[Advisors] Fwd: [OIA] Finding Google fiber in your own back yard

Mon, 22 Apr 2013 20:40:39 -0700

--Apple-Mail-24--313300162
Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable
Content-Type: text/plain;
	charset=windows-1252

Begin forwarded message:

> From: Joly MacFie <joly@punkcast.com>
> Date: April 22, 2013 8:12:25 PM PDT
> To: Bruce Kushnick <oia@lists.bway.net>
> Subject: [OIA] Finding Google fiber in your own back yard
> Reply-To: joly@punkcast.com
>=20
> (Nice one, Craig!)
>=20
> =
http://gigaom.com/2013/04/20/finding-google-fiber-in-your-own-back-yard/
>=20
>=20
> By Craig Settles, Gigabit Nation
>=20
> A country ballad that ushered in the 80s decried looking for love in =
all the wrong places. As the buzz machine ramps up after back-to-back =
announcements from Google letting the world know it is bestowing its =
gigabit largess upon Austin, Texas and Provo, Utah, gigabit envy is =
running rampant across the U.S.
>=20
> Google last week at the Broadband Communities Magazine=92s Summit in =
Dallas told attendees =93don=92t wait for us=94 or even the Federal =
government to bring broadband to communities. =93You have to take =
action, make changes, be creative,=94 said Milo Medin, Google Vice =
President for Access Services.  =93Your community can have a gigabit =
future if you want it badly enough=94
>=20
> So rather than Mountain View, Calif., maybe communities should be =
looking closer to home for broadband love from mini-Googles.
>=20
> The mini-Google model for community broadband
>=20
> People often ask what Google gets out of building these networks. They =
forget that Google is in the online ad business as well as several other =
ventures that collectively generate more revenue as gigabit Web surfing =
increases. It=92s likely a safe bet that Google is driven more by these =
businesses=92 needs than the desire to be a national service provider. =
For now.
>=20
> Rather than =93What does Google get?=94 smart communities need to ask, =
=93Are there other companies whose businesses would benefit from faster, =
better broadband? Companies that benefit to the point where investing in =
community networks make sound business sense? Maybe some of these =
potential =93mini-Googles=94 are local.
>=20
> San Leandro, Calif. has its hometown Google, OSIsoft. Similar to =
Google, OSIsoft is a tech company that is building fiber infrastructure =
to bring gigabit service to a town that definitely wants and needs =
broadband. Broadband service is not OSIsoft=92s core business. Yet, as a =
San Leandro-based company, OSIsoft benefits tremendously from delivering =
a gigabit to its neighbors as well as itself.
>=20
> A couple of years ago OSIsoft was in a bind. The $250 million company =
had been a member of the San Leandro community for over 30 years. Dr. =
Patrick Kennedy, OSIsoft=92s founder and CEO, as well as many of his 800 =
employees live in the city. But the company needed a few hundred =
megabits faster broadband than the incumbents were willing to deliver to =
the town, and without it OSIsoft would have to move.
>=20
> OSIsoft and city government officials formed a public private =
partnership and got creative. As the result of an earlier transportation =
project, the city had available conduit around the town that it offered =
to the initiative. Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART), which has two stations =
in town, had extra dark fiber that it made available. Kennedy hired a =
contractor to pull 288 strands of fiber through the conduit, 28 of which =
were given to the City for its use.
>=20
> The end result of this effort was an 11-mile fiber ring around San =
Leandro that OSIsoft and other local businesses are using. San Leandro =
Dark Fiber LLC is the company Dr. Kennedy created to build out the =
infrastructure. Lit San Leandro is another company created to install =
the switch and routing facilities that light up the network for business =
subscribers. Cross Links System is a local ISP selected to provide =
Internet access and other services to businesses. The City currently is =
formulating plans for leveraging its share of the fiber to impact local =
economic development. Residential constituents currently are not served, =
but they likely will be considered during the economic development =
planning.
>=20
>=20
> Find your hometown Google
>=20
> What San Leandro has achieved is replicable in other communities. One =
good example is in upstate New York where Corning invested $10 million =
in a 235-mile fiber ring covering three counties. Corning=92s business =
operations based in this area and its workers benefit directly from much =
needed broadband capacity, and indirectly by boosting the economic =
development of the communities around them. Since Corning produces =
fiber, this project delivers marketing value as a showcase for the power =
of the gigabit.
>=20
> Joe Crookham is a successful business owner in Muscatine County, Iowa =
whoseMusca Lighting financed fiber buildouts for his and several =
surrounding communities. These services are sold to businesses and =
residences. Informally, Crookham has waved the community broadband flag =
at the state legislature.
>=20
> The key is to find a business or a group of businesses that are =
feeling the pain of not having sufficient broadband. According to Dr. =
Kennedy in a Gigabit Nation interview, =93many urban areas are =91copper =
towns,=92 meaning the incumbents have built DSL or T1 lines that cover =
these communities=92 residential users. But businesses and industrial =
parks need much more capacity than this as we see an explosion of data =
applications and cloud services. Incumbents generally see little value =
in serving these commercial operations.=94 Companies in technology, =
science and healthcare represent low-hanging fruit in =
alternative-funding partner searches.
>=20
> However, along with the promise of these mini-Googles, there is a =
significant caveat for communities. Even though many local governments =
and local economies are struggling for money, they must resist the urge =
to close a deal at any cost. Stakeholders must maintain control of the =
business of broadband, that process by which communities use the =
technology as a tool to improve economic development, transform =
education and expedite healthcare delivery. Owning this process, whether =
or not they own the physical infrastructure or services, is how =
communities reap significant broadband benefits.
>=20
> As the surging wave of gigabit initiative builds, we should expect to =
see a corresponding increase in creative public private partnerships. =
But the bottom line is that all negotiators of these deals should keep =
in mind that =93private companies have to make money, and reinvesting in =
the public interest is always going to be a secondary concern,=94 states =
Forbes blogger McQuaid. Smart negotiating and planning, though, is how =
everyone wins.
>=20
> --=20
> ---------------------------------------------------------------
> Joly MacFie  218 565 9365 Skype:punkcast
> WWWhatsup NYC - http://wwwhatsup.com
>  http://pinstand.com - http://punkcast.com
>  VP (Admin) - ISOC-NY - http://isoc-ny.org
> --------------------------------------------------------------
> -
> _______________________________________________
> Open Infrastructure Alliance
> http://lists.bway.net/listinfo/oia

--Apple-Mail-24--313300162
Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable
Content-Type: text/html;
	charset=windows-1252

<html><head></head><body style=3D"word-wrap: break-word; =
-webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; =
"><br><div><br><div>Begin forwarded message:</div><br =
class=3D"Apple-interchange-newline"><blockquote type=3D"cite"><div =
style=3D"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; =
margin-left: 0px;"><span style=3D"font-family:'Helvetica'; =
font-size:medium; color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 1);"><b>From: </b></span><span =
style=3D"font-family:'Helvetica'; font-size:medium;">Joly MacFie &lt;<a =
href=3D"mailto:joly@punkcast.com">joly@punkcast.com</a>&gt;<br></span></di=
v><div style=3D"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; =
margin-left: 0px;"><span style=3D"font-family:'Helvetica'; =
font-size:medium; color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 1);"><b>Date: </b></span><span =
style=3D"font-family:'Helvetica'; font-size:medium;">April 22, 2013 =
8:12:25 PM PDT<br></span></div><div style=3D"margin-top: 0px; =
margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px;"><span =
style=3D"font-family:'Helvetica'; font-size:medium; color:rgba(0, 0, 0, =
1);"><b>To: </b></span><span style=3D"font-family:'Helvetica'; =
font-size:medium;">Bruce Kushnick &lt;<a =
href=3D"mailto:oia@lists.bway.net">oia@lists.bway.net</a>&gt;<br></span></=
div><div style=3D"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: =
0px; margin-left: 0px;"><span style=3D"font-family:'Helvetica'; =
font-size:medium; color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 1);"><b>Subject: </b></span><span =
style=3D"font-family:'Helvetica'; font-size:medium;"><b>[OIA] Finding =
Google fiber in your own back yard</b><br></span></div><div =
style=3D"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; =
margin-left: 0px;"><span style=3D"font-family:'Helvetica'; =
font-size:medium; color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 1);"><b>Reply-To: </b></span><span =
style=3D"font-family:'Helvetica'; font-size:medium;"><a =
href=3D"mailto:joly@punkcast.com">joly@punkcast.com</a><br></span></div><b=
r><div dir=3D"ltr"><div style=3D"">(Nice one, =
Craig!)</div><div><br></div><a =
href=3D"http://gigaom.com/2013/04/20/finding-google-fiber-in-your-own-back=
-yard/">http://gigaom.com/2013/04/20/finding-google-fiber-in-your-own-back=
-yard/</a><div>

<br></div><div><b><br></b></div><div><b>By Craig Settles, <a =
href=3D"http://www.blogtalkradio.com/gigabitnation">Gigabit =
Nation</a></b><br clear=3D"all"><div><br></div><div><p style=3D"margin:0px=
 0px 1.5em;padding:0px;direction:ltr;font-family:'Helvetica =
Neue',Helvetica,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;line-height:24px">

A country ballad that ushered in the 80s decried&nbsp;<a =
href=3D"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3D1MnU6p3sGSw" =
style=3D"color:rgb(85,160,211);text-decoration:none;line-height:inherit">l=
ooking for love in all the wrong places</a>. As the buzz machine ramps =
up after back-to-back announcements from Google letting the world know =
it is bestowing its&nbsp;<a =
href=3D"http://technology.canoe.ca/2013/04/18/20751546-relaxnews.html" =
style=3D"color:rgb(85,160,211);text-decoration:none;line-height:inherit">g=
igabit largess upon Austin, Texas and Provo, Utah</a>, gigabit envy is =
running rampant across the U.S.Google last =
week at the Broadband Communities Magazine=92s Summit in Dallas told =
attendees =93don=92t wait for us=94 or even the Federal government to =
bring broadband to communities. =93You have to take action, make =
changes, be creative,=94 said Milo Medin, Google Vice President for =
Access Services. &nbsp;=93Your community can have a gigabit future if =
you want it badly enough=94So rather =
than Mountain View, Calif., maybe communities should be looking closer =
to home for broadband love from mini-Googles.

The mini-Google model for community broadband</div><div> People =
often ask what Google gets out of building these networks. They forget =
that Google is in the online ad business as well as several other =
ventures that collectively generate more revenue as gigabit Web surfing =
increases. It=92s likely a safe bet that Google is driven more by these =
businesses=92 needs than the desire to be a national service provider. =
For now.Rather than =
=93What does Google get?=94 smart communities need to ask, =93Are there =
other companies whose businesses would benefit from faster, better =
broadband? Companies that benefit to the point where investing in =
community networks make sound business sense? Maybe some of these =
potential =93mini-Googles=94 are local.San =
Leandro, Calif. has its hometown Google, OSIsoft. Similar to Google, =
OSIsoft is a tech company that is building fiber infrastructure to bring =
gigabit service to a town that definitely wants and needs broadband. =
Broadband service is not OSIsoft=92s core business. Yet, as a San =
Leandro-based company, OSIsoft benefits tremendously from delivering a =
gigabit to its neighbors as well as itself.A couple of =
years ago OSIsoft was in a bind. The $250 million company had been a =
member of the San Leandro community for over 30 years. Dr. Patrick =
Kennedy, OSIsoft=92s founder and CEO, as well as many of his 800 =
employees live in the city. But the company needed a few hundred =
megabits faster broadband than the incumbents were willing to deliver to =
the town, and without it OSIsoft would have to move.OSIsoft and =
city government officials formed a public private partnership and got =
creative. As the result of an earlier transportation project, the city =
had available conduit around the town that it offered to the initiative. =
Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART), which has two stations in town, had extra =
dark fiber that it made available. Kennedy hired a contractor to pull =
288 strands of fiber through the conduit, 28 of which were given to the =
City for its use.The end =
result of this effort was an 11-mile fiber ring around San Leandro that =
OSIsoft and other local businesses are using. San Leandro Dark Fiber LLC =
is the company Dr. Kennedy created to build out the infrastructure. Lit =
San Leandro is another company created to install the switch and routing =
facilities that light up the network for business subscribers. Cross =
Links System is a local ISP selected to provide Internet access and =
other services to businesses. The City currently is formulating plans =
for leveraging its share of the fiber to impact local economic =
development. Residential constituents currently are not served, but they =
likely will be considered during the economic development =
planning.<div style=3D"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; =
margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: =
0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; direction: ltr; =
font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; =
line-height: 24px; "> </div>Find =
your hometown Google<div> </div>

What San Leandro has achieved is replicable in other communities. One =
good example is in upstate New York where&nbsp;<a =
href=3D"http://wxxinews.org/post/state-disrepair-public-private-solutions"=
 =
style=3D"color:rgb(85,160,211);text-decoration:none;line-height:inherit">C=
orning invested $10 million in a 235-mile fiber ring covering three =
counties</a>. Corning=92s business operations based in this area and its =
workers benefit directly from much needed broadband capacity, and =
indirectly by boosting the economic development of the communities =
around them. Since Corning produces fiber, this project delivers =
marketing value as a showcase for the power of the gigabit.Joe =
Crookham is a successful business owner in Muscatine County, Iowa =
whose<a href=3D"http://www.musco.com/" =
style=3D"color:rgb(85,160,211);text-decoration:none;line-height:inherit">M=
usca Lighting</a>&nbsp;financed fiber buildouts for his and several =
surrounding communities. These services are sold to businesses and =
residences. Informally, Crookham has waved the community broadband flag =
at the state legislature.The key is =
to find a business or a group of businesses that are feeling the pain of =
not having sufficient broadband.&nbsp;<a =
href=3D"http://www.blogtalkradio.com/gigabitnation/2012/06/28/new-road-to-=
broadband-funding--local-businesses" =
style=3D"color:rgb(85,160,211);text-decoration:none;line-height:inherit">A=
ccording to Dr. Kennedy in a Gigabit Nation interview</a>, =93many urban =
areas are =91copper towns,=92 meaning the incumbents have built DSL or =
T1 lines that cover these communities=92 residential users. But =
businesses and industrial parks need much more capacity than this as we =
see an explosion of data applications and cloud services. Incumbents =
generally see little value in serving these commercial operations.=94 =
Companies in technology, science and healthcare represent low-hanging =
fruit in alternative-funding partner searches.However, =
along with the promise of these mini-Googles, there is a significant =
caveat for communities. Even though many local governments and local =
economies are struggling for money, they must resist the urge to close a =
deal at any cost. Stakeholders must&nbsp;<a =
href=3D"http://gigaom.com/2012/06/24/does-kansas-city-own-the-business-of-=
broadband/%20http://gigaom.com/2012/06/24/does-kansas-city-own-the-busines=
s-of-broadband/" =
style=3D"color:rgb(85,160,211);text-decoration:none;line-height:inherit">m=
aintain control of the business of broadband</a>, that process by which =
communities use the technology as a tool to improve economic =
development, transform education and expedite healthcare delivery. =
Owning this process, whether or not they own the physical infrastructure =
or services, is how communities reap significant broadband =
benefits.As the =
surging wave of gigabit initiative builds, we should expect to see a =
corresponding increase in creative public private partnerships. But the =
bottom line is that all negotiators of these deals should keep in mind =
that =93private companies have to make money, and&nbsp;<a =
href=3D"http://www.forbes.com/sites/johnmcquaid/2013/04/13/will-poor-peopl=
e-get-google-fiber/?goback=3D.gde_1874069_member_232152210" =
style=3D"color:rgb(85,160,211);text-decoration:none;line-height:inherit">r=
einvesting in the public interest is always going to be a secondary =
concern</a>,=94 states Forbes blogger McQuaid. Smart negotiating and =
planning, though, is how everyone wins.

</div>-- =
<br>---------------------------------------------------------------<br>Jol=
y MacFie&nbsp; <span id=3D"gc-number-0" class=3D"" title=3D"Call with =
Google Voice"><span id=3D"gc-number-1" class=3D"" title=3D"Call with =
Google Voice">218 565 9365</span></span> <a =
href=3D"Skype:punkcast">Skype:punkcast</a><br>

WWWhatsup NYC - <a href=3D"http://wwwhatsup.com/" =
target=3D"_blank">http://wwwhatsup.com</a><br>&nbsp;<a =
href=3D"http://pinstand.com/" target=3D"_blank">http://pinstand.com</a> =
- <a href=3D"http://punkcast.com/" =
target=3D"_blank">http://punkcast.com</a><br>

&nbsp;VP (Admin) - ISOC-NY - <a href=3D"http://isoc-ny.org/" =
target=3D"_blank">http://isoc-ny.org</a><br>------------------------------=
--------------------------------<br>-
</div></div>
_______________________________________________<br>Open Infrastructure =
Alliance<br><a =
href=3D"http://lists.bway.net/listinfo/oia">http://lists.bway.net/listinfo=
/oia</a></blockquote></div><br></body></html>=

--Apple-Mail-24--313300162--