National Broadband Policy

At last week’s Internet2 Spring Meeting Telepoly Consultant John Windhausen presented research support the adoption of a National Broadband Policy to deliver 100 Megabits to every home and business by 2012.

Would you like to fully understand the impact of this policy? May I suggest starting with Tom Friedman’s bestseller The World Is Flat 3.0?

Make sure you read Version 3.0 — Friedman‘s update measures how quickly the world has adopted Globalization with networking technologies woven into the fabric of global business, government and education sprinkled around some of the most far reaching locations worldwide.

Friedman shared in version 1.0 fiber has made Milwaukee, Mumbai and Moscow next-door neighbors. With these new digital neighbors we are just milliseconds away from economic, educational and cultural collaboration and communication.

In version 3.0 he proves that someone with a powerful imagination can secure business in Milwaukee or Moscow like no other time on the world’s history. Communication and Collaboration have been moved to a new level and any talented individual with a consumer computer, skill and network access can not just thrive, but drive new business around the globe.

…And while your at it, plan to read his upcoming book Green is the new Red, White and Blue. Its Globalization + Environmental Revolution. As he noted in an address at Brown in a Revolution someone always gets hurt.
Schools and business are lining up to be hurt by a lack of high speed broadband.

A National Broadband Policy:
Windhausen (Principal of Telepoly) is suggesting the upgrade of fiber to match forecasted global broadband speeds at implementation. The biggest impacts highlighted by John include Optical Switching, Core Switching and Access Capacity — also known as The Last Mile.
This means a network connection coming from a switch directly connects your local school, library, performance center or hospital. Traditionally this is the area where the network slows down due to local limits.

Bandwidth: As vital is air
Windhausen acknowledged telecommunication companies are hiding their current bit shortages by blocking capacity to bandwidth hungry applications including BitTorrent. Its a roundabout way to delay or block traffic to conserve bandwidth. The trouble with this approach (IMHO) is that telcom companies are attempting to cap bandwidth. Its the same as trying to choke air from my lungs.

The congestion automobile drives faces in major metropolitan markets like Chicago are reflective of the construction themes necessary to outfit our country, business and most significantly our children to compete in tomorrow’s global economy. And by the looks of how other countries are adopting broadband we must empower our next generation with skills for a knowledge driven economy:

U.S. rank among 30 OECD Nations:
15th in broadband adoption
14th in average download speed
18th in broadband price per megabit

Today’s advanced networks including Internet2 are making significant steps in communication and collaboration regarding science, engineering and medicine. By empowering citizens with fast broadband the ripple effect will be wide: telework, telehealth and distance learning. This will potentially reset the most important foundation in our country, education. But Network and Technology teams cannot upgrade education without teachers, curriculum/content specialists and parents demanding change.

The use of advanced networks in schools around the country by 2012 will not only keep our children’s heads above water in the global economic world, it will provide a structure of application and access that will carry them into their professions and personal lives.

Tags: Internet2, Windhausen, National Broadband Policy, Globalization, Network, community, trends