A Reckless Move by the V.I. Senate by Peter Schultz, Ph.D

while i know global crossings has its issues, most of our connectivity problems come from within the u.s. virgin islands, and lack of redundancy and substandard conduits.

our eventual connection to the rest of the world is another project for another group. but if you cannot make it through the building, you will not get out of the building. nowadays we have trouble getting from room to room.

I have no monetary interest in this whatsoever - the only thing I want to see is that the USVI gets a good shot at the infant digital age, so my friends on the island and their children and their grandchildren will all have a good chance at a better future.

First off you should all be very grateful for the fact that Peter Shultz is directly involved in this - I simply don't think you could find someone with more expertise in the area of fiber optics.

From the wikipedia page about him:

"Peter C. Schultz, Ph.D., is co-inventor of the fiber optics now used worldwide for telecommunications."

"In 1993 he was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame and in 2000 he received the National Medal of Technology from U.S. President Bill Clinton for this accomplishment (the highest technology award of the US government). He was elected to member of the National Academy of Engineering in 2001. He is the recipient of numerous other awards including the International Glass Science Award (1977), SPIE Technology Achievement Award (1981), ASM Engineering Materials Achievement Award (1983), First American Innovators Award (US Dept. of Commerce 1995), Rutgers University Distinguished Alumni (2000), the Czech Gold Medal for Achievement (President Havel 2002), Fellow of the American Ceramic Society."

wikipedia entry for Peter C. Schultz

What is the justification of having redundancy the in the USVI when Global Crossings, who provides the fiber that links STX to the WWW, doesn't have it. If the fiber gets cut leaving STX not only does STX have no access to the WWW but South America is also SOL. There is no self healing or redundant loop. Global Crossings does have hot spares and back up power to make their network as reliable as possible

While you could argue that traffic could be routed to other fibers the capacity doesn't exist. Today's traffic volume world wide is so large there is very little excess capacity. Global Crossings is already using most of the tricks available to maximize the traffic on each and every fiber.

Huh? You just asked "what is the justification of having redundancy?" by arguing that Global Crossings and "South America is also SOL" without redundancy, in two paragraphs that you wrote yourself.

You all should read this wikipedia entry on submarine communications cable, noting this part in particular:

As of 2006, overseas satellite links accounted for only 1 percent of international traffic, while the remainder was carried by undersea cable. The reliability of submarine cables is high, especially when (as noted above), multiple paths are available in the event of a cable break. Also, the total carrying capacity of submarine cables is in the terabits per second while satellites typically offer only megabits per second and display higher latency. However, a typical multi-terabit, transoceanic submarine cable system costs several hundred million dollars to construct.

As a result of these cables' cost and usefulness they are highly valued not only by the corporations building and operating them for profit, but also by national governments. For instance, the Australian government considers its submarine cable systems to be “vital to the national economy.” Accordingly, the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has created protection zones that restrict activities that could potentially damage cables linking Australia to the rest of the world. The ACMA also regulates all projects to install new submarine cables.

wikipedia Submarine Communications Cable

You all should also read this entry:

wikipedia Fiber Optics

Here is a nice little map of how "unjustifiably redundant" the underwater fiber optics of the world are, note what is written in the upper left hand corner about Asia losing 70% of its capacity, and Taiwan being cut off from the Internet for weeks, and note the nice little graphic on the lower almost center right that says total capacity is 7.1 tbps with a purchased capacity of 5.7 tbps and an actual use of 2.1 tbps:

I am sure you will come up with something to rebut what I posted here, but you had better read those articles from wikipedia, because I will use the information there.

Thanks for the info, noOne!

Did I hear correctly last night, that the providers were planning to put fiber optic cables on the utility poles instead of burying them?????

Thanks for the info, noOne!

Did I hear correctly last night, that the providers were planning to put fiber optic cables on the utility poles instead of burying them?????

NP.

It would make sense to use utility poles, as there is no existing underground infrastructure for most of the areas of the islands, and the ground is really hard and expensive to dig into. I am sure in the town areas they will put it underground, especially the important lines. The problem with the poles during a strong hurricane is not too bad, as wireless infrastructure already exists - assuming those towers survive.

There are so many things that can benefit the USVI by doing this, and the Fed is willing to pick up more than 60% of the tab...

Here is an excellent article by the VI Daily News about this issue; I won't even bother to quote anything from it because it covers a lot of the range of the benefits and the detractors are, please read it:

VI Daily News article: Senators Again Defer Action On Broadband Bill

The senate did the right thing again buy stalling this bill in order to add amendments to the bill. It will eventually pass, but viNGN should not be given a blank check to do what they please.

Yeah, of course, the right thing would be to "stall this bill" on April 6th, 2011, when the federal offer of funding runs out on June 30th, 2011.

Yes, that is the intelligent thing to do, with about two and a half months to take it or not.

Why haven't they considered this before?

Not enough kickbacks, maybe?

Jamaica = 10,990 square miles ~ 82x the size of the USVI (134 square miles). Jamaica investment in island wide broadband = $6.7 Million ~ $110 Million LESS than the USVI broadband plan.

Link: http://www.caribbean360.com/index.php/business/329864.html#axzz1IrHDwi4l

Cruz, THANK YOU for that link. Not only is it cheaper, but they give specific, minimum availability (99.9) and speeds. I haven't seen any specifics other than how much money they aim to spend in the VI bill. Will Jamaica set the broadband standard in the Caribbean?

Jamaica = 10,990 square miles ~ 82x the size of the USVI (134 square miles). Jamaica investment in island wide broadband = $6.7 Million ~ $110 Million LESS than the USVI broadband plan.
Link: http://www.caribbean360.com/index.php/business/329864.html#axzz1IrHDwi4l

Under the terms of the agreement, the providers will be held to the agreed standard of 99.9 percent availability; and high speed transmission of 100 megabits per second on the backbone.

It's $6.7 million because they're building a 'broadband network' that would support 100 people on Innovative's fastest dsl plan. Not exactly a future proof network. Given how much they're paying for their infrastructure project, our $110m 'extra' would allow us to add another 1600ish people to the system. A system which is already slower than what BBVI offers and would support 1.7% of our islands population. I can't say that they are getting a good deal at all, or are being wise by investing their money so poorly.

I understand the lack of trust in who is getting what money, but as long as the project is completed, it would be worth it. Especially since the local government's ROI is so high. I wish I could double or triple my money so easy, even with having to pay a cut to someone sticking their hand in the pot.

It looks like Jamaica's project resembles the Public Community Centers grant which, according to the Daily News, totals $4,405,483, because Jamaica's project is to get the schools and other centers online. The biggest grant for VI is to build the middle mile infrastructure of 244 miles of cable. Unless we get upgraded last mile to residences, I can't see how my connection could improve. That's why I chose wireless.

It looks like Jamaica's project resembles the Public Community Centers grant which, according to the Daily News, totals $4,405,483, because Jamaica's project is to get the schools and other centers online. The biggest grant for VI is to build the middle mile infrastructure of 244 miles of cable. Unless we get upgraded last mile to residences, I can't see how my connection could improve. That's why I chose wireless.

sounds like you understand. local isps could not afford to lay the "pipe" for them to connect to. it's a lot less expensive for their engineering departments to come from the middle mile than to build the middle mile themselves. this will pay off, and it may also create more providers, including wireless providers, who can set up repeater sites and wireless access points (waps) in more places, that are reliable...

And where are they going to put these extra towers? They couldn't put one on the west side, because the community didn't want it there. I think our market is too small to support more providers, so if the current ones aren't onboard, they won't pay the connection fees. So far, it seems like the major beneficiaries are the govt - not you and me. I'm still not convinced. We'll see what happens next week.

I am always amazed at the lack of understanding about digital equipment and the information age, that the overwhelming majority of people have.

Go use your cell phone to text someone, while thinking about how the US Postal system demonstrated how to use cruise missiles to deliver intercontinental mail.

Yeah one last edit:

Upon witnessing the missile's landing, Summerfield stated, "This peacetime employment of a guided missile for the important and practical purpose of carrying mail, is the first known official use of missiles by any Post Office Department of any nation." Summerfield proclaimed the event to be "of historic significance to the peoples of the entire world", and predicted that "before man reaches the moon, mail will be delivered within hours from New York to California, to Britain, to India or Australia by guided missiles. We stand on the threshold of rocket mail

LOL @ noone... that rocket mail is email, text, tweet and social media!!!

wireless access points could be on private property, and they don't have to be towers. if you own a linksys router, you have a wireless access point that could feed a building where there was no internet, by hooking into the backbone to a provider who has enough bandwidth to serve more customers. businesses will benefit, schools, libraries, and there can be more free internet.

there are so many, many ways to deliver signal.

hmmm.....reckless just because you said so Peter. I wonder how much money Peter stands to gain from this deal.

Ya know, this demonstrates exactly what the USVI is.

This is what the people of the USVI are used to. Everything is "who is getting what, and what do I get"

there are so many, many ways to deliver signal.

Absolutely, but you have to have the backbone of the Internet of the oceans, which is fiber. The islands are surrounded by - get this - the oceans.

there are so many, many ways to deliver signal.

Absolutely, but you have to have the backbone of the Internet of the oceans, which is fiber. The islands are surrounded by - get this - the oceans.

but, the "middle mile" is all we are talking about. and we do fall down in that middle mile, all of the time.

our connection to the rest of the world (except as it pertains to points of entry, as in redundancy and reinforcement) is not covered by this grant. that is to say, what's under the ocean is another project managed by others.

but even if it did go down we could still communicate with each other during a disaster. after hurricane hugo, we were all cut off from each other and portions of the islands stayed in the "dark" for weeks or months.

we are talking about infrastructure, to help deliver more bandwidth to the interiors. this middle mile is hooked into by the isp (internet service provider) or the appropriate agency to deliver availability to the end user. some of it will be free, and there will be much more bandwidth to go around.

this is a nationwide initiative, it's not something that someone here dreamed up. it started with the president of the united states deciding that while we were giving away money we could put some aside to ensure that more people have access to more reliable, stable internet connections. in rural areas, on native american reservations, in under-served and depressed areas.

it's about time. this is "our tarp"... the key thing here is, we should spend it wisely (stay on your legislators, let them know you are WATCHING), we should spend it where it will do good for all of the people.

... and after all that...

i know, i know...

some people just don't believe that our government officials will ever do anything for the good of the people.

sometimes you have to, as they say, take the bitter with the sweet.

i have in my mind, the idea that this is for all of us, and as much of it as we can get, we will enjoy to the fullest.

on that note, y'all have a good nite and a peaceful weekend.

but, the "middle mile" is all we are talking about. and we do fall down in that middle mile, all of the time.

Again, absolutely. This is the middle mile, where interconnectivity is the key. The USVI already has international major connections through St. Croix (I'll admit I don't know enough about this) and St. Thomas, as I have said, has the AT&T building out at Picara Point, usually called Magens Point. I really don't want to go search my computers here to find it, but there is a map of the confluence of fiber, made by Peter de Blanc, covering how AT&T back in the late 1990s has major connections to Texas, Florida, Southern Europe, Africa, and Central and South America. They really do like to keep it quite - and I am sure AT&T has invested a whole lot more money into it over the decades (remember how the USVI government made them repair that beach?) than Global whatever on STX.

our connection to the rest of the world is not covered by this grant.

It already exists - it's there - it is just a case of negotiating the terms - STX, STT, PR, and/or all of the above.

after hurricane hugo, we were all cut off from each other and portions of the islands stayed in the "dark" for weeks or months.

I was on STT during Hugo. I cut the house's main power, and traded batteries in and out of a car every day to provide DC power to the outlets, using rigged 12v boat lights, etc. Fortunately, we had a separate cistern above the house, and I hooked it with a garden hose into the water heater. No heat, but we had running water, even though trickle cold showers really suck for two months running, it was better than nothing.

And how long ago was Hugo? That's when everybody here got cells because land lines hadn't been restored. Yes, they can put access points on private property and they don't have to be towers, but the current plan is too fuzzy for me to feel comfortable borrowing millions.

And yes, there is that possibility that this govt can do what's best for the community with prudency, but their track record doesn't inspire confidence. The project will take away gross receipts dollars when gross receipts are shrinking fast. Maybe they should have just stopped with the community grant.

And how long ago was Hugo? That's when everybody here got cells because land lines hadn't been restored.

ROFL. Cell phones in 1989 on STT? My father had a car cell phone (note the "car" part, because a hand held was about a 2 pound behemoth that I never saw anyone on the island have, or anywhere else for that matter, in 1989 - go watch "Hot Tub Time Machine" ) on STT in 1987, and he decided to get rid of it because it was essentially useless on the island.

Get a clue.

I probably have my hurricanes mixed up. Maybe it was Marilyn. Power was out in many parts for months. I just remember a run on cell phones after a storm.

One of the things I recall best from Hugo were the cell phones the insurance adjusters and others had...they carried a battery pack around--had a shoulder strap, sort of like a laptop bag size, and heavy...and the service on stx was most often through the BVI, so it was a few dollars a minute to talk...By Marilyn cell phones had become a bit more common, though still large and expensive...but certainly not common after Hugo

I probably have my hurricanes mixed up. Maybe it was Marilyn. Power was out in many parts for months. I just remember a run on cell phones after a storm.

believe me, the radio station i worked for invested in one of those cellular phones! it weighed maybe 3 pounds and you just sat it in the middle of the table like some monolith with the light winking away... looked ominous!

on general hospital i remember tristan rogers' character talking about the cellular phone in the car, he was so mod! and that was in the 80's.

not everyone had or could afford a cellular phone in those days! but now, they are so tiny and do so much more. ah, technology!

Luke Spencer and Robert Scorpio!! Now those were MEN. lol