Community Broadband Networks
Home
Archives
RSS/XML
Recent Blog Headlines
About Al Bonnyman
"What's this blog thing about, anyway?"
Partial list: power utilities with fiber
Index of 2100 previous posts since March 2003
Archives
RSS/XML
Recent Blog Headlines
About Al Bonnyman
"What's this blog thing about, anyway?"
Partial list: power utilities with fiber
Sponsored by:
Fiber Planners Inc.
Designers of fiber networks for electric utilities and communities.
Index of 2100 previous posts since March 2003
Friday, January 02, 2004
Thailand: EGA plans 560 km. OPGW project
The Electric Generating Authority of Thailand is planning to deploy 560 km of fiber optic cable (optical groundwire - OPGW) on its' high voltage transmission system.
#
Some posts were left out of last night's e-mail update
E-mail subscribers take note:
If you follow this blog by reading the daily Bloglet e-mails, be aware that last night's e-mail omitted some posts; this happens once in a while when I have a lot of posts (26 last night). You may want to go back and look at the pages for both January 1 and January 2 using your web browser.
For those of you that are not subscribers, you can optionally sign up with Bloglet using the form in the left hand column and they will mail you a daily summary of blog posts. It's a free service.
#
Excellent report on BPL's legal status in the U.S.
A 62-page draft article on BPL (broadband over power line) regulation prepared for Winter 2004 issue of the Virginia Journal of Law and Technology has been filed with the FCC in connection with their inquiry into BPL technology. The authors are an attorney with FERC (the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission) and a professor with George Washington University's School of Engineering and Applied Science. This is an excellent technical and legal overview of the issues associated with regulating potential electromagnetic interference from BPL systems. In particular, the authors carefully look a the widely conflicting claims and tests submitted by both BPL advocates and opponents.
Some other items I gleaned from the report that I had not heard before:
- Cinergy plans to pass 250,000 homes with BPL within 3 years.
- FCC had hoped to take the next step — probably a Notice of Proposed Rule Making — by the end of March. (I don't know if they're still on that schedule).
- The federal NTIA had hoped to have results of its' testing ready by the end of 2003.
- Hawaiian Electric also has trials underway.
#
Georgia: DeKalb County schools building extensive fiber network
The DeKalb County School System is requesting proposals from vendors to built, test, and maintain fiber optic cable to 141 DeKalb County School System locations over the next three years.
#
Indian power utility building fiber system for neighboring Kingdom of Bhutan
Power Grid Corporation of India is building an extensive fiber system for Bhutanese Telecom using optical groundwire (OPGW) on high voltage power lines. Power Grid hopes to win more such international projects outside India. No word as to whether this network will provide backhaul for the Bhutanese wireless systems noted earlier this week
#
Ontario: City of Windsor installing fiber-linked traffic surveillance
The City of Windsor is installing a fiber-linked traffic surveillance system
#
FCC to conduct 900 MHz. spectrum auction over objections of power utilities
From Telephony Online:
"A scheduled February auction of 900 MHz spectrum will proceed as planned, after the FCC Wireless Bureau on Friday refused a request of utilities-related entities to delay the bidding until after a decision is made about the future of the 800 MHz band. Filed by the Southern Communications and the United Telecom Council, the request asked the FCC to postpone the auction because many potential bidders could have their interest in the spectrum altered greatly by the outcome of the agency’s proceeding that could change the makeup within the 800 MHz band. To address interference issues in the public safety arena, the FCC is considering a proposal that would shuffle users within the 800 MHz band. Depending on the outcome of that proceeding--the first order of which is expected to be issued during the first quarter of 2004--the business plans for those entities wanting to bid on the 900 MHz spectrum could be altered, the petitioners argued."
Follow this link for the rest of the article.
#
Michigan: Waterford Township building wireless broadband network
Waterford Township in Oakland County, Michigan is planning to build a wireless broadband to link township facilities initially. Later the Township hopes to offer broadband connectivity throughout the township.
#
Bangladesh: Power Grid Company building 1450 km. fibre system
Power Grid Company of Bangladesh Limited is planning to build a 1450 km. fibre system across the nation to link substations and power generation facilities. Fibre cables will be installed on the company's high voltage transmission system.
#
Georgia: Glynn County schools building fiber network
The Glynn County School System is seeking bids to design and plan the installation of fiber backbone for the Glynn County School System in Brunswick, Georgia.
#
Indiana: "Shelby County Fiber Optics Board opts out of non-profit status"
Shelby County, Indiana's Fiber Optics Board has voted not to broker land deals in connection with the development of a local industrial park. Shelby County and several of the communities in the county have all been active in developing fiber projects in the last year; previous blog posts: March 18, 2003, April 10, 2003, April 18, 2003, May 12, 2003, October 14, 2003
#
"Indian Soybean Farmers Join the Global Village"
In India, Internet kiosks ("e-choupals") link farmers in over 18,000 rural villages to the global economy, allowing them to follow global commodities. The article examines the important impact that e-choupals are having on the lives of poor farmers in India.
#
5 major studios combine to provide video on demand for telcos
"A startup called Movielink LLC is helping answer the question of what applications will help sustain and further drive demand for broadband DSL and cable modem services. The company — a joint venture of several big studios — delivers temporary, downloadable movies to consumer PCs. Customers can search the www.movielink.com database, which includes 450 new release and classic films organized by title, genre or various other categories."
Article
#
Utah: Cedar City councilmen discuss their views of UTOPIA project
Cedar City, Utah councilmen will soon have to decide whether to financially back their portion of the 18-city UTOPIA municipal FTTH (fiber to the home) project. They give their individual views of the project in an article reviewing 2004 priorities.
Previous Cedar City blog posts: December 5, 2003, December 17, 2003, and December 19, 2003
#
Utah: American Fork's mayor see's city's broadband system as bright spot in city's future
American Fork, Utah's mayor sees a bright future for the city, in part because of the advanced broadband system the city is developing. Previous blog posts about American Fork's system: July 24, 2003, July 25, 2003, December 17, 2003
(Link from Jim Baller at the Baller Herbst Law Group via his mailing list)
#
Ohio: Monroe County looks forward to wireless broadband
In rural eastern Ohio, rural Monroe County looks forward to construction of a wireless broadband network to be built by the Guernsey, Monroe, Noble Tri-County Community Action Commission. Previous blog posts about this project: October 1, 2003, November 10, 2003
(Link from Jim Baller at the Baller Herbst Law Group via his mailing list)
#
Iowa: Huxley Communications Cooperative's FTTH project
The IEEE Spectrum has a brief article about a rural Iowa telephone cooperative's FTTH (fiber to the home) project, citing an average cost of $2,000 per subscriber.
#
"The Alberta SuperNet is a model for the broadband future -- everywhere"
IEEE Spectrum covers Alberta, Canada's provincial SuperNet:
"When it's completed, sometime after July, it will tie together 1300 schools, hospitals, and libraries and just about every dot on the map of Alberta—422 dots in all."
Previous Alberta SuperNet posts: February 20, 2003, February 25, 2003, March 21, 2003, July 2, 2003, August 5, 2003, September 9, 2003, October 28, 2003
#
Red Herring: "Top 10 trends: Making the triple play"
"The battle for voice/video/data subscribers gets nasty."
Red Herring has a good overview of the battle between cable TV companies, telcos and others to provide a "triple play" bundle of data, voice and video services to residential subscribers. The New York Times and Broadband Reports also have articles on this topic.
#
Michigan: Grand Haven claims to be first U.S. city with complete wireless coverage
Many cities are deploying wireless broadband systems but Grand Haven, Michigan claims to be the first in the U.S. to offer coverage of the entire city. The network is being deployed by Ottawa Wireless Inc. in cooperation with the Grand Haven Board of Light and Power.
(Link from Jim Baller at the Baller Herbst Law Group via his mailing list)
#
Disaster response group files BPL comments with FCC
The non-profit Disaster Emergency Response Association (DERA) has filed comments with the FCC opposing BPL (broadband over power line) deployments for fear of interference to aviation and maritime distress signals as well as government emergency responder HF (high frequency) communications in general.
#
"Communication breakdown threatens VoIP"
"As cable and telephone companies begin offering Net telephony services to consumers in earnest, complications on the back end threaten to crimp cost savings for providers and ultimately dampen expectations for the much-hyped technology."
CNET News.com article
(Link from Dewayne Hendricks via his Dewayne-Net mailing list)
#
FCC Chairman Powell: "We want to get more platforms"
In an interview with the San Jose Mercury News, FCC Chairman Michael Powell gives his views on telecommunications regulation:
"What's the future we'd like to see? ...we don't want one pipe. We're doing everything we can to incent the free-radical opportunities for multiple routes to the home. So when you look at FCC proceedings, that's where there's so much energy going into WiFi, and ultra-wideband and powerline broadband and laser optics and free-space optics and other policies that encourage and incent the creation of alternate digital platforms. It's why I want digital companies to become phone companies, and phone companies to become video companies. We want to get more platforms."
See the entire article for more of Powell's views.
(Link from Dewayne Hendricks via his Dewayne-Net mailing list)
#
Wisconsin broadband update:
Jim Baller and Karl Bode have come up with some interesting links on telecommunications in Wisconsin:
"Milwaukee needs telecom vision for new economy"
"Building a UTOPIA for 18 cities in Utah -- Article looks at Utah's UTOPIA project and discusses legislative efforts in Wisconsin to limit municipal broadband efforts.
"Municipal Report: SBC's Wisconsin dream legislation" -- Karl Bode's assessment of events in Wisconsin
"Cable 'pig' flies; satellite pokes rate increases" -- Article looks at cable TV rate increases, satellite TV offerings and teh success of Reedsburg's municipal broadband system.
#
"Cable industry is ripe for deals in the new year"
The cable TV industry will likely see further consolidation this year, according to USA Today.
One interesting metric is that Wall Street is valuing cable systems at $2,500 to $4,500 per subscriber. Compare this with the often-reported cost per subscriber of about $2,000 for telcos and municipal utilities to build out FTTH (fiber to the home) networks that provide voice, data, and video services; FTTH skeptics think this is too much to invest per subscriber.
(Link from Neil Lehto via the Municable Yahoo group)
#
BBC: "What the net did next"
"The Internet is set to become the basis for just about every form of communication, according to net pioneer Vint Cerf, and he should know what he is talking about."
The BBC talks to Vint Cerf about the future of the Internet.
#
"Grant listings hit Internet"
"A central portal providing information on government grant opportunities launched today, and the first application has already been sent online, officials said."
Not all federal agencies are participating yet, but most should be within a few months.
Article
www.grants.gov
#
BellSouth to conduct FTTP field trials in second half of 2004
An article on the 3 largest Bells' ("The Three Amigos") FTTP (fiber to the premises) reports BellSouth will conduct FTTP trials in the second half of this year; BellSouth did not comment on any FTTP deployment plans beyond that.
"Since starting initial work on the joint RFP in February, the companies have learned four key things, said [Verizon's] Wegleitner. 'We are absolutely certain that the supplier community is fully engaged,' he said. The products meeting the RBOC threesome’s basic requirements are available for deployment. As was expected, further development is required on operational support, ONT powering options and RF adapters related to FTTP, he said. And the RBOCs now have a better understanding of the economics of deploying FTTP."
#
Ascom BPL gear deployed in Norway
Swiss BPL vendor Ascom is supplying BPL (broadband over power line) equipment for a 300-home deployment by Lyse Tele in Stavanger, Norway. This follows several BPL trials by Lyse that started in 2001. The Norwegian government has taken a hard line on BPL interference issues in the past.
#
Thursday, January 01, 2004
Newly added "Blog Headlines" section makes it faster to skim this blog
Happy New Year!
You can now skim this blog faster by using the "Recent Headlines" section in the orange column to the left.
Access the headlines by either scrolling down the page or hitting the "BLOG HEADLINES" link at the top of the column.
#
Wednesday, December 31, 2003
Arkansas: Siloam Springs Electric Department linking schools with fiber
In Arkansas, the Siloam Springs Electric Department is linking the local schools together with fiber.
The project costs cited by the article are about twice what our Fiber Planners clients are paying on a per-mile basis, even though the fiber counts are relatively low (24 to 48 fibers). This is probably because, for some reason, the utility decided to lash fiber cable to steel messengers rather than use ADSS (all-dielectric, self-supporting) fiber cable in the supply region (near the power conductors) on the pole.
Links to earlier blog entries on this project: April 1, August 14
#
In other fiber news:
I swear that I am not making this up ...
"HUTCHINSON, Kan. -- The superintendent of the Kinsley-Offerle School District was given a ticket last week accusing him of attempted to shoplift $8.69 worth of Metamucil"
The 66-year old educator received the citation two days before Christmas after he tried to take two packets of the fiber supplement from a Hutchinson grocery store.
... this comes from a Google News search on the word "fiber".
#
Lots of wireless broadband news from Esme Vos' Muniwireless.com
Esme Vos does a great job of covering community wireless broadband projects around the world on her MuniWireless.com site. Just as valuable as Esme's passing along the news is her analysis of industry trends -- her site is a weekly must-read. I've been remiss in linking to her recent articles, so here's a look at just a few of the six weeks' articles of note:
"County-wide Wi-Fi in Georgia coming soon?" A profile of Houston County's network
"Linden, Texas gets municipal-wide mesh network"
"Cerritos, California gets city-wide wireless network"
"Wi-Fi hotzone in downtown Eindhoven [Holland]"
"Brussels to provide city-wide Wi-Fi access"
"Ten technologies to watch"
"France is way behind in Wi-Fi"
"Bhutan gets wireless and VoIP - full report"
"Police in Aurora, Colorado on Wi-Fi"
"Public Wi-Fi unprofitable until 2008"
"Nevada, Missouri gets muni wireless broadband network"
"If Wi-Fi is hot, where are the users?"
"Wi-Fi for low-income neighborhoods"
"Fredericton (Canada) launches municipal-wide free wireless network"
"York County, Pennsylvania to deploy huge wireless broadband network"
#
Some rural telcos offering wireless broadband
Wi-Fi Planet.com has profiles of two rural telcos that are offering 900 MHz. wireless broadband. Cross Telephone Co. in Warner, Oklahoma is the incumbent local independent telco; Prime Companies Inc. in Yuba City, California is a CLEC (competitive local exchange carrier).
Many more incumbent rural telcos are deploying either very advanced (better than what the Bells are offering) DSL (digital subscriber loop) technology over their existing copper lines or going straight to FTTH (fiber to the home) technology.
#
South Carolina: Bluffton gets 20,000 acre planned community with FTTH
Bluffton, South Carolina is getting a 20,000 acre planned resort community which will include FTTH (fiber to the home). The developer is working with Hargray Communications, the local independent rural telephone company. Hargray has been working with EPON (Ethernet passive optical network) technology for some time.
#
"Lighting Up the Network" -- a dark fiber tutorial
Syllabus magazine has a good tutorial on dark fiber for university executives; many of the comments apply to other organizations such as governments.
#
Washington: Vancouver deploys fiber-linked intelligent traffic system.
Vancouver, Washington "aims to install fiber-optic cable along roadways, connect cameras, alert drivers in real time."
#
China Launches FTTH Forum
Light Reading press release:
"China Forum of FTTH announced its establishment. The Forum is a non-profit organization sponsored by Guangdong Optical Valley, which aims to promote fiber optics industry in Guangdong Province and GWBN, a top broadband carrier in China. The goal of the Forum is to encourage industry alignment and work out solution to the problems of the FTTH development in China."
#
Washington: Yakima's public safety Wi-Fi network
Seattle Wireless TV has a streaming video covering Yakima County, Washington's public safety Wi-Fi network. (The link above is not permanent; use this archive link after early January.) The 30 minute video is very detailed and informative.
#
"Fiber Optics Takes the Long Way Home"
Writing in MIT's Technology Review magazine, fiber optics writer Jeff Hecht looks at the long and sorry history of the American Bell telephone companies' dabbling with (but not really deploying) FTTH (fiber to the home). Hecht contrasts this with the successful FTTH deployments undertaken by a growing list of small municipalities.
#
Monday, December 29, 2003
Alabama: City of Madison official proposes special "technology zone"
A Madison, Alabama Planning and Zoning Commissioner is calling for the City to consider a special "technology zone" with a municipal fiber infrastructure as a means of attracting technology jobs.
#
Small towns see broadband critical to attracting jobs
Bedford County, Pennsylvania and Grant County, Indiana are just two of the small towns and counties across the U.S. that have been looking at local broadband availability as critical to attracting and retaining jobs and industry.
As one Bedford County official describes broadband's role in industry recruitment:
"Without it [broadband] we are at a serious economic disadvantage ... When they see you don't have it, it knocks Bedford County off the screen."
#
Verizon intends to reposition itself as a broadband company
In an interview with Boston.com, Verizon executive Donna Cupelino said:
"We really have a strategy to look at transforming our business into a broadband communications company and utilize our network in new ways for things that aren't just dial tone. Not only in Massachusetts, but nationwide, we are transforming our network into one that is based on Internet Protocol technology. Our plan is to dramatically accelerate that in 2004."
#
Tennessee: Knoxville to get fiber-linked traffic control system
The Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) is building (1, 2) a fiber-linked system of cameras, sensors and signs along the Interstate highways around Knoxville to monitor and control traffic. Nashville already has such a system; Memphis and Chattanooga are slated to get similar systems.
#
Oregon: Federal government funds wireless broadband network in Umatilla
The federal government's Umatilla Chemical Depot in Oregon houses many of the Army's obsolete chemical weapons that are awaiting eventual destruction. The local town is building a wireless broadband system to control traffic lights and monitor intersections in the event an emergency evacuation is required.
[12-31-03 update: local officials are looking for additional funding to complete their evacuation plans.]
#
Taiwan: Government commits $880 million to 102,000 km last mile fiber network
The Taiwanese government has announced a commitment of $880 million towards building a 102,000 km last mile fiber network as part of its' m-Taiwan program.
#
Illinois: Northbrook's municipal fiber network may also support local school district
Northbrook, Illinois' municipal backbone may also serve the local school district.
#
Wisconsin: "Fed-up municipalities go into telecom biz"
"Several Wisconsin communities are darned mad, and they're not going to take it anymore. They say they cannot get the telecommunications services they need from private companies, which don't get enough return from relatively few customers to justify investments in small villages, cities or rural areas."
This is a good article with profiles of the following municipal broadband initiatives:
- Reedsburg Utility Commission
- Jackson
- Waupaca
- Sun Prairie Water & Light
BroadbandReports.com has a follow up on this article:
"Broadband in Dairyland: Cheeseheads feel the need for speed"
#
Massachusetts: Nantucket Electric affiliate deploys fiber network
Utility telecom provider GridCom is partnering with sister company Nantucket Electric to deploy fiber on Nantucket Island. As noted in the article, Nantucket Electric is building a second underwater power cable to the island; this cable will also include a fiber optic link to the island.
#
Utility telecom: "Progress Telecom To Kick Off 2004 With New Products, Presence"
Power utility-owned Progress Telecom announces new service offerings in new markets for 2004; Progress Telecom serves markets from New York to Miami.
#
Netherlands: City of Tilburg contracts with ViaEuropa to manage municipal fiber network
The Dutch city of Tilburg is contracting with ViaEuropa Benelux to manage the municipal fiber network connecting local schools, agencies and businesses. Other partners involved include: "TOWN (Tilburgs Onderwijs Network), an organization responsible for education and BIT (Breedband Inkoopcombinatie Tilburg) that will activate the fiber connection; another organization NL.tree will act as service provider"
#
Utah fiber update
UTOPIA is signing up (1, 2) AT&T as its' first service provider to provide "triple play" (voice, video, data) services over the 18-city FTTH (fiber to the home) network. Incumbent telco Qwest was disapproving.
As AT&T was lining up to spend millions to provide services over UTOPIA's network, the Salt Lake Tribune quoted the head of Utah's Technology Alliance, Roderick Linton as expressing doubts about the wisdom of using fiber for broadband connections in Utah. The Tribune has expressed opposition to the UTOPIA project in the past.
Grace Leong with the Provo Daily Herald also covered the AT&T announcement as well as several other items associated with the UTOPIA project, including an increase in consultants' fees. Ed Kociela with the Spectrum in St. George has a long article on projects similar to UTOPIA that are underway elsewhere, including FTTH projects in Truckee, California and Provo, Utah as well as the older hybrid fiber/coax system in Cedar Falls, Iowa. The Spectrum also ran an editorialencouraging Cedar City officials to commit to the UTOPIA project.
Meanwhile, St. George's Interlinx initiative to build a redundant fiber link into the southwest Utah area is moving ahead on schedule.
#
Light Reading's 2003 Top Ten: Technology Trends
Light Reading published their top ten technology trends for 2003 with many useful links for each item to stories published earlier in the year. The top ten list:
- #10: Telco video (over DSL)
- # 9: Grid networks
- # 8: Ethernet technology
- # 7: Security
- # 6: DSL
- # 5: Ethernet services
- # 4: WLAN (wireless local area network) networking
- # 3: FTTH (fiber to the home)
- # 2: Wireline convergence
- # 1: VoIP (voice over IP)
#
California: Truckee Donner PUD's FTTH project on schedule
Truckee Donner Public Utility District reports their FTTH (fiber to the home) project is on schedule and they are seeking the necessary cable TV franchise from Nevada County.
#
The Octopus Files
My Popdex Game Profile
Popdex
Metapop
Technorati Profile
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License.
