Today Public Knowledge filed CTC Technology & Energy’s report on IP Transition Trials with the FCC. Read more on Jodie Griffin’s Public Knowledge Policy Blog posting, “Drilling Down the Details for Pilot Programs,” here.
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A new report prepared by CTC Technology & Energy for the City of Seattle analyzes the current state of cable broadband technology. The report, titled “The State of the Art and Evolution of Cable Television and Broadband Technology,” documents the need for cable systems to upgrade their network capabilities if they are to keep pace with growing demands, including access to video content, Voice Over IP, and providing wireless carriers with backhaul capacity.
Cable, which utilizes both fiber optic and coaxial components, is the dominant home and business broadband technology in the United States, and represents the main future of broadband for most homes and businesses. New applications and network uses are placing increased demands on the existing commercial cable infrastructure in many communities. This need for growth poses a number of challenges, in part due to the demands of streaming video sites, which provide an alternative source of programming content to the cable operators’ own video services.
The report concludes that the only way to satisfy current and future increases in bandwidth demands is for cable operators to upgrade the IP data components of their systems, and by maintaining neutrality toward online video content. These upgrades, anticipated in the next five years and beyond, are necessary for cable providers to keep pace with other emerging technologies, such as fiber-to-the-premises (FTTP).
CTC Technology & Energy has opened several new offices in recent months to better serve clients in the Midwest, Southwest, and Rocky Mountain regions. The newest office, located in Boulder, Colorado, opened in September, and is under the supervision of Principal Analyst Bob Hunnicutt. Mr. Hunnicutt is a veteran of cable and wireless communications engineering and local government administration and leads CTC Technology & Energy’s tower siting team. CTC Technology & Energy also launched offices in Madison, Wisconsin and Santa Fe, New Mexico to support our growing family of state and local government clients in those regions.
Garrett County, Maryland has issued a Request for Information (RFI) for private partners interested in providing network services over a county-built wireless network. The network will reach some of the rural county’s most remote residents and businesses currently without high speed Internet service availability.
CTC Technology & Energy completed a comprehensive feasibility study for the County in 2012, and recommended pursuing a public network utilizing TV “White Spaces” to deploy wireless Internet service to unserved homes and businesses. White Space networks utilize vacant broadcast frequencies, more of which are available in communities like Garrett that are far from dense population centers. The technology has propagation characteristics superior to other wireless broadband technologies, and is particularly advantageous in mountainous regions where line of sight is often encumbered. The RFI embraces this recommendation, and encourages respondents to propose solutions that utilize TV White Space technology.
The County has identified six target areas that include approximately 2,873 homes and businesses. The initial phase of the network build will target a pilot region of about 200 end-users. The County plans to scale the pilot network strategy to ultimately serve the entire population of the target areas.
Letters of intent to respond to the RFI are due at 2:00PM (Eastern) on Friday, October 18, 2013. Final responses are due at 2:00PM on Friday, November 1, 2013.
The RFI is available for download at: http://www.garrettcounty.org/purchasing/current-bids.
For the second time in two years, Garrett County, Maryland has received a $250,000 grant from the Appalachian Regional Commission for community broadband development. The grant, which will be matched dollar for dollar by the County, is the latest in a series of major steps the small county has taken toward solving the challenge of rural broadband access faced by many communities across the country.
“ARC support for broadband expansion is good news for Garrett County residents and businesses,” said Congressman John Delaney (MD-6), who announced the award on Friday. “In the early days of Western Maryland, roads, rails, and rivers connected our communities to the rest of the country. Much of today’s commerce and communication takes place online and high-speed, high-capacity, online access is as essential as a navigable river or a paved road once was. This is precisely the kind of communications infrastructure investment that I believe is essential to our region’s future economic health.”
The award will help Garrett County develop wireless network resources for homes and businesses in unserved pockets of a mountainous and sparsely populated region. In 2012, CTC Technology & Energy recommended that the County pursue a public network using “TV White Spaces,” a nascent broadband technology carried over vacant television frequencies. The County’s connectivity goals are within reach in large part due to the One Maryland Broadband Network, the state’s NTIA funded fiber project that has brought over 45 miles of fiber optic backbone cable to Garrett County.
The new TV White Space network will reach 800 homes in its initial phase. The County’s goal is for the network to reach upwards of 3,000 homes through additional funding and partnership opportunities in the coming years, connecting the remaining 2,200 residences by 2016.
CTC Technology & Energy and Garrett County continue to partner on developing deployment strategies and finding private partners to provide Internet service to users of the network.
A June report released by CTC Technology & Energy recommends that the Town of Holly Springs, North Carolina move ahead with plans to construct fiber optic broadband infrastructure to serve its public institutions. The Business Case for Government Fiber Optics in Holly Springs states that the return on investment of a Town-built fiber network would mitigate the capital costs of the project. “A Town-owned infrastructure,” the report states, “is the most cost effective approach for meeting internal Town networking needs in the long term.” Constructing a Town-owned fiber backbone would cost an estimated $1.3 to $1.5 million.
The Town, like many local governments, currently leases broadband infrastructure to serve its needs. Holly Springs will spend an estimated $159,000 per year for these leased services in the coming years; CTC Technology & Energy expects the Town to need to scale its network capacity to at least 1 Gbps circuits for its schools, libraries, and other facilities to keep pace with bandwidth demands. The cost of leased service will rise further with the planned construction of new police and recreational facilities. According to the report, if the Town invests in its own fiber, in the “worst case” scenario, the cost of financing this infrastructure would be comparable to continuing to pay for leased services. CTC Technology & Energy projects a cost savings between $922,000 and $1.1 million resulting from the Town building 1 Gbps circuits to each of its facilities.
The report goes on to recommend a strategy of building Town fiber toward private sector Internet providers, key businesses, and residential neighborhoods. In this way, the Town can encourage private sector providers to build last-mile networks, leasing fiber backbone from the Town, to directly connect homes and businesses. This strategy helps bring Holly Springs closer to the ultimate goal of encouraging fiber-to-the-premises technology to be built throughout the Town.
CTC Technology & Energy will conduct a feasibility study for Culver City, California to explore developing fiber optic network connections for economic development sites and other locations throughout the City. The study will evaluate the existing needs of City agencies and private businesses in target areas. CTC Technology & Energy will develop a system-level design and cost projection for the construction and operation of a City-owned fiber infrastructure. The report will include an analysis of various business models the City could pursue, including selling City-lit fiber directly to businesses, selling circuits to third-party service providers, and dark fiber leasing with neighboring municipalities.
CTC Technology & Energy is working with the Kansas Hospital Association (KHA) on plans to develop a high-speed network for the state’s healthcare community. KHA is a non-profit organization promoting the interests of community hospitals and other healthcare providers throughout Kansas.
CTC Technology & Energy kicked off the project by meeting with KHA staff and member organizations. Kansas hospitals and healthcare facilities, particularly in rural areas, are hungry for more bandwidth and service options as they migrate their systems away from old T-1 lines. CTC will develop a technical strategy, prepare a business case analysis, and submit a feasibility study and strategic recommendations for bringing high speed intranet and Internet service to KHA members.
KHA will release a Request for Information in the coming weeks to gauge interest from service providers interested in partnering with the Association.
The City of Lawrence has released CTC Technology & Energy’s report on broadband within the City, titled “Enhancing Broadband in Lawrence: A Range of Strategic Options.” CTC Technology & Energy conducted an assessment of Lawrence’s current state of broadband availability and demand, and outlined thirteen different potential strategies to increase broadband access for the City’s residents and businesses.
Though home to a major research university and a vibrant local economy, Lawrence does not have the same level of broadband availability as other comparable communities, particularly with respect to fiber optic technology. Among the various broadband enhancement strategies discussed in the report are: further investment in municipal fiber projects; leasing of excess City fiber infrastructure; collaboration with partners such as Kansas University and Gig.U to attract further investment; and pursuing discussions with Google Fiber in neighboring Kansas City.
The City of Westminster, Maryland has issued a Request for Information to gauge interest from service providers for a potential City-built fiber optic network. The City is seeking private partners to operate, maintain, and sell Internet service over the network, which could offer speeds as high as multi-hundreds of megabits, or even a gigabit per second.
Today’s RFI is the latest development in a strategic broadband plan that began last fall, when the Westminster Common Council unanimously voted to commission a study on broadband expansion for the City. The prospects for bringing fiber to Westminster homes and businesses are greater than ever now, due to construction of the Inter-County Broadband Network (ICBN). The ICBN will enable existing fiber facilities in Carroll County, including the future Westminster network, to access the commodity Internet through access points in neighboring jurisdictions.
The RFI states that the City seeks a network that is open access, covers the entire City, and specifically addresses the needs of the business community. Responses to the RFI are due May 3, 2013.