of land or a population center or be a financial center. Lesson: virtual labor and capital enable new places to be an Economic Center. 2) the primary asset of economic power has shifted from land to industry to ideas and innovation and creativity and intellectual capacity and educated workforces – in a word, people. The marketing term “The Human Capital” is a recognition that we have embraced this lesson.

Kirk detailed the following Lessons Learned that show that the regional model is working here.
1) Lesson: Higher Education and workforce development is our Key Asset. We’re surrounded by great institutions of higher learning, which cultivate and feed fresh talent into our labor pool.
2) Lesson: Talented people get to choose their region, so keep your region attractive and you will draw the top talent. We’re aggressive and effective at protecting our natural environment even as we develop our economy, especially on-line, where they can work globally from Austin. In Austin, you can come home and go out for a bike ride.
3) Lesson: Offer alternative ways of living: urban in a high-rise, urban in a house, suburban, semi-rural, rural, small town – you can choose your life-style here in Central Texas.
4) Lesson: Keep the city open to different, even off-beat, ideas and stay open to “odd” thought – you never know where it will take you. The number one bumper sticker is “Keep Austin Weird.”
5) Lesson: Reach out internationally and recognize that Austin is a small part of a big world.
6) Lesson: We were lucky that we didn’t have to go through the political pain of dealing with a displaced industry. We won’t be so lucky in the future as our industries mature. We have to plan around those transitions.
7) Lesson: Integrate your assets into a bundle – a package that is attractive to outsiders, to emphasize the overall value of your region. That is an inclusive approach.

Research and Technology Transfer in the University of Texas System. Arjun Sange described the UT System (9 universities and 6 health centers) showed how UT works to enhance its capabilities in research and tech transfer. UT seeks to foster large-scale research collaborations. The goal is to strengthen processes and practices and make each of UT’s Institution an “Institution of National Distinction,” thus making the UT System a “System of the First Class.” Arjun leveraged this quotation from the American Assoc for the Advancement of Science: “Institutional research competitiveness requires leadership at every level of the university.” Nowhere to run, nowhere to hide – it’s a team effort. Research expenditures have nearly doubled in six years: from 1999 to 2005, rising from $900 million to $1.7 billion. It’s a linear curve. The goal is exponential growth, however. This pace of growth easily outpaces the national increase for public universities. As for tech transfer, it’s also a linear curve. UT System ranks #11 nationwide in tech transfer, which indicates room for growth. Tech Transfer is a hot topic among universities these days, and it’s a key metric in how they measure their success. Two great examples of tech transfers are LabNow, which provides on-site medical analysis, and the Texas Advanced Computing Center, which runs a Dell Linux Cluster of 6.3 Teraflops up to 35+ Teraflops. Wow!

The Role of the Research University Regionally, Nationally, and Internationally. The drill down after the Tech Transfer discussion is research. Juan Sanchez provided an overview of what UT does in the research area, and it’s an awesome story. The story of science and academic R&D as a business really started mid-way through the 20th Century with the formation of the National Science Foundation in 1950. Total investment in Academic R&D in the US (these data are approximate, as I was typing as the slides flew by) – total investment now exceeds $40 billion, and public government investment covers nearly 75% of that: $24 billion comes from federal government, $2B from state and local government, and $2B from industry. All of the trends are upward, by the way – R&D is a growth industry. Royalties derived from intellectual property are, as you might expect, growing as a result of that spending.

As befitting the premier university in Texas, a region that brags about its size and prowess, UT is at the top of many lists: largest campus (>50,000 students), most doctoral degrees (ranks 1-3 in polls), city’s largest employer, 15th ranked university in the world by Times of London, 400,000 ex-students (100,000 of them live in Austin – that’s a testament to the attractiveness of this region). As for tech commercialization, UT has formed 35 startups (21 exist today), and typically, 3-6 new startups are formed out of UT-originated technologies every year.

The biggest challenge UT faces is in how to relate with corporate partners – the risk is that a competition gets started, and that doesn’t benefit either academia or the private sector. In the end, it’s a matter of trust. We need greater cooperation between universities and industry – more trust - but, the devil is in the details and it takes a while to learn to dance together without stepping on each other’s toes. Juan used a quotation from 1912 to make his point – in other words, we’re still striving for more collaboration nearly 100 years later! Finally, a vision is critical if you seek greatness. UT has a vision and it says: “What starts here, changes the world.”

Collaboration Example. In the follow up Q&A, an interesting question was “How did the Samsung collaboration work?” You’d think the answer would be revealing, because that’s an example of what we’ve all been talking about here. Juan highlighted the large community of South Korean graduate students at UT that must have played a role – they “get” the culture. Kirk talked about our very detailed regional plan to grow jobs, highlighting not only our strengths, but also our gaps and weaknesses, which get funding and attention. Pike talked about how communication, relationship, mutual respect all combined to make things work. Interestingly, little details like siting of traffic lights near the Samsung facility made a difference – Samsung execs wanted to know that they were appreciated and respected, and the risk was that this little thing of a traffic light reflected poorly on the appreciation and respect scales. So, again, the devil is in the details, and sometimes, attention to detail can be the differentiator in a multi-billion dollar deal like the Samsung plant siting decision.

Posted on May 01, 2006 at 11:33 PM | Comments (0)

Gentlemen, Start Your Engines: It's Conference Time in Austin!

The conferences have begun. Today was the first of a week full of meetings. At the University of Texas Thompson Conference Center, about 120 individuals gathered today for the Digital Regions infrastructure policy and regional economic development seminar, in anticipation of the World Conference on IT which will start on Wednesday. Conference Director Dave Gibson with the IC2 ("I-C-squared") Institute at UT, introduced his boss Dr. John Butler and Austin Mayor Will Wynn.

The subitlte of the conference is "Public Private Strategies for IT-Cluster Development in the Global Knowledge Economy. Today, the focus of discussion was activity in Austin and the "Austin Model," and tomorrow the discussion will focus on other regional models.

John Butler, Director of the IC2 Institute spoke first - his message was: "Regions will always be the center of economic devleopment." The reason regions are critical is that social fabric of communities involves trust networks, which drive job creation. In our case in Central Texas, since the early 1980s, technology transfer has driven economic development. We put Wealth and Job Creation at the center of our model.

Austin Mayor Will Wynn followed with a good detailed discussion about Austin and how economic development works now. The big news is that Austin won the largest capital investment project by a foreign company on US soil - in history - when Samsung decided a few weeks ago to build a $4B chip manufacturing plant in Austin. By this time, I'm feeling pretty proud of the region I call home. This win will have a huge economic impact on Austin.

Lots more, so stay tuned!

Posted on May 01, 2006 at 11:12 PM | Comments (0)

The Great is the Enemy of the Good

It's Sunday morning and I've been thinking. It's a dangerous time after I've finished reading the newspaper and various blogs, with the rest of the Cooper household still asleep. Here's what's on my mind this monring.

Why in the US do we stare an opportunity for better communication in the face and blink, because its not better enough? Why do city officials blink when looking at a "free" deal with a private sector vendor? Why do we wait to buy something that will enhance our lives/solve our problems because something else may come out in the near term that will enhance our lives a little more, or a little cheaper? Why do we continue to expect gasoline to be cheap and easy to obtain, in the face of all evidence to the contrary? (whoops, how did that question get in this list?)

I would argue that we as a society have grown accustomed to ever better deals, to the point where we expect, even deserve to get a free lunch from technology. Technology is Superman and Houdini, all in one super-hero. Moore's Law has become as addictive as Cheap Gasoline. We (city officials in particular, as our local government representatives) hold out for the best deal and say NO THANKS to a better deal. The Great has become the enemy of the Good. Despite low costs, modular design that enables small deployments, and valid ROI models for targetted business purposes, Wi Fi mesh technology gets hammered by critics and decisions by public officials get delayed, using the yard stick of comparisons to older and more prevalent technologies that are far more expensive, if far more convetional.

Three articles at the top of Wi-Fi Networking News this weekend led me to ponder these and other questions. Thanks, Glenn.

First, city officials in Boca Raton have pushed Wi Fi mesh networks down their list of priorities citing some spurious reasoning and one failed downtown network. I wonder what priorities went ahead of ubiquitous high-speed connectivity. No doubt, more pedestrian (but also, more immediate and better understood) concerns such as property taxes, no-smoking ordinances, and city staffing levels beat out the more esoteric Wi Fi mesh proposition. Despite considerable progress in raising the debate in some quarters, this issue continues to be debated locally in city councils around the nation in an atmoshphere of half-truths, misunderstandings and general lack of awareness (or mistrust?) of the dramatic transformations that ubiquitous high-speed connectivity enables.

Then in Pittsburgh, the city council seems to be working down at the micromanager level, debating pole attachment rates. When do such esoteric issues merit board level discussion? I'll tell you when - when perceived political risk gives politicians a ratioanle to look for delays and reasons not to say YES to change, because something better may come along and they will be second-guessed. If "Great kills Good," then its companiion must be "Fear trumps Faith." These are rapidly changing times and we all need to be able to look at new opportunities with new yardsticks, which factor in unknown upsides against better known risks, and account for opportuniity costs. There is risk in every change, but there is also risk in delaying change, and I would argue that cities are delaying making prudent decisions and are not attaching a cost to those decisions. If they did, they would vote to take small risks in demonstration networks while they consider the bigger picture, but continue to move forward just the same.

Finally, a breath of fresh air with another bold county-wide initiative, wherein a large county moves forward with dramatic plans for a large-scale wi fi mesh network. In
Suffolk County Plans to Offer Free Wireless Internet Access - New York Times, we learn that one government council thinks that the merits outweigh the costs and that a county plans to proceed. There is a long way to go to getting the network, however, and the forces of "prudent decisons" - read "risk-free decisions" - will raise their heads here as well. Count on this project to hear from critics who will argue that the project is too risky and that the county should wait until they know more.

I'd suggest to all three regional political leaders, in Boca Raton, Pittsburgh, and in Suffolk County, that there is a safe path to move forward, which begins with widespread regional discussions and education campaigns, complemented with targetted and well-publicized demonstration deployments of wireless networks so that everyone can see, touch, and feel this new technology. Wi Fi mesh and other new forms of wireless broadband access require us all to try them out, to consider how we might use them, to imagine a new way of communicating and to debate worthiness based on a full understnading of the potential risks, costs and benefits.

Waiting for the Best solution to come along - free, fast, free, for everyone, free, and .... risk-free - condemns a population to live without the benefit of the new experience, new knowledge, and new potential that would come from a smaller, less ambitious (but accesible and deployed) neighborhood network, which would still be a Better communication solution than what they currently have. Waiting for a full-city or county-wide network to be debated to the point where no risk is left in the decision is deterministic - it will not happen. It means that your population will not get to the future until their incumbent providers take them there, and the opportunity cost will be huge (and most likely, unaccounted for).

And that, my firends, is how a nation slides into 16th place in the global race to broadband connectivity. Safe, and mediocre, ever patient and waiting for somebody else to go first, and for the risk-free answer to all their prayers. Not unlike, I might add, the transition to alternative fuels, but that is a whole other can of worms...

Posted on April 30, 2006 at 09:36 AM | Comments (0)

Progress Update

Following the launch of the WIKIMETRONET at the start of this month - check it out if you haven't already - I've had my head down working on three projects, so I haven't been blogging.

Austin Wireless Network - With a week to go for the start of the World Congress on IT, there's lots of excitement in the air. I'm told the city has mounted a total of 17 of the 80 some odd Cisco Aironet 1500 Wi Fi Mesh nodes that Cisco donated to provide downtown wireless coverage during the event. My client Cellnet is prepping a network to complement the city's, and we are nearing completion of our Pole Attachment agreement with the City's electric utility department, Austin Energy. They have been good to work with, but this is a pioneering effort and it's taking more time than anyone would like, client and city alike. I'll write an article on this as the process is completed. Very instructional, to say the least.

NANOnet - I will launch a new site in the next day or so to announce an alternative direction for metropolitan broadband - my new mantra is "Small is Good, Simple is Better." Again, I'll blog more about this upcoming service offer in the next day or so when the website is launched. It will be a busy week, as I'm also a delegate to the WCIT, so lots of preparation to make the most out of next week's 80-hour workweek, when the world comes to Austin. The launch of NANOnet completes the three legged stool I envisioned when I launched MetroNetIQ nearly three months ago and WikiMetroNet one month ago. I intended to address what I percieve as gaps in this very new market, and it's exciting to see this vision being realized.

1. An education and resource website - MetroNetIQ
2. A dynamic, user-generated Users Manual - WikiMetroNet
3. A bundled low-risk service offer to kick-start a network - NANOnet

Stay Tuned!

Posted on April 24, 2006 at 05:54 AM | Comments (0)

A Great Example of Regional Collaboration

Yesterday I met Dr. Alex Cavalli, founding board member of the Digital Convergence Initiative (DCI), a project of the Greater Austin-San Antonio Corridor Council. This was one of those moments of serendipity that Luc de Brabandere talks about in his book from last summer,
The Forgotten Half of Change : Achieving Greater Creativity through Changes in Perception. Because my eyes and ears are open for signals of change, I know that DCI will be an ally for me as I work with regional leaders to promote change at the regional infrastructure level. I like the concept of serendipity any way, but after reading de Brabandere's fascinating book on change, I am on my guard for serendipity as an indicator of coming changes.

A partner in the Boston Consulting Group and a leading author on business innovation in Europe, Luc de Brabandere makes the argument in The Other Half of Change that change comes in two parts: the actual, physical change, which requires a following change in perception (a change in the way we see things), in order for the actual change to become permanent. To be aware of the potential for change, de Brabandere suggests that we be on the lookout for five leading indicators of change, early warning signs if you will. He highlights these five "weak signals that indicate a mismatch between our assumptions and the real world." Watch for these five signals.

1) Minor defects that signal disruptions to the status quo; 2) Dissonance, a warning of failure ahead; 3) Serendipity, when things seem to happen as if they were magic, as if they were planned ahead by some unseeing force; 4) Paradox - my favorite paradox to emphasize the change we're in is the rapid replacement of the hundreds-year old instituion Encyclopedia Britannica, the Icon of the Age of Reason, by Microsoft's Encarta, symbolizing the maturity of the Digital Era, only to be supplanted by Wikipedia a few years later - hello, Internet, World Wide Web, and the Network Era; and finally, 5) Boredom, where a new concept becomes commonplace (remember all the fuss about eCommerce just a few years ago, back when Business 2.0 was 300 pages long?).

So when Alex and I had a conversation yesterday about our shared impressions and struggles to move the Central Texas regional along, it was compelling enough for me to take note. I knew then that MetroNetIQ and DCI were bound to be working together in the near term, given the close alignment of our goals and the strong signals for collaboration.

I offer you then this document as an example of a vision document for regional collaboration. It's important to put down a shared vision in writing if you intend to work together with a group on a common goal. As Stephen Covey says in Seven Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change, (Habit No. 2) - "Begin with the End in Mind". - in other words, "know where you're going before you start out on your journey." A collaborative effort requires a shared vision, or there will be problems down the road when individual paths diverge. Click this link to download Digital Convergence Initiative: Creating Sustainable Competitive Advantage in Texas (You will need to register first)

Posted on February 07, 2006 at 06:59 AM | Comments (0)

On the Road to Regional Collaboration

The road to one's goal is not always a straight line, and in my experience, it's almost never paved either. It's a winding path up to the top of the mountain and, as with other journeys to a goal, sometimes one has to go sideways for a while in order to proceed again up the mountain. I'm hoping that recent events indicate that my journey to regional collaboration has turned a corner and we're heading back up the mountain, once again.

Two years ago, I proposed that Austin would make a great place to launch a metropolitan wireless broadband network, and I pursued that goal with passion, but as I've said before, it didn't seem to take at the time. People would look at me as if I had proposed that we relocate London Bridge from Lake Havasuu, Arizona, to Austin to replace the Pennybacker Bridge, an Austin icon (ironically, both bridges are on the "Colorado River," but there is a Colorado River in Arizona that actually comes from Colorado, and another one in Texas that's mistakenly named - but boy, do I digress).

Back to a city-wide wireless network for Austin. Two years ago, Hot Spots were something to talk about, and the time for a city-wide network was just not right. I'll have to dig up that proposal I wrote and share it with you all in another blog.

Fast forward a year. I wrote this white paper, entitled Regional Broadband Authorities: A Collaborative Approach to Universal High Speed Internet Access, at the start of last year, finishing the final draft on January 25, 2005. Well, it seems the time was still not right for the idea, because it never went anywhere. Perhaps I just lacked the forum to get it out in front of the right people a year ago, or the energy to push that string uphill. At the time, I was engaged in a research project at the city-owned electric utility, so I kept on plugging away.

OK, so fast forward one more year, and now it looks like the time may be right - we may just be ready to go after this goal as a community. I'm looking forward to our Regional Wireless Roundtable breakfast a week from Thursday. As it turns out, I brought my white paper up in conversation today with Dr. Alex Cavalli, founding board member of the Digital Convergence Initiative (DCI), a project of the Greater Austin-San Antonio Corridor Council. That project started a few years back at the IC2 Institute at the University of Texas at Austin, as "part of that Institute's continuing effort to create wealth through expanded uses of capitalism for the purpose of maintaining a stable and civil society."

I'll have to write more about the DCI in another blog, because it looks like our paths may end up winding together. In this blog, I wanted to tell you about the Regional Broadband Authority idea. Based on other regional infrastructure planning (i.e., Regional Transportation Planning Authorities), the idea was for the government to promote rational, regional collaboration on broadband infrastructure by creating a planning authority. After reading it again tonight, I'm glad to see that the reasoning is still sound. But the means have changed.

Last year, I thought the path to regional collaboration ran through Washington, suggesting that the federal government would be a preferred forum, given the poor state of affairs with state legislatures at the time, which seemed to be moving in lock-step to ban municipally owned networks.

What a difference a year makes. Today, I've concluded that the road to regional collaboration is a local road, with collaboration of private and public sector, of city and county governments, of regional organizations like the Digital Convergence Initiative, the Corridor Council and the Councils of Government. Today, I've come to realize that the solution will be both emergent, arising from our local communities, and convergent, with ideas and groups coming together to make something new. The days of the sheriff as hero riding to our rescue are long gone. No, we will solve this problem ourselves, and I believe some version of the Regional Broadband Authority will get us where we need to go.

Posted on February 06, 2006 at 08:25 PM | Comments (0)

Gettin' Ta Know Austin - Howdy, Y'all

If I'm going to use Austin and Central Texas as models and as a case study for regional collaboration on the road to metropolitan broadband infrastructure, I better get you up to speed on the area. Here's some background.

Austin truly is a special place. While I travelled around the world for five years in my twenties, had a blast, and saw many wonderful places, I nevertheless returned home in 1985 and I haven't relocated since. I love the fact that Austin claims the title of "Music Capital of the World," was voted the #1 Most Wired City, aspires to be a leader in wireless, and that we originated the "Keep (city name here) Wierd" campaign here (we now have the ironic "Keep Austin Wired" t-shirts, from no less, the Austin Wireless City Project.

Austin probably has more grown-up but unreconstructed hippies than most towns. We live right on the Balcones fault line (a famous band in the 1970s was appropriately named, Balcones Fault). Living astride the fault has less to do with earthquakes than it does with geology and lifestyle. It means that the land to the southeast is flat farmland with rich dark soil, while the land to the northwest is what we call the Texas Hill Country, with cactus, rocks, and those mesas, ridges, and hills that used to characterize Western movies. The Colorado River cuts right through that fault line, like an arrow through Cupid's Heart, and LBJ dammed up the river to make the Highland Lakes in the 1930s and 1940s, which make the Hill Country that much more beautiful. I bought a ranch ten years ago in Dripping Springs, the gateway to the Hill Country, which is 45 minutes from my house. It's long on scenic views and short on practical purpose, so we mostly go out there to have campfires, drink margaritas and look at the stars, which may well be the most fun you can have with your clothes on.

But Austin is fragmented when it comes to strategy leadership. I'm guessing that all cities have these fragmentation issues, but Austin seems to be loaded to the brim with dynamic tension. We have the environmentalists v. the economic development types, the liberals v. conservatives, the city v. the state government, the city v. the university establishment, the East Side v. the West Side, the police v. the minority groups, and the core downtown v. the suburbs, the new economy v. the old, the Old Guard v. the Newcomers. We even have some who plan to build high rises downtown, while others wonder if our majestic state capitol will disappear behind the new urban canyons. It's no wonder it's hard to get people to sit down and talk about something as new and esoteric as wireless broadband infrastructure. "We have SBC and Time Warner (and recently, Grande Communciations) - what's to talk about?" But that said (that's my impatience talking) - It's not as if we've been idle, after all.

We brought technology here in the late 1960s with Texas Instruments and IBM, and the chip industry found a home here. Now we boast a large presence with Samsung, AMD, and Freescale. Starting in the 1980s a little startup grew into a global powerhouse - Dell sits just to our north in the suburb of Round Rock (which boasts a memorial to a gunfight no less - welcome to Texas). It's not all about technology - Whole Foods started from a hippie health food store I used to frequent in the 1980s. Austin has become synonymous, economically speaking, with creativity and innovation. We built on that base in the late 1990s with a rash of Internet startups, which have fared moderately well to poorly. Motive, Garden.com. I'm sure I'm leaving out some valid examples here. At any rate, there is a feeling here that we have come out of that malaise of the Dot Bust and wireless is part of that. But we're not focused.

We had a good start three years ago with Rich McKinnon and Jon Lebkowsky starting the Austin Wireless City Project, as a community grassroots organization to assure that there would be sufficient free alternatives to the Starbucks-type for-pay Hot Spots that began to spring up in 2003. We've got hundreds of those now, so I guess it worked. That same year, Randy Baker of Tuanis Technology got folks together to form the Austin Wireless Alliance, boasting nearly 100 member companies now. Wireless guru Ted Rappaport left Virginia Tech and came to UT to establish the Wireless Network Communications Group, and in January 2004 the IC2 Institute at UT hosted a Wireless Futures Conference. In 2004 we were voted the Most Wired City based on our number of broadband subscribers, Hot Spots, etc. and the Wi Fi Alliance located their global headquarters here. Last year, Mike Wolleben launched WiMax.com and located in the Austin Technolgy Incubator, which features a wireless section. We're the home of digital convergence, with a thriving music, film, and Internet scene. The South by South West Media Conference will bring international attention to Austin for 10 days in March, and in May, the World Congress on IT will feature 2000 VIPs from IT industry and government here for a little conversation on the future of our world. WCIT President Glyn Meeks, city CIO Pete Collins, Cisco's Billy Shoemaker and I have worked to make wireless a critical part of that event.

So what's my beef? Well, its just this. MetroNet broadband is a nascent Infrastructure technology. All of the activies cited above lack that broad-reaching infrastructure component, which suggests that we should look at it differenlty. To build infrastructure in isolation and without regional discussion leads to problems well documented at the start of the electric industry a century ago. It didn't work then, and I propose that it won't work well without regional planning this time either. We've been down this road before. It used to be that infrastructure required huge amounts of capital, so only a few players could do it, and the large capital projects were regulated, monitored, planned, and implemented with the intention of spending the money wisely and locating the infrastructure where it could do the most good. Not so with this new infrastructure, which is so affordable and unlicensed that independent entities can do as they wish.

So, enter MetroNetIQ.com and my local activities to get our community on the same page in Central Texas. Stay tuned, and I'll drill down on more details in the days ahead.

Posted on February 04, 2006 at 06:21 PM | Comments (0)

Change Starts at Home: Austin & Central Texas Get their Broadband Act Together

I've called Austin and Central Texas home for almost 36 years, and like anyone or anything you've known that long, I love it, but I can also get so irritated and impatient with it that my eyes could pop out. And that impatience applies in spades to our lack of cohesion and vision when it comes to broadband infrastructure and regional planning. Our fragmented political and social climate give us a diversity and energy that makes us the envy of many more stable but less exciting metropoitan areas. But that fragmentation has to date worked against us in forming a vision for regional broadband infrastructure. I started a campaign here two years ago to talk about new wireless technolgies and what they could do for our city, and you would not beleive the number of blank stares I received. It just was not on the agenda at that time.

It is now. I've launched this site, and in less than two months, we will have wireless Hot Zones in both Austin's downtown area AND in Round Rock, the suburb to our north and home to Dell Corporate Headquarters. I have a pivotal role in each project, and that's a huge victory. I'm also mobilizing a Regional Wireless Roundtable Breakfast, comprised of regional government stakeholders (35 attendees so far, representing 10 cities and counties), where we will have our first truly regional discussion on the impact and potential of broadband. The conference is sponsored by Cisco and organized by MicroCast with collaboration from MuniWireless.

I'll be blogging about these events in Central Texas with an eye towards creating a model for regional collaboration and organization. I'm not convinced that the present model of municpally led RFPs will survive as the way our nation gets broadband. While I applaud the initiaive and support the goals of muncipal RFPs, I believe that regional collaboration such as we have seen recently in Silicon Valley and as I am promoting in Austin and on this website is a more rational and practical approach, which in the long run may take more time, but will result in a more lasting and efficient regional impact.

Read On for some background on Austin, and stay tuned to this blog for the blow-by-blow of our activities in Central Texas.

Posted on February 04, 2006 at 09:09 AM | Comments (0)