| We have been hearing about the “information superhighway” for years. There have been forests killed to make the paper to print the words about what that means. It was supposed to mean, among other things, fewer pieces of paper consumed and therefore fewer trees cut down for paper, if that is important to you. The actual result has been more paper consumed, not less. I suppose that this is another example of the law of unintended consequences.
There is a good deal of turmoil in the “information superhighway” industry these days. Several very large toll-road operators have suffered catastrophic financial “crashes” and several “off-ramps” have been un-ramped. Winstar, Global Crossing, WorldCom, and @Home are just a few of the once-hot internet players that have either turned into a smoking hole in the Internet Landscape, or are in danger of doing so. It is not a pretty sight.
There is a supposed “glut” of fiber optic cable network on the national scale, yet that is a deceptive statement for a number of reasons. For those of us in the hinterlands of the Internet, not only is there a paucity of “glass,” but there is a paucity of reliable, low cost high-speed access in any form. There is hope, however.
Some very smart people are trying to figure out a way to deliver fiber optic “glass” cable to every door, or as nearly to every door so it makes no difference. Demand is both driving and being driven by the push for network expansion by individuals and groups. The “need for speed” is maturing from a nice-to-have luxury for dilettantes, to a rock hard business requirement for businesses and professionals. It is going to be a relatively slow process in this light-speed world, but progress is being made, and the rate of change is accelerating.
With the KPUD #1 initial network build almost complete, the market is solidifying, and delivery options are being developed. The KPUD is building the “super highway” for Kitsap County (more properly, a part of the “super highway”), which will represent a giant stride toward the elusive high-speed network so much in demand. What the KPUD is attempting to provide is a considerable expansion of the number of available “lanes” on the “information superhighway.” While very desirable, it is not enough.
Picture the following: you desire to travel from Poulsbo to Silverdale. You jump on the “superhighway” and rocket along your way. Everything is going swimmingly until you reach Silverdale where you discover, “there ain’t no off-ramp, bubba!” You wind up continuing on down the road getting more and more frustrated, until you finally reach the first off-ramp, which is in Olalla. OOPS! Now what? Well, you have to find some way to get back to Silverdale, so you start taking the “surface streets.” But you soon find the surface streets either don’t take you directly to Silverdale, or there aren’t any surface streets that get you there. Welcome to the wonderful challenge of “last mile.”
In case I am not making myself clear, there is more to solving the perceived “broadband shortage” than simply “adding lanes.” If you can’t get on or off near your destination(s) the highway doesn’t do you much good. The challenge, then, is to design enough “on-ramps” and “off-ramps” to service a network of “surface streets” (AKA “the last mile”)
In Kitsap County the “surface streets” for data communications are concentrated in the urban areas, and even then the coverage is limited. The major problem remains the frustrating “last mile” connections to home and business.
The very nature of Kitsap County militates against any single technology being the sole technology to accomplish the task. Fiber optic cable has a virtually unlimited capacity. Copper cable and infrastructure is ubiquitous. Both, when installed, are immobile. Fixed wireless is limited by line-of-sight (currently) and has more limited throughput capability than “physical” alternatives (copper, fiber). It is easily redeployed, and can link sites up to twenty-five miles apart as cheaply as sites two miles apart, or 1000 yards apart.
The continuing build-out of the cable company fiber networks, along with the expanding DSL footprint, is improving the availability of higher speed connections to homes and businesses. However, turmoil in the industry and a long-postponed financial reckoning has slowed deployment, raised prices and lowered service quality. Yet no one could argue that higher speed service is not available to a much wider audience than before the effort was made.
The industry is evolving at an accelerating rate, and new approaches to solving the problems of availability are providing new and surprising solutions. Hybrid systems are extending services to ever more remote areas, and the picture is improving. Adding the “lanes” enables a wider choice of options. Keep adding those lanes and on-ramps, KPUD! |
