A few years ago we spoke to a couple of engineers who had a concept for using wireless mesh techniques for allowing communications between people, without requiring a communications grid. At that time, we questioned why FirstNet wasn’t looking at this approach for its nationwide safety network, as simple modeling suggested a social mesh method would be 1/7th cost of FirstNet’s budgeted network build-out (and less than 1/30th today’s estimated costs, according to a July 2016, Congressional Research Service report).
Enter goTenna, whose co-founder we interviewed earlier this year, and their next generation product, which uses unlicensed frequencies and connections to a smart phone to create a mobile ad hoc mesh network; (albeit it is message and GPS/map information only, but one has to believe that, with sufficient spectrum, it could be extended to video and audio). With FirstNet’s bid for a nationwide network contractor to be issued as early as next month, it will be interesting to see if social mesh will be part of a solution that, whatever it is, is sure to be controversial.
Highlights of Telecom Council TC3 Panel on 5G Telecom Regulation by Alan Weissberger
A spirited discussion of telecom regulation issues took place September 28, 2016 at the Telecom Council’s TC3 summit in Mt. View, CA. Most of it was related to making 5G a reality. The promise and potential of 5G has been highly touted for a very, very long time. However, many of the regulatory issues have not been widely discussed – even though they could be obstacles to 5G deployment. At the end of his article, Weissberger references an excellent “how-to” by Joint Venture Silicon Valley on how municipalities should prepare for 5G.
Follow the Money to Autonomous Mobility
To paraphrase the advice given in the Wizard of Oz, it is time to follow the money to see where the path to autonomy leads. Summarizing his thoughts on the Automated Vehicles Symposium 16 conference, Paul Godsmark, CTO of the Canadian Automated Vehicles Centre of Excellence, suggests that now is the time to start looking closely at how the business models for autonomous vehicles will shape deployments. It was the conversation with Godsmark that led to an aha moment that, just like communications networks, the long-term trend is for software to be at the core of transportation networks.
From Linear to Circular at VERGE 2016
The focus on the circular economy at the Verge 2016 was really uplifting to Jason S. Trager Ph.D., Managing Partner of Sustainabilist. The circular economy is about considering how an output of one process can be an input to another with the goal of eliminating waste. In a sense, the circular economy is about going back to the mindset of the depression-era generation who fixed things, instead of disposing and replacing. But, it is more than that, as it is also about building things to be repairable and re-usable. Prager also suggests that the shift to a circular from linear economy is about being users, instead of consumers.
Augmented & Virtual Reality Making Actual Reality More Accurate
Anyone in the construction industry knows the challenges of matching the plans of architects and engineers to “as-built”. The reality doesn’t always match what had been carefully crafted on paper or computer. The resulting mismatch can lead to serious problems, impacting budget and schedule. Bruce Naylor, CTO of Streaming Curiosity, describes how they are adapting augmented and virtual reality to bring blueprints to life. Naylor, a former Bell Labs researcher, indicates that his earlier work in telecom and video games has helped inform his work on this still early stage technology.
Some Tweets and Short Thoughts
- RT KCTC @KalonaCoop “TECH TIP TUESDAY:: What do you think about self-driving technology? It may be coming to Iowa….” More efficient and safer transport of goods.
- RT “Our VERY special congratulation from @bloomfield15 @NTCAconnect at for our ;Really Gig’ announcement last week.” Kudos to Ben Lomand Telephone and its gig network.
- Congratulations CTI. Here is our interview from last year where you talked about your plans
- Look forward to hearing what Deepak is talking about at #calixugc16
- One of the solutions that might be part of a FirstNet solution, particularly for temporary communications, could be drone-based towers; so-called flying COWS, as outlined in Alan Weissberger’s article (insert joke about when pigs fly).
The Korner – Passing the Fiber Baton
This video pays tribute to the vision and persistence of Max Huffman, retiring CEO of INDATEL Services, LLC, and his ability to work with other industry leaders to form a nationwide Ethernet network, built and staffed at the local and regional level. He is passing the fiber network baton to Mel Wagner, Jr., who has a keen understanding of INDATEL’s mission and path forward, having served as INDATEL’s Vice President of Business Development and Sales since 2014. It’s clear from the comments from Wagner and others that Max’s day-to-day contributions will be missed, but the 90,000+ miles of fiber that connect rural and urban America will be a reminder of his good work.
