[1st-mile-nm] John Brown post

Thu Dec 8 06:54:37 PST 2016

All things being equal (viz. accurate/correct), John Brown’s overview of the wide divergence in competing proposals re: fibre deployment in ABQ sounds all too common.  It’s also an issue that a consortium of strategy, research and engineering talent recently completed for the City of Lethbridge in Alberta, Canada.  I was a member of that audit and planning consortium.

A couple of key factors in the success we had as a consulting group might be relevant here.  First, it is noteworthy that Lethbridge had already declared its desire to seek Intelligent Community accreditation, and had engaged a top-level consultant to guide the City in engaging leaders to identify, imbue and align city stakeholders in working toward that accreditation.  It nonetheless became apparent we still had some work cut out for us in terms of bringing together the various groups and agendas with the City’s administrative environment.

While hardly the first team ever to encounter such inter- and intradepartmental complexities and dynamics, there are a couple of factors worth noting that might be of some use in the land of Enchantment (which I mention with serious fondness -- my wife and daughters and I are frequent travelers to NM).

1. Expert and dedicated facilitator – our team was lead by a singularly talented human networker who toiled way beyond his contract amount in order to literally weave the strands of communication-based trust that were for our work and certainly will be required in order for the City to move forward.  

2. Understanding that any proposal has to be comprehensive – the very make-up of our team revealed a range and depth of expertise, from technical to community engagement to the long-term social context, and so our final report covered all the bases up front.  This is critical in ensuring no one group/agenda runs away with the project, as is all too common in the history of broadband design and deployment and is maybe at play in ABQ.

3. Undertaking the planning work with focus and frankness – these projects and undertakings are way too expensive and mission-critical for the future to be muddling about with half-baked ideas and shallow approaches.  In particular, after the initial and readily quantifiable work of the engineering, economics and ROIs etc. has been done, community engagement is *the* next critical step that needs to be deep and sincere.  And the blood flow in all this is strategic communication, not just information push and marketing.  The difference between the two is that strategic communication over the medium-to-long term creates the conditions for stakeholder network buy-in and then commercial uptake that is organic, and therefore bolted right onto/into the identity and energy of the community, making it systemic and sustainable; marketing is typically short-term, based on a build-it-and-they-will-come mentality, and usually in the interests of the business partners only.  Examples of this abound, including Olds, Alberta, Connected Tennessee and Sandy, Oregon.

The devil’s in the details, of course, but we really are so far beyond in our understanding of what is required to make broadband projects like this really fly that it is surprising to still be hearing stories like the one posted here.  Hopefully, description of our light project sheds some light. 

Best regards,

______________

Mark Wolfe, PhD
Adjunct Professor, University of Calgary; University of Alberta
Senior Research Fellow, Van Horne Institute • Creator, Digital Futures Symposia

On 2016-12-07, 1:00 PM, "1st-mile-nm on behalf of 1st-mile-nm-request at mailman.dcn.org" <1st-mile-nm-bounces at mailman.dcn.org on behalf of 1st-mile-nm-request at mailman.dcn.org> wrote:

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    Today's Topics:

       1. Re: Fiber Installation Creates 'Digital Backbone' in
          Albuquerque, N.M. (catch all)

    ----------------------------------------------------------------------

    Message: 1
    Date: Tue, 6 Dec 2016 16:00:51 -0700
    From: catch all <catch at citylinkfiber.com>
    To: rl at 1st-mile.org
    Cc: 1st-mile Nm <1st-mile-nm at mailman.dcn.org>
    Subject: Re: [1st-mile-nm] Fiber Installation Creates 'Digital
    	Backbone' in Albuquerque, N.M.
    Message-ID:
    	<CAMYSzZ3-Oyn0gD3DFpRGpxSpFSi3JEOhXf7hk_pAUDFkKFpAaQ at mail.gmail.com>
    Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"

    Greetings:

    On the surface this seems like a great idea.  But as is always the case,
    the devil is in the details.

    Recently CABQ's CIO stated that it would cost $250K per mile to build this
    fiber project.
    When asked for the details of what is included in that $250K per mile cost,
    the CIO was unable to provide
    details.  Further requests have yet to produce a specific cost detail that
    gets to $250K per mile.

    Compared with our construction costs to place fiber in the ground, this
    $250K is very expensive.
    Our typical costs have been below $100K per mile in downtown to place fiber
    underground, all done
    all finished and ready for service.

    With the economies of scale that the other parts of this ART project
    brings, one would expect the cost
    per mile to be even lower.

    The City has not produced any sort of detail on network architecture or
    design.

    The City has not produced any sort of pricing for use of this fiber.

    The City has not answered many questions about who is responsible for
    construction of laterals off of this
    fiber backbone.   For example:  Lets say Lobo.Net wanted to use this fiber
    to connect a customer.  But that
    customer is 150 feet from where the City's conduit/fiber is located.  Who
    pays for that lateral construction?
    Who owns that lateral ?  Who owns the fiber in that lateral ?  If Lobo.net
    is responsible for that lateral, then
    does Lobo.Net need to get a Rights of Way ("Franchise") agreement with the
    City and then pay additional
    fees to the City ??

    The City has not provided any sort of information about SLA, repairs,
    response to repair, etc

    What happens two years from now when someone on the north side of Central
    wants service, yet the
    fiber is on the south side of the street ?   Will the City allow their new
    ART road to be trenched / cut ??

    With 288 strands of fiber in the initial cable, at best that is 288
    customers, all home run feed back to
    some aggregation point.  Sure, you could split that, but then you still
    need additional equipment.

    Will this be dark fiber, or is the City putting electronics on it.

    Yet, The City of ABQ has been presented a fully funded proposal that would
    have brought more than 100 miles
    of dark fiber to the City of Albuquerque

    It would have provided 12 strands of Dark Fiber to every school in
    Albuquerque for FREE.
    Thats every Pre-K thru 12th Grade, Public or Private

    It would have provided 12 strands of Dark Fiber to every MAJOR healthcare
    provider in the city for FREE
    One healthcare provider I know spends more than $300K a month on telecom
    costs.  That would be evaporated.!

    It would have provided 24 strands of Dark Fiber to every CABQ building and
    site.
    It would have provided FREE WiFi to every Park and Community Center in the
    City for FREE.
    Imagine sitting at a park and having reliable 802.11ac WiFi available?

    It would have enabled a 4.9Ghz public safety network that would allow First
    Responders high speed network
    access around the City.

    It would have provided gun-shot detection to help solve violent crimes
    quicker and at less cost.

    It would have provided GIGABIT service to homes for $79.95 a month and to
    businesses for $595 a month
    Full true Gigabit, Fully symmetrical Gigabit.

    All for a single one time cost that could have been paid out over 5 years.
    All completely NEUTRAL to the City's Budget.  (Read NO NEW TAXES OR FEES)
    After the one time payment there would NEVER HAVE BEEN ANOTHER CHECK
    WRITTEN BY THE CITY.
    This would represent a savings of more than $2,000,000.00 per year FOR EVER!

    Yet, the City's Director of Innovation, hasn't been able to sort out how to
    move it forward, and wants to spend
    2 to 3x the cost to build a short little segment on Central Ave.

    Why must we continue to be myopic in this State, this City ??

    I've been silent about the extreme waste that exists in our state with
    respects to broadband.  No more!
    I've spent the last year executing IRPA's and have compiled a large amount
    of data on how the many entities
    are wasting huge amounts of tax payer money.  Report will be published soon.

    Its time we truly elevate the infra-structure and not just talk about it.
     its time for real action

    With respects
    John Brown, CEO
    CityLink Telecommunications NM, LLC
    And yes I DO SPEAK FOR MY COMPANY

    ps: Hopefully Richard doesn't censor this email

    On Tue, Dec 6, 2016 at 9:46 AM, Richard Lowenberg <rl at 1st-mile.org> wrote:

    > Fiber Installation Creates 'Digital Backbone' in Albuquerque, N.M.
    >
    > Albuquerque is paying $1 million for the line, half of what it would have
    > cost if the city didn't include the fiber installation in an ongoing
    > private-sector project.
    >
    > BY KEVIN ROBINSON-AVILA, ALBUQUERQUE JOURNAL (ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.) /
    > DECEMBER 5, 2016
    >
    > http://www.govtech.com/dc/articles/Fiber-Installation-Create
    > s-Digital-Backbone-in-Albuquerque-NM.html
    >
    > (TNS) -- Businesses and neighborhoods along Central Avenue could soon be
    > getting high-speed internet service at an affordable price, thanks to a
    > fiber optic line the city is installing from Louisiana to Coors as part of
    > the Albuquerque Rapid Transit project.
    >
    > The city included the fiber line in its contract with HDR, the engineering
    > firm managing ART construction. The fiber line will cost less than half
    > what it would as a separate project, because ART contractors are already
    > ripping up streets and digging ditches where the line will be installed,
    > said Peter Ambs, the city?s chief information officer.
    >
    > Albuquerque is paying $1 million for the line, using city bond money
    > approved by voters in 2013. Had the fiber been laid separately from ART, it
    > could have cost about $243,000 per mile, or a total of about $2.5 million,
    > according to estimates by CTC Technology and Energy, a Washington, D.C.,
    > consulting firm contracted by HDR.
    >
    > Installation will run parallel to the ART construction timeline, allowing
    > the fiber to come online as rapid transit service begins in late 2017, Ambs
    > said.
    >
    > The city will own the fiber infrastructure. But it will provide open
    > access for community broadband and internet service providers to hook up
    > businesses, institutions and neighborhoods to the system. That could allow
    > those providers to offer broadband access to end users at lower costs than
    > what is available today, Ambs said.
    >
    > ?We?ll provide open access to the fiber backbone, making it available to
    > any and all community groups and internet providers to offer broadband
    > services to constituents along Central Avenue and adjoining neighborhoods,?
    > Ambs said. ?This can help them provide internet services at lower costs
    > because the core foundation will already be installed.?
    >
    > In addition, the project will connect the emerging Innovation District
    > along Central Avenue, the University of New Mexico and the city?s own
    > networks together into a high-speed platform that could significantly
    > advance research, development and deployment of next-generation ?smart
    > city? initiatives and potentially entice more private sector investment
    > Downtown.
    >
    > ?It?s all part of our revitalization efforts along Central Avenue,? Mayor
    > Richard Berry told the Journal. ?It?s a digital backbone for connecting our
    > citizens with public services online and connecting businesses along
    > Central to high-speed internet. It can be a catalyst for investment.?
    >
    > The fiber line will help facilitate plans for new digital services and
    > infrastructure, such as smart LED street lighting, mobile pay and ticketing
    > for ART users and smart parking meters, Berry said.
    >
    > The new fiber line will immediately offer huge broadband capacity, plus
    > ability for easy upgrades in the future, Ambs said. The line itself
    > includes 288 strands of fiber.
    >
    > ?With just a pair of fiber strands, you can provide gigabits of
    > capability, so with 288 strands, it?s almost unlimited what you can do with
    > it,? Ambs said.
    >
    > The piping that holds the fiber has four separate tubes, with the current
    > line occupying just one of those tubes. That means more fiber can be pulled
    > through the other tubes as needed to increase capacity in the future
    > without ripping up the streets again.
    >
    > ?We want to see the Google fiber-type service that exists in other cities
    > become available here, with gigabit speeds at about $79 per month and 100
    > megabits at $49,? Ambs said.
    >
    > Ricardo Aguilar, founder and CEO of the cloud-based computer, storage and
    > network infrastructure provider Seamlus LLC, said the new fiber line could
    > significantly improve the availability of affordable broadband by making
    > the market more competitive for more internet service providers.
    >
    > ?It will provide the infrastructure needed for smaller guys to tap into
    > and start bringing down costs,? Aguilar said. ?It could allow them to
    > better compete with the bigger players by offering more affordable
    > services. That will give our citizens and our universities and research
    > institutions better access to high-speed internet.?
    >
    > ?2016 the Albuquerque Journal (Albuquerque, N.M.) Distributed by Tribune
    > Content Agency, LLC.
    >
    >
    > ---------------------------------------------------------------
    > Richard Lowenberg, Executive Director
    > 1st-Mile Institute     505-603-5200
    > Box 8001, Santa Fe, NM 87504,
    > rl at 1st-mile.org     www.1st-mile.org
    > ---------------------------------------------------------------
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