As 2023 came to a close, a friend explained how mushrooms create a “woodwide web” otherwise known as the “mycorrhizal network.” This network connects young saplings and other plants to so-called hub trees (a.k.a. mother trees) to transfer water, nitrogen, carbon, and other minerals. This web also serves as a network for the trees to communicate with each other.
In many ways, this fungi network seems analogous to humans and the many virtual and face-to-face ways of connecting and communicating. With that, here is to 2024 and continued virtual and in-person connections. May your web grow and strengthen in 2024.
Microgreens – The Toddlers of the Plant World
Veggies without the yucky factor is one way to describe microgreens. Entrepreneur, teacher, and mom and grandmother, Margo Clayson of The Mighty Microgreen brings her science and nutrition background in the promotion of microgreens as part of a healthy diet. The idea of distributed, homegrown nutrition is the important message that Clayson is spreading, which could also have a significant environmental impact.
Energy as a Broadband Provider Strategy
Energy as a strategy for broadband service providers to be more sustainable and more efficient is what George Goncalves recommended at FiberConnect 2023. Goncalves, Director of Product Line Management of ATX Networks, explains how hybrid supercapacitors (HSC) fit into such a strategy.
Get on Board the STEM Train
It is never too late to start a STEM career is one of the messages imparted by Liz Acosta-McCune, VP of Market Growth and Advocacy for Silver Star Communications. Acosta-McCune suggested that the ever-evolving technology industry presents new opportunities in many different fields, beyond engineering. Her experience is an example that one doesn’t have to have an engineering background to contribute and participate in the business of technology.
Q4 Broadband Forum Town Hall Innovation Series Take-Aways
Key takeaways from the Broadband Forum Town Hall Innovation Series sessions were that security is a by-design requirement in any technology, network, or service and that the broadband industry must unite with regulators and institutions to help all companies benefit. This will lead to differentiated services and new monetization opportunities.
Broadband Forum Q4 2023 Meeting Roundup
Congratulations to Ken Ko on his second opportunity to give retirement a go, Craig Thomas on his new role as CEO, and all the new Broadband Forum Work Area Directors and its new technical Vice Chair. This summary provides a progress of the summary made at the Q4 meeting in Bangkok.
Register for the Q1 Meeting, USP Summit, and BASe Summit, March 4th-8, 2024
Some Chirps and Short Thoughts
- Alan Weissberger provides an excellent overview of the progress made by the SDN/NFV Work Area at last month’s Broadband Forum meeting in this IEEE ComSoc article.
- Amazon has a good overview of its plans to optically connect its Project Kuiper Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite network. They claim speeds of up to 100 Gbps at up to 621-mile spacing. Like, Starlink, they plan to create a mesh network that wraps the earth in connectivity with lower latency on longer routes than an equivalent terrestrial network (it takes advantage of not having to deal with the earth’s curvature). They expect enough satellites to launch early customer pilots in the second half of 2024.
- The passing of Gary Richards is sad news. His column was the best. It was an honor to interview him in 2016 where he gave his educated opinion on bike lanes, congestion, and the future of and potential benefits of autonomous vehicles. RIP, Mr. Roadshow.
- “We believe that international standardization for valid analysis of AV crash data is needed,” from Waymo’s blog post, Waymo significantly outperforms comparable human benchmarks over 7+ million miles of rider-only driving.
- “There is a need for a collective reimagining of what public transit is….[need to focus on} communities of need.” Brilliantly stated by Bryant Walker Smith on the SmartDrivingCars podcast.
The Korner – Common Sense Communications About Communications
“The connection to the community and rural areas is kind of what’s always been important to me,” states Jimmy Todd, CEO/General Manager of Nex-Tech in Lenora, Kansas. Todd, also the incoming chair of the Fiber Broadband Association reflects on a fiber journey that began for his cooperative in 1996. In the above interview, filmed at FiberConnect 2023, Todd explains that they will have fiber-to-the-home to 100% of their service territory by the end of last year.
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