Subject: Fwd: FW: [pafiber] Fwd: Video, Case Study and Articles

From: "Marvin Lee" <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 14 Mar 2005 12:07:29 -0800 (PST)

FYI, A Note from Alleen Podell:

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: FW: [pafiber] Fwd: Video, Case Study and Articles
Date: 3/14/05, 10:15 AM
From: allen podell <[email-masked]>
To: Marvin Lee <[email-masked]>

Marvin,
I also share the frustration with the city's inaction. I believe that a
comprehensive fiber offering will provide the best return. I pay Comcast
$65
a month for a not-comprehensive collection of channels that I rarely watch.
The fiber could carry an equivalent offering at competitive prices. I see
this as a cooperative project competing with an existing private monopoly,
not unfair competition from a not-for-profit city. I am surprised that SBC
isn't knocking loudly on the council's doors, as the fiber offers them a
truly competitive product to Comcast.

Internet access alone is too narrow a usage for the fiber. The fiber is an
information superhighway waiting to be filled. Ubiquitous fiber would
enable
small special interest, or ethnic groups to enjoy their common interests,
without having to be together. This equivalent of "low power TV"
broadcasting (narrowcasting) is easily managed over a wideband fiber. In
fact, quality "webcasting" is presently facilitated by the large upstream
bandwidth some of us presently enjoy, and is a small step away from such
narrowcasting. I use Netmeeting every working day to communicate designs
and
to teach remotely. Clearly, telecommuting is made much easier. This fact
alone has to raise the value of living in this area. Has anyone figured out
whether it would raise property values? How about one percent? A million
dollar home just went up $10,000 in value. Video-on-demand, remote
learning,
security systems, meter reading, servicing electronic equipment and
appliances, patient monitoring, traffic monitoring and control, fire and
emergency reporting; these are a few uses that I can imagine right now
for a
fiber backbone. Modern web-enabled phones could use a local Wi-Fi
connection
to obtain information through the fiber, decreasing the bandwidth required
over the cell phone frequencies when such a local link is available. I see
Wi-Fi as a local interface to the fiber.

As for Sanford's totally wireless distribution approach, it would have
to be
a modest bandwidth provider. Truly wideband wireless distribution over a
wide area...There are just too many collective MHz of bandwidth to be
served
at one time. I use 54 MHz wireless (802.11G) around my house, and never
have
had a problem with 3 computers sharing that system, but we aren't streaming
video. In my house I can pick up 2 other wireless systems sharing the same
airspace. So far, we have been ok, but if there were 10 such systems,
bandwidth would suffer. Only limited internet access could be served
wirelessly. When a large percentage of the allocated bandwidth is being
used, considerable time is wasted in negotiating bandwidth utilization and
data collisions. So much for the "wireless competition". It only works
for a
limited solution. This is a nonlinear problem; a system that serves 5
people
well might barely work for 10, and not at all work for 12.

So how do we get this fiber project moving in this best of all possible
worlds?
Allen

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From: "Sanford Forte" <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 14 Mar 2005 13:04:16 -0800

Quick note (to once and for all clear up misunderstandings) re: comments on what consider an optimal network.

I am in favor of a scaled *hybrid* deployment - this means wireless and fiber, together - based on pre-determined usage patterns. A wireless deployment might precede, or be built in tandem with a fiber network, as in the Lompoc model. I consider fiber part of the solution, and always have.

Best,
Sanford