Gig.U Third Annual Report - Google Fiber's American Gigabit Internet Revolution as Jamaica starts Broadband Internet Revolution

“We think the years 2015 and 2016 will prove decisive in achieving our goal. But only if we, and others, spend this year with our foot on the accelerator”

Excerpt from Gig.U Third Annual Report on the adoption of Fiber Optic Services by Americans

Looks like America is slowly falling in love with Gigabit Internet.

All thanks to Google Fiber which was launched in 2010 as stated in “Google exec sees Google Fiber as a 'moneymaker'”, published May 30, 2013 11:39 AM PDT by Marguerite Reardon, CNET News and began to shake up the American consciousness and awareness of the importance of Gigabit Internet.

In the process Google Fiber fulfilled the ambitions mandate set by the FCC Federal Communications Commission) National Broadband Plan, an ambitious plan to roll out FTTH (Fiber to The Home) not only to homes but Public Government, High School and Private businesses.

At least that's what the Gig.U, a 40 University Consortium of Research had envisioned. Gig.U has noticed now that Americans are getting hip to Fiber Optic based Gigabit Internet as stated in “Race to Gigabit Internet Service takes off”, published August 31, 2014 4:00 AM PDT by Larry Downes, CNET News.

Gig.U, the brainchild of Chief Author of the National Broadband Plan and the founder of Gig.U, Blair Levin, published their Third Annual Report on their progress on getting communities to deploy Gigabit Fiber Optic Networks. Gig.U 40 University strong community created Proposals that were floated to Gigabit Internet Providers, indicating that they as University Lecturers and Staff desired Gigabit Internet in their community.

By making it clear that there was a demand for such High-Speed Fiber Optic Services and the member of these University Towns were able to pay for the Service, Gigabit Internet Providers such as AT&T U-Verse and Verizon FiOS were more likely to deploy.

By doing this, Gig.U partially solved a Chicken vs the Egg dilemma that doomed earlier Fiber Optic Plans in the 90's where Fiber Optic Cable was laid but the demand for High Speed Internet wasn't there as noted in “Is fiber-optic construction creating overkill?”, published June 21, 2001 4:20 PM PDT By Sam Ames, CNET News.

That was back in the Web 1.0 Era of GIF's, pop-up ads and flat plain websites with email as the main means of communication, before Web 2.0 that now has Video and Audio Streaming Services, real time VoIP Services and Social Networking.

Gig.U Third Annual Report - Google Fiber got the Ball Rolling and Telecom Provider are Following

Fast forward the Second Decade of the 21^st Century.

Now with Gigabit Internet plans progressing, a new Chicken vs the Egg dilemma has emerged. Services and Platforms tailored for Gigabit Internet Services, such as 4K UHDTV (Ultra High Definition Television) Streaming Services, possibly with 3D are now needed to take advantage of the Gigabit Internet Speeds.

Especially as Television sets such as the Samsung Curved U9000 UHDTV was recently launched as noted in my Geezam blog article entitled “Samsung unveils their First Curved Ultra High Definition TV, the U9000 Series at Mona Visitors Lodge”.

Until Gigabit Internet Providers build their Fiber Optic Networks, there's no reason to develop such Services. Meanwhile, the Gigabit Internet Providers are themselves awaiting the rise in such Services and Platforms tailored for Gigabit Internet Services to start using up that Dark Fiber Capacity that was left unused from the 90's for which Google Fiber has found a use.

As I’d mentioned Google got the Ball rolling with Google Fiber in 2010 with the City of Kansas, Missouri becoming the first Google Fiber Town to have FTTH Gigabit Internet.

Since February 2014 Google has been going all out with some 34 cities slated to get Google Fiber as noted in “34 Cities Working to Land Google Fiber”, published FEBRUARY 19, 2014 03:43PM EST BY STEPHANIE MLOT, PcWorld and “Google Fiber bulks up with plans for 9 more regions”, published February 19, 2014 11:36 AM PST by Seth Rosenblatt, CNET News.

It has become a sort of Game of Gigabit Internet Service Providers, a fight to see who can roll out High Speed Wired, Fiber Optic and Wireless Data Networks first.

Google Fiber has sparked a sort of Arms Race, if you will, with the Telecom Providers and Cable Providers, who are now buying up and re-activating the unused Dark Fiber to feed this coming Demand for High-Speed Fiber Optic Broadband Services.

Gigabit Internet – AT&T with U-Verse, In-Flight Satellite Broadband and Satellite Broadband

Google has certainly been a huge catalyst in Broadband explosion within the US of A, with Telecom Providers AT&T and Verizon, Cable Provider Cox and CenturyLink rolling out Fiber Optic and upgraded Cable Internet Networks long before demand even rears its head as noted in “Google’s fiber effect: Fuel for a broadband explosion”, published April 30, 2014 4:00 AM PDT by Marguerite Reardon, CNET News.

Ironically, one of the last places to receive Fiber Optic Broadband is the city of Cupertino, California as stated in “AT&T to deliver 1Gbps broadband to Silicon Valley”, published August 19, 2014 11:12 PM PDT by Marguerite Reardon, CNET News. They’ll be getting their Gigabit Internet Fix in September 2014. Good to note that Cupertino, California is the home of Apple Inc, makers of the Apple iPhone located on 1 Infinite Loop Drive.

Cupertino, California is a city you’d think would naturally take to Gigabit Internet readily, so it’s surprising that they’re the last to get it, especially as Mountain View, California has Gigabit Internet.

It took awhile but by April 2014 Telecom Provider AT&T, having launched AT&T U-Verse in a few select cities began to roll out their expansion plans to approximately 21 cities in the US of A as stated in my blog article entitled “AT&T launching 4G LTE powered Wi-Fi and expanding AT&T U-Verse - AT&T offensive as Google sprouts 1 Gigabit IEEE 802.11ac Wi-Fi Protocol as Jamaica catches up”.

They also began laying out plans for the expansion of their 4G LTE (Long Term Evolution) for In-flight Aircraft in partnership with Honeywell and Immarsat, who had already partnered to provide In-Flight Satellite Broadband as reported back in April 2012 as stated in my blog article entitled “Honeywell partners with Immarsat for In-Flight Satellite Broadband in 2013AD - Konshens Gal a Bubble for Qualcomm Airplane Broadband”.

AT&T then began to put in place plans for a Satellite Broadband Network with the acquired DirecTV and their Satellites along with its spectrum for some US$48.5 billion in May 2014 as stated in my blog article entitled “AT&T buys DirectTV for US$48.5 Billion Dollars - Spectrum Grab for Satellite Broadband to compete with Google and Facebook”.

AT&T vs Google – Billion Dollar Battle of Wired, Fiber Optic and Wireless Data Networks

Google responded yet again, albeit not directly, with reports surfacing in June 2014 that Google was partnering with Dutch-based O3b Networks Ltd to build a fleet of Low Altitude Circular Orbit and Medium Altitude Elliptical Orbit in the 1,500 lb category building up as explained in my blog article entitled “Google and O3B Network Limited partner on Satellite Broadband Project – How to set up a Satellite Broadband Network”.

Cable Provides such as Cox have also joined the party as stated in the article http://www.cnet.com/news/cox-to-join-Gigabit-broadband-party/ with their own adoption of DOCSIS 3.1 and planned rollouts of Gigabit Internet.

After all, that’s where the technology is heading, drive mostly by a shift towards Streaming as the number of so-called Cord Cutters shift towards more Netflix Style Streaming as predicted in my blog article entitled “Cable TV subscriptions Declines as the Connected Home boost IPTV Streaming”.

So folks, it’s a Billion Dollar Battle of Wired, Fiber Optic and Wireless Data Networks between Google and the Telecoms Providers. This is only set to get nice by the time Christmas 2014 arrives!

Services using Gigabit Internet – UHDTV Streaming to Real-Time 3D Printing

So what kinds of Services use Gigabit Internet?

Good question, as off the top of my head I can only think of UHDTV 3D Streaming as I’ve long envisioned in my blog article entitled “Telecom Provider and 100MBps - Diamonds are Forever”. Other possible Gigabit Services include:

1.      Smart grids

2.      Internet of Things

3.      Distance learning

4.      Video Calling

5.      Tele-health

6.      3D Video Gaming

7.      Immersive 3D Movies

8.      Real-time 3D-Printing

All that Speed means that computers will also have to have better memory, Faster Processors and bigger Hard-Drives. So not only does the Gigabit Service have to be in place, but the Laptops, Desktops, smartphones and Tablets all have to be designed to handle the much faster Speed. Otherwise the improvements will be wasted on older equiptment that’s not optimized for such faster Speeds.

National Broadband Plan and the founder of Gig.U, Blair Levin – Modern day Bugsy Siegel

I must say at this point the Lead Author of the National Broadband Plan and the founder of Gig.U, Blair Levin reminds me of the Mafia Gangsters back in the 1950 who built Las Vegas in the middle of the Nevada Desert. They knew that people wanted an escape from prohibition and a place to gamble and drink all they wanted and Nevada was a state where it was perfectly legal.

So Bugsy Siegel convinced the Mob to loan him money to build up an entire city with hotels and Casinos in the middle of the Desert, far away from Law Enforcement where people could come and gamble and drink and smoke all they wanted. In the same way Bugsy Siegel was a visionary, so too was the Lead Author of the National Broadband Plan and the founder of Gig.U, Blair Levin.

Even the mad rush to build out Fiber Optic capacity in the 90's that was never used was also visionary, as with this burst of interest in Gigabit Internet, Telecom Providers are now finding uses for this Dark Fiber they had all this time.

In the words of Chief Author of the National Broadband Plan and the founder of Gig.U, Blair Levin, quote: “We've always believed that if you build it, the applications -- and the users -- will come”

America’s Gigabit Internet Revolution – Jamaicans aware of Broadband Internet by CLARO

Americans had to basically go through a consciousness shift from a state of just using the Internet for Email at work, Web 1.0, to desiring to have the Internet at home to supplant their Television set via this current trends toward Social Media and Streaming as pointed out in my blog article entitled “Nielsen Stats record continued decline in Music Downloads - Developed World Streaming will catch on in Developed World once we get 4G LTE”, the so called Web 2.0.

Jamaica is set to start going through a similar consciousness shift as well, a Big Prediction of mine, when 4G LTE launches later next year thanks to our two Telecom Providers as stated in my blog article entitled “Digicel and LIME's 4G LTE Adoption in Jamaica – Budget Tablets with Microsoft Productivity Software spark Wireless Broadband Revolution”.

Triple Play Provider FLOW, a Cable Broadband operator, already has 100MBps Broadband Internet in Jamaica as it even powers Milk River's Private WiMaX Network as described in my blog article entitled “FLOW rolls out Hosted PBX - How 100 MBs FLOW Ultra can power a Private WiMaX Community Network”.

But aside from Enterprise and Corporate Customers, there have been few takers of the Service since CLARO Jamaica introduced Jamaicans to the fact that 3G Wireless Internet was even possible as noted in my Geezam blog article entitled “Apple iPhone boosts Jamaican smartphone usage as BB goes Chapter 11 Bankruptcy”

So we are now aware that Wireless Broadband is possible, sparking interest among Consumers that faster Speeds may be possible as well, hence the interest in 4G LTE. So why hasn't this shift towards High-Speed Broadband occurred before?

Jamaica’s Broadband Internet Revolution – Streaming IPTV as we’re not there yet for FTTH

What's hampering it is that there is no organized lobby Group within Jamaica that's demanding or petitioning Telecom Providers or even the Government to provide such High-Speed Fiber Optic, Cable Broadband or Wireless Broadband. We are undergoing a financial crisis after all and it’s kinda difficult to get Jamaicans to see beyond bread-and-butter issues, let alone have a discussion on a topic so few persons in Jamaica like discussing on Radio or Television.

So Telecom Provider LIME push towards FTTH in Jamaica may take awhile as they're more focused on boosting revenue by 25% using 4G LTE as stated in my blog article entitled “LIME experiences 25% increase in Profits due to MTR - 4G LTE and FTTH like Bahamas with IPTV Streaming LIME TV will give LIME 3 Days to Kill”

Ditto that too for Telecom Provider Digicel, who are looking for a similar 25% boost in profit from 4G LTE's deployment in Jamaica next years as noted in my blog article entitled “Digicel to invest US$85 million in 4G LTE Network - 25% of Total revenue from ICT as 4G LTE Investments designed to weather the coming Summer WhatsApp Storm”.

Both Telecom Providers know that Jamaicans aren't desirous of Broadband Internet for Educational Purposes, but rather purely for entertainment. To that end, Streaming IPTV Cable Services are the thing, which explains why Telecom Provider Digicel gobbled up Telstar Cable as stated in my blog article entitled “Digicel acquires Telstar Cable – 4G LTE with a dash of Streaming Cable TV Service”.

Aside from just using is as a Backhaul for their 4G LTE Services, they can use it to provide the Cable Licenses and content in order to offer IPTV Streaming Services to customer’s islandwide as a counterweight to LIME TV.

This probably what Telecom Provider LIME is doing by using their excess Fiber Optic Backhaul to provision their FTTH Services back in November 2011 using the upscale communities of Rhyne Park Community in St. James and Morris Meadows community located in St. Catherine as Guinea Pigs as stated in my blog article entitled “LIME goes FTTH like Verizon's FiOS - Free ADSL after FTTH Mass Adoption”.

RJR Communications Group TVJ Everywhere – Ramping up as 4G LTE ushers in  Streaming

The RJR Communications Group realizes that IPTV Streaming is pathway towards Broadband Internet Adoption in Jamaica. They are also aware that it will destroy them in the long run it grows unchecked and they're not putting out their own IPTV Streaming offer, despite their lack of Local Content.

Hence, they planning to launch their own UVOD powered VOD (Video on Demand) IPTV Streaming Service, TVJ Everywhere in October 2014 to unify all of the RJR Communications Group Services on one common Streaming Platform as stated in my blog article entitled “RJR Communications Group Launching TVJ Everywhere - How Streaming TVJ Everywhere will boost Advertising Revenue as Digicel and LIME TV coming”.

This is where we’re at folks.

While America is on the cusp of a Gigabit Internet Revolution thanks to Google Fiber and Gig.U using up all that Dark Fiber, we in Jamaica are still just trying to get citizens even barely interested in a Broadband Internet Revolution! Unless the Telecom Providers and the Broadcaster can see themselves making profit from this introduction of these Services, they will have no interest in providing them.

Here’s the link:

Gig.U Third Annual Report