Exploring the impact of broadband and technology on our lives, our businesses, and our communities.
700 Mhz spectrum up for grabs
The Public Knowledge folks have published their recommendations for how the FCC should handle the impending auction of 700 Mhz radio spectrum for broadband use. This frequency range, down around the broadcast TV spectrum, can carry a broadband data signal many miles and could be a boon for underserved areas waiting for community fiber efforts to build out fiber.
Public Knowledge is concerned that the FCC may set the auction rules in a way that favors incumbent providers, who have deep pockets and could afford to purchase most of the local market licenses for the spectrum and then do nothing with it. Independents like Google are also concerned that they may be shut out by slanted auction rules.
PK suggests several reasonable requirements, including one that would require purchasers of the spectrum to actually deploy a service or lose the license.
The 700 Mhz band is not a complete solution, but could be a really good way to provide capable mobility access as well as serving as a reasonably affordable bridge solution for broadband services until fiber arrives in some areas.
Technology News:
New fuel cell does not need hydrogen
A new kind of fuel cell has been developed by a New England firm that does not need hydrogen. It will run on propane, natural gas, diesel fuel, and bio-diesel. Using these more common fuels means the fuel cell does produce some CO2, but only about half as much as a more conventional generator. This appears to be more than early marketing of a design concept, as the company (Acumentrics Corporation) says it already has thirty systems working and deployed.
Technology News:
Oslo goes with an open services network
The electric utility that provides the power for the Oslo, Norway region (Norway's biggest city) has chosen an open services network architecture. The electric utility will build a single digital road system and let multiple service providers use it to deliver a wide variety of broadband services that will go far beyond the old Manufacturing Economy "triple play" model.
A key advantage of the open services network approach is the financial stability of the business model. The old style triple play caps overall revenue, but the open services network has nearly unlimited revenue potential, with many providers paying use fees, rather than just three.
Design Nine specializes in open services network design. Give us a call if your community would like to see what kind of economic development and revenue benefits an open services network could bring to your region.
Community news and projects:
Video is driving the broadband business
This article discusses what I have been saying for a long time: Video is finally turning broadband into a business. For reasons that are really no one's fault, the broadband business is upside down. If you are in the business of selling Internet access--dial up, wireless, DSL, cable, fiber, satellite--you make the most money if your customers never use your product. You make the least money if your customers sit in front of their computers all day long fooling around on YouTube and Joost.
It is a lose-lose situation. Internet providers lose money if their customers love the service, and customers lose because if they love the service, the service can slow to a crawl or become nearly unusable.
The problem is that there is no feedback mechanism between use and cost that informs customers about the real cost of the service. Under the current system, users pay a fixed cost and appear to get unlimited service. Demand is decoupled from supply because of this inadequate pricing feedback.
The solution is to get away from selling bandwidth and to start selling services, whose prices are more directly tied to the real costs of providing the service. Open service provider broadband networks are going to emerge quickly as the preferred business model for broadband because they pay their way, and local governments that help develop them can get new revenue streams from telecom while lowering costs for public and private customers.
Technology News:
Lots of business will be in space
This short article on emerging deals between Virgin Galatic and Robert Bigelow's space hotel venture show that the Space Economy continues to quietly roll along. Even more interesting is the recent deal between Virgin Galactic and NASA to share development on various space gear like heat shields, space suits, and rocket motors. Taxpayers may eventually be the biggest winners as private industry gets into the space business and starts making money. It will become much more cost effective for NASA to buy what it needs from private firms than to build everything in house, as it does right now.
In terms of economic development, California and New Mexico are in the lead, with Virginia close behind. All three states have active spaceport development programs, and formerly obscure chunks of real estate are turning into boom towns.
Technology News:
Music sales plunge
The New York Times (registration required, links disappear) has an article about the plunging fortunes of the music industry. Sales of CDs have fallen more than 20% in the past year. While the article does acknowledge that a lack of good music may have something to do with it, no mention is made of the possible effect price also has on buying decisions. Most new CDs cost $18 and up.
The music companies continue to try to blame online music sharing as the primary culprit, but I am inclined to believe that they have cause and effect reversed, at least in part. High prices encourage "free" sharing, even though it is illegal. The record companies need to find better music, cut their high overhead, increase royalties to the musicians, and lower the cost of music. Continuing to blame customers and labeling their customers indiscriminately as thieves is obviously not working.
Is the Internet to blame? In part,sure. There is no reason to distribute music on CDs anymore, but the fact that file sharing is easy via the Internet does not automatically kill the music business. Good music at a fair price is step one.
Technology News:
Knowledge Democracy:
U.S. enjoys slow broadband
Compared to other major industrialized countries, the U.S. "enjoys" some of the world's slowest broadband. Even worse, when you factor in price, we pay more and get less than countries like Japan, South Korea, France, Canada, and Sweden. Over the past decade, the U.S. has gone from being the world leader in broadband to 16th in the world.
Communities and regions waiting for the Federal government to solve this problem are going to fall farther and farther behind economically. To be fair, it is important to remember that places like South Korea and Japan are not much bigger than some regional trading areas in the U.S. (that is, 2-4 rural counties in size). Are we really going to settle for an economic development slogan of "Our region...broadband almost as good as some tiny countries from overseas?"
The good news is that the technology and systems needed to take high performance fiber and wireless connections everywhere in a region (every single home and business that wants service) are mature, affordable, and available off the shelf. It is time to just roll up our sleeves and get the job done.
Technology News:
Community news and projects:
Google's total information obsession
Anyone who worries about government snooping has not been paying much attention to Google and it's long term goal of "total information" about every single person on the planet. The Google founders are becoming wierdly creepy with their happy talk discussions of wanting to tell people "what job to take" and "what to do tomorrow."
Google apparently is not satisifed with making billions from advertising; they also want to be your nosy, domineering, and overbearing "friend" who has an opinion about everything you are doing.
The company continues to expand it reach, and the recent acquisition of online ad giant DoubleClick means the monstrous company is well on the way to complete vertical integration of the Web.
Lots of people like Google's "free" services, but as always, there is no free lunch. Google's "free" email service also means giving Google permission to read all your email to look for data that can be used to create customized ads for you. Write to a friend about a hiking trip, and ads from LL Bean and REI might start popping up on your screen. Or worse, write to someone about a medical condition, and microseconds later, Google has added that information to your dossier that it keeps on you, and you start getting targeted drug advertisements.
Google's online applications are even more risky. Use Google's online word processing service, and Google knows everything you have ever written with it.
Google should be free to pursue whatever corporate goals it wants, but Google users should know the price that is paid for the convenience.
Technology News:
Knowledge Democracy:
Resilient electric power
Energy is powering the Knowledge Economy. That may seem like a statement of the obvious, but broadband by itself is not a complete economic development strategy. Increasingly, it is the combination of affordable, high performance broadband AND reliable, resilient electric power that makes a region attractive to business.
In New York City, ConEd, the power company, is designing a new main power line that will be highly resistant to terrorist attacks and extreme weather. The low temperature, superconducting cable will have enormous capacity and will help reduce brownouts and power surges, which are a big problem for all the electronic equipment that powers business networks.
The right telecom infrastructure is necessary, but not sufficient. Regions with a history of power problems are not going to be successful in attracting certain kinds of businesses that make heavy use of computer and network equipment. And remember that heavy manufacturing today is almost totally dependent on networks and computers. There is no going back to the old Industrial Economy; everything--every kind of business of any size is part of the Knowledge Economy, no matter what they make. A region's economic development strategy has to address the needs of those businesses, starting with affordable broadband and reliable electric power.
Technology News:
WiFi-only projects are failing
There is an AP article circulating this morning about failing muni WiFi projects (not yet on the Web). This is something I have been predicting for a long time, based on the past performance of early WiFi efforts.
Here is a short list of problems with municipal WiFi-only efforts:
- WiFi is expensive if you truly want total coverage. Many WiFi projects underestimate the number of access points that are needed--something that is causing problems with the much touted Philadelphia WiFi effort. Some contractors and vendors may be underestimating the number of access points to keep costs lower, so it is important to be realistic during planning stages about what a community can do.
- WiFi is not a business class solution. Few businesses of any size are willing to run their business on a WiFi connection. It may be okay for small one or two person businesses, but most businesses want a more secure and more reliable wired connection.
- WiFi has reliability problems. Even if you are in range of an access point, foliage on trees, building walls, rain, snow, and other access points can degrade the signal. Because WiFi is an unlicensed service, anyone can run an access point. All those home wireless routers can cause interference and slow down other access points.
- WiFi, even the newer G and N services, can't handle video very well, and this limits the potential of such a service to be financially viable. A municipal broadband system has to have a solid business model that is financially sustainable, and that means being able to carry business and residential video services.
Wireless services are often a good first step for a community system. And wireless is not going away; it will remain as an important component of a well-designed community broadband system--as a mobility solution. As we travel around the community, we want to be able to access the Web, check email, make phone calls, and do other sorts of things. Wireless services enable that. But wireless is not a complete solution.
What is?
Communities need to regard telecom as essential public infrastructure, critical to community and economic development. And that well-designed community infrastructure includes both wireless access and fiber to every home and business. With the right business and financial planning, such systems can pay for themselves and provide new revenue streams to local government, while lowering the cost of telecom services. Everybody wins.
Technology News:
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