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Tag Archives: Long Haul Transport
Mapping the State of US Broadband
In a recent conversation with Adrian Wooster, I was asked if we’re over analyzing the state of broadband connectivity. Are we spending too much time discussing the problem and not enough in solving it? I was thinking about this question again today as I researched some figures on the recently launched national broadband map. An ambitious tool that’s provoked heated discussion as to its effectiveness and how it can be used to move the state of the country’s broadband forward.
Costing around $200 million and ultimately taking over five years to develop, the map represents the first step in providing detailed analysis on the state of the nation’s broadband infrastructure, especially in highlighting underserved communities in rural areas. The sheer breadth of data captured in this map is impressive, especially when compared to what is available in other countries (see earlier post: Mapping the digital divide). Yet as analysts such as Craig Settles have noted, this map is far from complete and represents only a first attempt. There is still a great deal of information regarding the competitive landscape that needs to be documented for this map to truly help consumers and drive policy forward.
What’s That Buzz?
With OFC/NFOEC just around the corner, I thought it might be fun to guess at what the big news might be on the show floor. While predicting buzz can be a hazardous endeavor, the steady ramp up in press releases leading up to the big event, plus the program guide give pretty good hints.
Big again this year appears to be coherent detection, though not necessarily for the same reasons as last year. Coherent was a buzz word at last year’s OFC/NFOEC, primarily because it enabled 100GE transmission, and neither was quite ready for primetime yet. Fast forward a year, and now coherent is once again in the limelight, but not just because of 100GE. Over the last year, creative people have started to realize what the extra link budget means to system architecture. More recently, they have realized that the digital filter that allows recovery of the PM-QPSK signal also can be used for other digital filtering purposes. Consider 2500km with no dispersion compensation whatsoever, and how it would change the network landscape.
A New Year: A new era for broadband?
Barely days into the New Year and the flames surrounding the net neutrality debate have once again flared. There are few who will have missed the media furore this week over BT’s launch of its Content Connect service. A number of the UK’s national press and open access groups are calling this a breach of the basic principles of net neutrality and the first step towards a two-tier Internet.
To many within the industry, what BT is proposing is nothing new. Content Delivery Networks (CDNs) have existed for some time and are widely used by many media providers today. One need only look at Akami to see such an example. In this respect, a two-tier Internet already exists. However, what’s different about BT’s offering is that they could potentially own the CDN and the last-mile infrastructure over which the data is carried.
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Akami broadband infrastructure BT Content Connect service Content Delivery Networks Corporate Backbones Ethernet Access European Commission FCC Grid/Cloud Computing Long Haul Transport Metro Core Transport Mobile Backhaul Neelie Kroes Net Neutrality Packet Optical Transport two-tier Internet Wireline Backhaul
Is work the next bandwidth killer?
The glitterati of the tech world are once again descending on a chilly Las Vegas for the annual Consumer Electronics Show. Over the next few days, reports of the latest smartphones, tablets and netbooks will flood RSS feeds and whet the industry’s appetite for the latest must have gadgets. Of course, most of these new devices are geared towards one thing – driving data demand.
From the latest Android tablets to 4G phones, the speculation as to what will be displayed is rampant. What’s common to many of these devices is the focus on media consumption and sharing, specifically video. Whether in the form of movie downloads, video conferencing or online gaming, video’s impact on the tech industry is in many respects still in its infancy. We have yet to see the true impact of ubiquitous video. In a previous post, I highlighted how Netflix’s Instant streaming service now accounts for over 20% of North America’s traffic, even though only 2% of Netflix customers subscribe to this service.
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4G Android broadband infrastructure connectedness Consumer Electronics Show Corporate Backbones data file sharing Gigaom Grid/Cloud Computing human cloud killer app Long Haul Transport Metro Core Transport Mobile Backhaul movie downloads netbooks Netflix Om Malik online gaming Packet Optical Transport remote learning Smart Grid smartphones tablets telemedicine Video Video Conferencing VoIP Wireline Backhaul work
Is the UK’s broadband ready for tomorrow?
There are few questions guaranteed to elicit heated debate as the quality of your broadband connection. More than any other utility, broadband always seems to draw the widest opinion. Perhaps this is due to the geographical disparity of services or the differing cost-points of providers. However, the topic of broadband connectivity was once again thrust into the media spotlight this week with the publication of Oxford University’s annual broadband report.
Detailing the state of the world’s broadband market, the study found that the UK is not ready for the networking demands of tomorrow. To anyone familiar with the UK’s digital agenda, the study’s findings may come as no surprise. In a recent post, I discussed the challenges currently being faced by the government and the country’s service providers to develop the UK into a networked nation. However, progress here is slow and as the map below highlights, there is a great deal of work to be done to move the country forward, especially if we wish to meet any of the government’s or the European Union’s goals. What’s particularly alarming about this map is the sheer number of regions with 0% likelihood of network investment.
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Big Society broadband Broadband Conference community Corporate Backbones David Cameron digital agenda Digital Champion Ethernet Access European Union Get Online Week Long Haul Transport Martha Lane Fox Metro Core Transport Mobile Backhaul networked nation Oxford University Packet Optical Transport Parliament & Internet conference Rory Stewart Rural rural connectivity UK
