Wednesday, November 23, 2011
Thursday, November 3, 2011
fiber vs. 4G
My previous posts on this blog have advocated fiberoptic internet technology. Some have mentioned the problems with wireless. The cellular phone companies, such as Verizon, AT&T and Sprint are transitioning over the next few years to a "4th generation" which some think might be a cure-all for all internet problems. I advocate the use of wireless in many bands and forms where it is appropriate, but I think for heavy-duty daily internet, fiber is far preferable.
Perhaps someone might like to offer other opinions?
Dale Carstensen
Perhaps someone might like to offer other opinions?
Dale Carstensen
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Los Alamos County has been taking a survey
Here is a link to an article, Web surfers could catch a big wave in the Sunday May 8, 2011 Los Alamos Monitor, and the content of the article follows:
Web surfers could catch a big wave
Fiber optic network could produce positive economic impact
By Kirsten Laskey
Saturday, May 7, 2011 at 10:50 pm (Updated: May 8, 6:47 am)
Web surfers in Los Alamos could be catching a really big wave in the not-too-distant future.
The community broadband project is gearing up to build a broadband network that would deliver Internet speeds of up to 1 gigabit per second. Additionally, the fiber optic network would allow service providers to offer "triple play" service bundles -- telephone, television and Internet.
Los Alamos County Council approved awarding a contract to Crestino Telecommunications Services for design and consulting on the project. The contract price tag: $511,690.
The results from a community survey are expected back this week, which collected people's input on the project.
A cost projection and timeline for the entire project has not been established.
In April, IT Manager Laura Gonzales told the Los Alamos Monitor that although the survey results were not in yet, the majority of people she and Project Manager John Jones have spoken to said they can't wait for community broadband to become a reality.
Jones said the purpose of the survey was to find out exactly what people's impressions of fiber broadband were, and if they have a service provider, what their service levels are for Internet, television and phone.
Additionally, he said the survey also looked at it from a business perspective. It studied how businesses currently use Internet services and how broadband could be used if businesses had 1 gigabit or what type of services they might be able to offer.
For instance, a video store might be able to offer video streaming to customers, Jones said.
The next step, he added, will be to conduct a public meeting, during which the community will be asked to give feedback on the survey. Additionally, the facilitators will address questions, concerns that people might have, and the information will be synthesized for the company working on preliminary designs for this project.
"Specifically, the survey feedback will be used in the business modeling that we will utilize to develop a business plan," Jones said.
The business plan will determine how the network would be administered, determine potential pricing for residential and business to access, establish maintenance and upgrade plans and finalize operational details.
Furthermore, a comprehensive design is expected to be completed by June 2012. The plan would include infrastructure designs, how the fiber would be routed, what equipment could potentially be used, and where to locate the network operations center.
Just what is broadband? According to the county's community broadband network report, broadband refers to high-speed Internet service that is always on and operates at sufficiently high data transmission speeds or bandwidth, to simultaneously deliver voice, video and data to users.
There are benefits to using broadband, Jones said. "I think there are a lot of stats across the country from other communities that have implemented this type of network -- it creates job growth, additional types of businesses, entrepreneurial businesses that are created as a result of the availability of a broadband network."
Gonzales added that offering broadband would help make Los Alamos more attractive to prospective residents.
Additionally, she said broadband impacts quality of life. For instance, the project would allow for teleconferencing, on-line gaming and video streaming.
"There are going to be more opportunities not only for jobs but services that people may want to offer from Los Alamos across the Internet. There are green benefits with people being able to stay at home to telecommute or teleconference rather than drive to conferences and meetings," Gonzales said.
Plus, Jones said, the broadband services would be accessible to everyone. Potentially, there would be a portal that folks and businesses can be included in, he said. Users would log into the portal and go from there.
Jones said the county could use it to offer a tax payment mechanism or a restaurant could use the portal to allow reservations online.
"It's only limited by one's imagination," he said.
The county's community broadband network report states the community broadband project should not be confused with REDI Net, the high-speed Internet backbone for northern New Mexico. Although Los Alamos is participating in the project, the effort was lead by the Regional Economic Development Initiative (REDI), which serves Santa Fe, Rio Arriba, and Los Alamos and Taos counties. REDI Net will be a "middle mile" service that connects a community such as Los Alamos and its community broadband project to the outside Internet.
Additionally while the community broadband would be offer [sic] to residents and businesses, REDI Net would supply services to anchor institutions such as schools or hospitals.
"Talking to different municipalities across the U.S., it is exciting to be a part of making Los Alamos County -- residents and businesses -- more self-sufficient and potentially increasing economic development," he said.
Web surfers could catch a big wave
Fiber optic network could produce positive economic impact
By Kirsten Laskey
Saturday, May 7, 2011 at 10:50 pm (Updated: May 8, 6:47 am)
Web surfers in Los Alamos could be catching a really big wave in the not-too-distant future.
The community broadband project is gearing up to build a broadband network that would deliver Internet speeds of up to 1 gigabit per second. Additionally, the fiber optic network would allow service providers to offer "triple play" service bundles -- telephone, television and Internet.
Los Alamos County Council approved awarding a contract to Crestino Telecommunications Services for design and consulting on the project. The contract price tag: $511,690.
The results from a community survey are expected back this week, which collected people's input on the project.
A cost projection and timeline for the entire project has not been established.
In April, IT Manager Laura Gonzales told the Los Alamos Monitor that although the survey results were not in yet, the majority of people she and Project Manager John Jones have spoken to said they can't wait for community broadband to become a reality.
Jones said the purpose of the survey was to find out exactly what people's impressions of fiber broadband were, and if they have a service provider, what their service levels are for Internet, television and phone.
Additionally, he said the survey also looked at it from a business perspective. It studied how businesses currently use Internet services and how broadband could be used if businesses had 1 gigabit or what type of services they might be able to offer.
For instance, a video store might be able to offer video streaming to customers, Jones said.
The next step, he added, will be to conduct a public meeting, during which the community will be asked to give feedback on the survey. Additionally, the facilitators will address questions, concerns that people might have, and the information will be synthesized for the company working on preliminary designs for this project.
"Specifically, the survey feedback will be used in the business modeling that we will utilize to develop a business plan," Jones said.
The business plan will determine how the network would be administered, determine potential pricing for residential and business to access, establish maintenance and upgrade plans and finalize operational details.
Furthermore, a comprehensive design is expected to be completed by June 2012. The plan would include infrastructure designs, how the fiber would be routed, what equipment could potentially be used, and where to locate the network operations center.
Just what is broadband? According to the county's community broadband network report, broadband refers to high-speed Internet service that is always on and operates at sufficiently high data transmission speeds or bandwidth, to simultaneously deliver voice, video and data to users.
There are benefits to using broadband, Jones said. "I think there are a lot of stats across the country from other communities that have implemented this type of network -- it creates job growth, additional types of businesses, entrepreneurial businesses that are created as a result of the availability of a broadband network."
Gonzales added that offering broadband would help make Los Alamos more attractive to prospective residents.
Additionally, she said broadband impacts quality of life. For instance, the project would allow for teleconferencing, on-line gaming and video streaming.
"There are going to be more opportunities not only for jobs but services that people may want to offer from Los Alamos across the Internet. There are green benefits with people being able to stay at home to telecommute or teleconference rather than drive to conferences and meetings," Gonzales said.
Plus, Jones said, the broadband services would be accessible to everyone. Potentially, there would be a portal that folks and businesses can be included in, he said. Users would log into the portal and go from there.
Jones said the county could use it to offer a tax payment mechanism or a restaurant could use the portal to allow reservations online.
"It's only limited by one's imagination," he said.
The county's community broadband network report states the community broadband project should not be confused with REDI Net, the high-speed Internet backbone for northern New Mexico. Although Los Alamos is participating in the project, the effort was lead by the Regional Economic Development Initiative (REDI), which serves Santa Fe, Rio Arriba, and Los Alamos and Taos counties. REDI Net will be a "middle mile" service that connects a community such as Los Alamos and its community broadband project to the outside Internet.
Additionally while the community broadband would be offer [sic] to residents and businesses, REDI Net would supply services to anchor institutions such as schools or hospitals.
"Talking to different municipalities across the U.S., it is exciting to be a part of making Los Alamos County -- residents and businesses -- more self-sufficient and potentially increasing economic development," he said.
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