Affordable Broadband Connectivity Different Approaches for Different R E

Affordable Broadband Connectivity: Different Approaches for Different R&E Needs • • • EDUCAUSE Presentation 11/05/2003 11: 40 AM to 12: 30 AM Room 204 C Presenters: Gary Augustson, Erv Blythe, Steve Corbato, Tim Lance, Garret Sern • www. educause. edu/netatedu/groups/pricing/ Copyright Erv Blythe 2003. This work is the intellectual property of the author. Permission is granted for this material to be shared for non-commercial, educational purposes, provided that this copyright statement appears on the reproduced materials and notice is given that the copying is by permission of the author. To disseminate otherwise or to republish requires written permission from the author.

The Virginia Tech e. Corridors’s Program Problem Description: Anyone, any community, any region that does not have the capacity at reasonable cost to be a producer, a provider, of large-scale, high volume information and services to the networked world has a severe disadvantage in our global, networked economy.

The Virginia Tech e. Corridors’s Program Vision: It is not sufficient to chase what other regions, dominant in this 21 st century economy, have today. Regions must demand a plan that looks ahead, that with calculated risk, gives our regions and communities an advantage in our networked world.

Andy Grove, CEO of Intel: “The ability of end users to pull technology through the telecommunications industry structure is virtually non-existent. ” “This industry has proven itself incapable or unwilling to adopt to the needs of mass deployment of broadband technologies. ”

What is “true” Broadband? • TECHNET (a technology industry advocacy group): Advocates 100 Mbps broadband to 100 million United States households by 2008 • CENIC (consortium of major research and education entities in California): Developing feasibility plan for deployment of 1 Gbps (1000 Mbps) broadband to all Californians by 2010 • Garner Dataquest: Defines broadband as 10 Mbps

Virginia Tech’s e. Corridors Program Strategic Technology Infrastructure for Regional Competitiveness in the Network Economy A series of in-depth studies providing a roadmap for revitalization through investment in advanced network infrastructure. Volume 1 Rationale, Environment and Strategic Considerations. Volume 2 Connecting the Regional Infrastructure to National and International Networks Volume 3 A Fiber Optic Infrastructure Design for Southside and Southwest Virginia Volume 4 Fiber Optic Infrastructure Design Guide Volume 5 Financial Feasibility and Investment Rationale Volume 6 Leveraging Advanced Optical and Ethernet Technologies Volume 7 Speculative and Alternative Technologies Volumes 8 -11 Community, Demographics, Applications and Anchor Tenants http: //www. ecorridors. vt. edu A University Putting Knowledge to Work

Network Progression Model Imbedded Telecom Circuit switches Packet switches IP Routers ATM SONET Packet over SONET Cost: >$50 per mile per Mbps Electrical Emerging User Controlled Optical Network Today: Point-to-point lambda’s, Packet switching Cost: <10 cents per mile per Mbps Future: Lambda switching Optical packet switching Electrical to Optical Conversion Optical

The Geodesic Network Mesh 2. Gigabit Open Access Network • Utilize some fiber to fund gigabit next generation internet overlay. • NGI technology and protocols (IPv 6, multicast, Qo. S) • Low cost optical Ethernet. 1. Low Cost Fiber Mesh • MINIMUM cost fiber spans between communities. • Reliability through diversity. • Multiple fibers, small portion allocated to open access network, some available for lease, economic development use. • MSAPs and Fiber Mesh owned and operated by “provider neutral” entity. Non-profit or new for-profit model. MSAP 3. MSAPs distributed in communities and at large sites for service delivery and local switching, exchange, co-location. Fund highly leveraged last/first mile technology demonstrations. MSAP

Development Strategy • Do not bypass any community • Must prioritize initial deployment by ROI • Make bulk of investment in “future proof” (20 to 30 year life cycle) infrastructure • Make bulk of investment in financially self-sustaining elements of the infrastructure • Build from the top down: • Connection to Strategic National Interconnect Points • Inter-County/City fiber optic infrastructure • Intra-County/City fiber optic infrastructure • Obtain grant funds and local investment for “WAN” and last-mile demonstrations

Critical Success Factors • • • A Regional Vision The Right Implementing Entity The Right People Critical Mass of Anchor Tenants Long-term commitment of 100% of the Regions’ Counties and Cities • Leverage Community Investments • Keep project private sector based

Critical Success Factors • Understand the implications of the phrases: • • • “not sufficient to chase other regions” “plan that looks ahead” “with calculated risk” “that gives competitive advantage” “resulting in - advantageous cost to be a producer” • If you are not committed to these ideas, DO NOT FOLLOW THIS COURSE

The Premise “Any person, organization, community, or region that does not have the capacity at reasonable cost to be a producer of high volume information and services to the networked world has a severe disadvantage in the global, networked economy. ” The Problem Accessible fiber and network infrastructure is now as critical as water, sewer, and roads for community health yet is not available within most communities. The downturn in the communications sector does not reduce this requirement but does significantly increase the challenge to these communities. The Approach If we don’t have a diverse fiber path serving our facility within two years we’ll seriously have to consider leaving. Eastman, largest employer in SW Va region All else aside, we will not locate a new data center there because you don’t have the right mix of fiber and providers. - AOL to the City of Danville “Unfortunately, … rural communities are still isolated from high-speed access … making it difficult for these communities to compete for businesses that require high bandwidth services. ” - from Verizon report March 2002 COMMODITY COMMERCIAL RESEARCH PROTOTYPE Channel investment and promote new business models to facilitate wide scale deployment of accessible, advanced technologies that can radically alter the economics of regional and community communications capability. Work with stakeholders, public and private, to overcome obstacles, aggregate demand, stimulate investment, and develop incentives for private sector engagement. Virginia Tech A University Putting Knowledge to WORK

Erv Blythe Virginia Tech Vice President, Information Technology blythe@vt. edu Brenda Neidigh Director, e. Corridors Program, Virginia Tech bneidigh@vt. edu www. ecorridors. vt. edu