http://bac.haven.com St Paul's Digital Future mike@haven.com (St Paul Broadband Committee) mike@haven.com (St Paul Broadband Committee) XOOPS 2.0.14 / RSSFit 1.21 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss en Mon, 5 Jan 2009 22:59:29 -0600 http://bac.haven.com/images/logo.gif http://bac.haven.com/ Tue, 10 Oct 2006 10:00:00 -0500 http://bac.haven2.com/modules/piCal/index.php?event_id=0000000143 http://bac.haven2.com/modules/piCal/index.php?event_id=0000000143 latest version of the Mpls. Bussiness Plan is online again.]]> Wed, 4 Oct 2006 12:14:52 -0500 http://bac.haven2.com/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?topic_id=21&forum=2&post_id=70#forumpost70 Broadband news from other places http://bac.haven2.com/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?topic_id=21&forum=2&post_id=70#forumpost70 Tue, 3 Oct 2006 14:30:00 -0500 http://bac.haven2.com/modules/piCal/index.php?event_id=0000000260 This is First Baptist Church, please enter on the Tenth Street side of the building. Across the street with entrance on 9th and Wacouta is the parking lot. It will be closer to the door if you go to the 10th Street end of the lot." http://bac.haven2.com/modules/piCal/index.php?event_id=0000000260 Tue, 3 Oct 2006 08:30:00 -0500 http://bac.haven2.com/modules/piCal/index.php?event_id=0000000251 Rm 328 Aquinas Hall, University of St Thomas. Aquinas Hall is the administration building that is just west of the UST "arches" that face Summit Avenue. Click on http://www.stthomas.edu/campusmaps/ http://bac.haven2.com/modules/piCal/index.php?event_id=0000000251
http://spectrum.ieee.org/sep06/4435

Seven hundred IEEE Fellows (Fellows have been around for a while and are generally very accomplished in their fields) were polled on "the future in 10 to 50 years." They commented and they voted.

Read the whole article for a good look, but I thought I'd copy out one view that was particularily relevant. Seems like they think our available speeds will be in the gigabit range, at home, reasonably soon. I think plans to get there, in increments or with a big push, would be a realistic 10 year target.

eric

Will gigabit Internet access be available in homes in developed countries?
Unlikely 5%
Equal chances 10.5%
Likely 84.1%
.........

When is this likely to occur?
10 years or less 44.6%
11 to 20 years 45.1%]]> Wed, 27 Sep 2006 22:03:35 -0500 http://bac.haven2.com/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?topic_id=42&forum=1&post_id=69#forumpost69 General http://bac.haven2.com/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?topic_id=42&forum=1&post_id=69#forumpost69 http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/26/business/26wireless.html?_r=2&ref=technology&oref=slogin&oref=slogin]]> Tue, 26 Sep 2006 10:35:55 -0500 http://bac.haven2.com/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?topic_id=41&forum=6&post_id=68#forumpost68 Debates -- Technology http://bac.haven2.com/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?topic_id=41&forum=6&post_id=68#forumpost68
(Forget all that stuff about Google in San Francisco - they're just a customer on EarthLink's network, and they're choosing to use the bandwidth they buy to do free-to-the-user service. The City's contract would be with EarthLink.)

The writer likes the *deal* Philadelphia got from EarthLink better. He's saying Philadelphia got a better deal because they had a public process and used the outcome to demand a better deal. But the overwhelming conclusion of Philadelphia's public process was that the network should be publicly owned. So even though there was that input, it was disregarded.

San Francisco did what Minneapolis did - bulled ahead without any public input until after all the big decisions had been made. The deal San Francisco will get remains to be seen. In fact, whether or not the board of supervisors will sign off on whatever deal they get remains to be seen. At the moment, San Francisco is doing both a feasibility study for a fiber project, and a fiscal analysis of a city-owned wireless network.]]> Mon, 25 Sep 2006 20:47:17 -0500 http://bac.haven2.com/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?topic_id=40&forum=2&post_id=67#forumpost67 Broadband news from other places http://bac.haven2.com/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?topic_id=40&forum=2&post_id=67#forumpost67
WSCustomers tab: Residential Customers has wrong row. S/B B7, not B5. But now the model show > 500mbps for 20,000 customers. This doesn't sound right. We have close to 100,000 customers & we are under 400mbps (with traffic shaping). Oversubscribe to 100 customers. They'll never know.

Engineers are smart. They can handle more than 1000 customers. Make it 4000. Service will suck, but it will not be worse than current broadband.

Hardware costs scale non-linearly. Once you get to the big honk'in hardware stage, the costs are pretty much fixed, so for routers & mail servers & such, the unit costs should decrease with volume.

Internet at $200/meg sounds high. At the volumes indicated, costs could be a small fraction of that.

We're still loosing money, but heck - it's only money.

--Mike J]]> Mon, 25 Sep 2006 20:08:17 -0500 http://bac.haven2.com/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?topic_id=35&forum=1&post_id=66#forumpost66 General http://bac.haven2.com/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?topic_id=35&forum=1&post_id=66#forumpost66
http://www.technologyreview.com/read_article.aspx?id=17399&ch=infotech

The author likes Philidelphia's model better & thinks the SF's is not well planned.

So will 300kbps matter 10 years from now?

--Mike J]]> Mon, 25 Sep 2006 19:14:44 -0500 http://bac.haven2.com/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?topic_id=40&forum=2&post_id=65#forumpost65 Broadband news from other places http://bac.haven2.com/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?topic_id=40&forum=2&post_id=65#forumpost65
The Committee began discussion by looking at the *Draft vision/mission statement *that was tentatively adopted earlier that day by the BAC Biz subcommittee. The Residential / Educational Subcommittee, in general, also liked its concepts and continued discussion under its categories.

*Attributes for residential service*: Subcommittee members focused on developing attributes aimed at making St. Paul the most "Digitally Aware" city in the world by laying a foundation to provide broadband connectivity to anyone in the city at anytime or place. Among proposals gaining initial support was minimal or even free basic broadband connection as a basic service available to home owners and non-profits. Definitions of speed, bandwidth etc. are yet to be determined as was service to visitors, business areas etc.

Other options (faster speeds and or services, video etc.) would be offered at higher or market prices. It was also suggested that a percentage of funds from a citywide broadband system could be earmarked for long-term or staged development of a fiber based system to the home.

The subcommittee briefly discussed funding and other controversial issues related to offering free service. Among potential solutions discussed was the use of targeting advertising to help subsidize the service. An example would be to sell advertising that would target users of the service based on their location. For example if you were on Rice street and wanted to find a restaurant, local restaurant Rice street restaurants would be shown. It was pointed out that Google and other private interests have thus far not been successful in developing a business plan based on this model and that the technology may have some civil liberties issues attached.
Another possible approach briefly discussed, and with its own limitations noted, would be to offer free service based on a sliding scale or some form of "scholarship" approach.

*Social Development*
The subcommittee initially supported a portion of any revenue generated as being dedicated to bridging the digital divide, similar to Minneapolis Digital Inclusion Fund. One approach might be grants to non profit organizations to help train, provide equipment and give incentives for citizens to go online. The subcommittee noted that they have a lack of information about current activities by CTC's throughout St. Paul in providing training and access to computers, online information etc. Mike Reardon will research and return with location and contact information.

Subcommittee members also discussed general concerns about how to make a citywide broadband system attractive to encourage the involvement of average citizens. One approach briefly discussed was how to encourage the development of community or neighborhood networks, that would be a resource for Saint Paul and neighborhood information and interactivity. An example of users might be city block club programs as well as schools, church groups, non-profits and others.

*Draft Outline:*
Based on this, and previous discussions, the committee will start to develop an outline for review by the Committee at its Oct. 3 meeting. The outline will be shared by the committee over the next two weeks, in preparation for the Oct. 3 meeting. Mike Reardon offered to write a first draft with committee members then editing and making additions.

*Non-Profit Focus Groups:*
After discussion, it was determined that the subcommittee will hold, for lack of better terms, a focus group discussion with a handful of leaders from smaller non-profits and other groups who might help fill gaps in subcommittee information on St. Paul residents' needs for digital inclusion assistance. A short list of potential groups was identifed and more have since been added by subcommittee members. Those available will be invited to the Oct. 17 committee which will start at 2 PM to accommodate further discussion.

This report was compiled from notes by Mike Reardon, Steve Buettner and Jon Kerr.]]> Thu, 21 Sep 2006 23:30:27 -0500 http://bac.haven2.com/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?topic_id=39&forum=3&post_id=64#forumpost64 Residential Sub-Committee http://bac.haven2.com/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?topic_id=39&forum=3&post_id=64#forumpost64
if a bunch of people buy this gizmo, and use the network to replace their cell phone, the WiFi carrier's business model is going to be... um... flawed. big-time.

why? because ISP business models assume that most of the time you're *not* downloading stuff -- whereas this kinda gadget will have more people on the 'net, a higher proportion of the day. admittedly, not a lot of bandwidth, but constant. and for us "yack on the phone all day" type people a muni-WiFi network connection at $20/month would beat the heck out of the $100/month we're paying for cell.

http://www.engadget.com/2006/09/18/netgear-sph101-skype-wifi-phone-unboxing-and-hands-on/

of course, without a regional solution, my coverage would end at the city line. but hey, this is still a great gadget.

m]]> Wed, 20 Sep 2006 21:07:30 -0500 http://bac.haven2.com/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?topic_id=38&forum=6&post_id=63#forumpost63 Debates -- Technology http://bac.haven2.com/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?topic_id=38&forum=6&post_id=63#forumpost63 Tue, 19 Sep 2006 08:30:00 -0500 http://bac.haven2.com/modules/piCal/index.php?event_id=0000000241 Rm 328 Aquinas Hall, University of St Thomas. Aquinas Hall is the administration building that is just west of the UST "arches" that face Summit Avenue. Click on http://www.stthomas.edu/campusmaps/ http://bac.haven2.com/modules/piCal/index.php?event_id=0000000241 Tue, 19 Sep 2006 08:30:00 -0500 http://bac.haven2.com/modules/piCal/index.php?event_id=0000000104 Rm 328 Aquinas Hall, University of St Thomas. Aquinas Hall is the administration building that is just west of the UST "arches" that face Summit Avenue. Click on http://www.stthomas.edu/campusmaps/ http://bac.haven2.com/modules/piCal/index.php?event_id=0000000104
You also make a compelling argument that wifi as the only delivery method for muni-broadband is boiling the ocean. I think there are smaller, cheaper, smarter ways to provide internet access to more people - perhaps making sharing existing broadband lines more attractive.]]> Sun, 17 Sep 2006 20:25:51 -0500 http://bac.haven2.com/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?topic_id=37&forum=1&post_id=62#forumpost62 General http://bac.haven2.com/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?topic_id=37&forum=1&post_id=62#forumpost62 GeezerCast in which I reflect on various things in hopes that they'll find them interesting (or quaint) in 30 years.

Today's GeezerCast is a rant about why I don't like muni WiFi projects that ties into the financial-model post I did yesterday.]]> Sun, 17 Sep 2006 13:57:56 -0500 http://bac.haven2.com/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?topic_id=37&forum=1&post_id=61#forumpost61 General http://bac.haven2.com/modules/newbb/viewtopic.php?topic_id=37&forum=1&post_id=61#forumpost61 Tue, 12 Sep 2006 10:00:00 -0500 http://bac.haven2.com/modules/piCal/index.php?event_id=0000000142 http://bac.haven2.com/modules/piCal/index.php?event_id=0000000142 ]]> Tue, 29 Aug 2006 14:30:00 -0500 http://bac.haven2.com/modules/piCal/index.php?event_id=0000000102 The Family Place, 244 10th Street East, St. Paul, MN 55101. http://bac.haven2.com/modules/piCal/index.php?event_id=0000000102 Tue, 29 Aug 2006 08:30:00 -0500 http://bac.haven2.com/modules/piCal/index.php?event_id=0000000103 Rm 328 Aquinas Hall, University of St Thomas. Aquinas Hall is the administration building that is just west of the UST "arches" that face Summit Avenue. Click on http://www.stthomas.edu/campusmaps/ http://bac.haven2.com/modules/piCal/index.php?event_id=0000000103 Tue, 15 Aug 2006 08:30:00 -0500 http://bac.haven2.com/modules/piCal/index.php?event_id=0000000101 Rm 328 Aquinas Hall, University of St Thomas. Aquinas Hall is the administration building that is just west of the UST "arches" that face Summit Avenue. Click on http://www.stthomas.edu/campusmaps/ http://bac.haven2.com/modules/piCal/index.php?event_id=0000000101 Tue, 8 Aug 2006 10:00:00 -0500 http://bac.haven2.com/modules/piCal/index.php?event_id=0000000001 http://bac.haven2.com/modules/piCal/index.php?event_id=0000000001