One Gigabit or Bust™ Initiative - A Broadband Vision for California

dahamsta

http://www.cenic.org/NGI/Gartner/index.htm

This report has been commissioned by the Corporation for Education Network Initiatives in California (CENIC). The State of California has awarded a grant to CENIC to focus on speeding one-gigabit broadband to all Californians by 2010, or in California shorthand, One Gigabit or Bust™. CENIC engaged Gartner to evaluate the economic potential of an acceleration of next generation broadband deployment in California. In addition, Gartner was asked to interview many of the top broadband thinkers, policy makers and consumer advocates within California and throughout the Unite States with a view toward understanding the opportunities and challenges a next generation broadband initiative in California might face.

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iwb

Absolutely brilliant. I hope they make tracks and implement this. There's nothing like a bit of vision!
The funny thing is that by 2010, lots of consumers will have gigabit service, maybe not to homes but to business. The unfortunate thing is that it will cost many times more that for California (if it is successful) because most will try to supply services over existing networks and spend inordinate sums making this infrastructure faster instead of wiping the slate clean and starting with a core network capable of delivering gigabit right now.
It's kind of like Germany after WWII. They got a head start on the industrial world as they built everything new again. There was no legacy to deal with. I am not suggesting we have a war here and bomb the country but we do need to think radical rather than incremental.

flav0rflav

But we do have fibre all around the country, including live WDM systems capable of multi-gigabit speed. So I really don't want to hear yet another jackhammer out on my road.

dahamsta

You want fibre up your driveway and into your gaff, you're going to need to hear drilling flav. I'd dig the fuppin thing up meself tbh.

adam

flav0rflav

Well yes, I wouldn't mind if they fed it into the basement of the apartment block.

But when they just keep digging up the main road to BYPASS ME EVERY TIME< BLOCKING THRAOD AND KJ:LKSAHOHPF(*(&E agh

sorry.

spongebob

how bout free space optics instead ?

LFCFan

wait till you see in 2010. The first Californians will be getting their 1 Gb/s connection for €50 a month and at the same time the first Irish will be getting their 5Mb/s the government has promised us for €150 a month with a 10 Gig cap.

MrB

Ireland/Eircon version.

One Megabit and Bust™

flav0rflav

Right, this is going on exactly the same thought line as I've been on.

from http://www.cenic.org/NGI/Gartner/CallAction.htm the report:

California is on the threshold of a multibillion-dollar opportunity. A $376-billion upside in gross state product (GSP) by 2010 is made possible with the implementation of a focused One Gigabit or Bust broadband initiative. Moreover, 2 million new jobs could be created. One Gigabit is not a technology. It is not a transmission speed. It is not merely high bandwidth. It is not about capacity. One Gigabit is about the capabilities that the capacity makes possible. Only 20 years ago, the average business desktop to computing device required a mere 9.6 kilobits per second (Kbps) of bandwidth. Today the average business desktop is networked using 100 megabits per second (Mbps)-an exponential increase of 105 the power. If we apply a similar increase to the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) definition of today's broadband at 200 Kbps, we'll require a speed of 20 gigabits within 20 years. Consequently, one gigabit broadband to every education institution, business and home by 2010 is a realistic goal.

If you build it, they will come, and generate wealth in excessive of the investment.

SkepticOne

Originally posted by MrB
Ireland/Eircon version.

One Megabit and Bust™

Ireland/Eircon version:

"Have you considered a 'hi-speed' line?"

SkepticOne

Originally posted by iwb
Absolutely brilliant. I hope they make tracks and implement this. There's nothing like a bit of vision!
The funny thing is that by 2010, lots of consumers will have gigabit service, maybe not to homes but to business. The unfortunate thing is that it will cost many times more that for California (if it is successful) because most will try to supply services over existing networks and spend inordinate sums making this infrastructure faster instead of wiping the slate clean and starting with a core network capable of delivering gigabit right now.

The essential thing is implementation. Ireland has lofty ambitions too with reports promising widely available 5Mbit connections to the home by 2007, but already the implementations are slipping before they even started.

LFCFan

So our country are aiming for 5Mbit by 2007 and California are aiming for 1 Gbit by 2010. They may not get 1Gbit but somewhere close. We probably won't get 5Mbit, more like 2Mbit the way things are going.

SkepticOne

Originally posted by LFCFan
So our country are aiming for 5Mbit by 2007 and California are aiming for 1 Gbit by 2010. They may not get 1Gbit but somewhere close. We probably won't get 5Mbit, more like 2Mbit the way things are going.

2Mbit is highly optimistic, imo. The more likely scenario is a few more people will be able to get 512k broaband than currently. This is the situation in Britain, where 50:1 512k has become the standard for the last few years for the majority. Things are even more likely to settle down here at this level because there is less fundamental infrastructure competition than in Britain.

The situation could be turned around quite fast in Ireland if there was head to head competition between Eircom/Esat etc and multiple wireless companies. After a while, Eircom would be left behind as competition shifts towards competition between the wireless companies themselves.

Stonemason

reports promising widely available 5Mbit connections to the home by 2007

Is Ireland a special case then ?.I thought the EU had said everyone in the EU must have a 5mb connection by 2005.