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<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
color:#1F497D'>Thanks, Peter. You’re right on so many fronts. I was not
around, though, when Deutsche Telekom bid on US West – fortunately, for I’ve always
been a fan of local ownership and local self determination.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
color:#1F497D'>John <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<div style='border:none;border-top:solid #B5C4DF 1.0pt;padding:3.0pt 0in 0in 0in'>
<p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'>From:</span></b><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'> peter baston
[mailto:pete@ideapete.com] <br>
<b>Sent:</b> Thursday, March 24, 2011 10:09 AM<br>
<b>To:</b> John Badal<br>
<b>Cc:</b> David Breecker; Richard Lowenberg; 1st-mile-nm@mailman.dcn.org<br>
<b>Subject:</b> Re: [1st-mile-nm] FCC approves CenturyLink, Qwest merger with
conditions<o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
<p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:12.0pt'>John <br>
<br>
The most important part of your email is the last piece " <span
style='font-size:11.0pt;color:#1F497D'>since economics often play a minor role
in such decisions "</span> this is were the whole view on broadband and
connectivity is wrong. ( Yes i know you mean cost to service but it goes deeper
)<br>
<br>
Ill use the Kazak example. I was sent this by a friend of mine at NOAA who are
major funders in many of these initiatives as environmental data collection is
a billion dollar market and accuracy and dependability of data is a major issue
and that why huge investment is being made in systems like this ( yes US tax
dollars ) Gotta have the big backbone and then plug in the sites by
any means necessary. To them the real economic model is right up
front especially with ferengi experts writing checks and showing them how<br>
<br>
We always talk about the speed of the system and its size but pay little
attention to the return value of what it can really do and what that means in
economic returns current and in the future.<br>
<br>
You were probably present when <em>Deutsche Telekom</em> made a bid for US West
and that was the model they were using which has now been picked up by other
European Telcoms like Alcatel. Probably in your filing system its still around
, go look at the return layer value and how they wanted to go about it. Sadly
they have now been sunk in the US by smart devices like Iphones and Ipods ,
talking of which there was a great conference up here on smart radio which you
would have loved, If you want a link let me know<br>
<br>
Metcalf's law still applies especially to the ultimate $$$$$ value of what
systems can do.<br>
<br>
To understand that you have to put on your bit hat and learn what network
design best practices 101, how they are designed and and how they GROW are,
which I doubt many today do, certainly at the telcoms and cable companies I
deal with.<br>
<br>
You are totally correct in the middle mile and the "latest rush to
dooooooo something " but this again is politics with getting the
money out there before you have developed a standard and practice of how to use
the money and what the end result needs to be. Getting a local electrical
utility to commit to 30% of its value in debt to build something they do not
know how to is insanity but I am sure that problem will breed a bunch of
experts which I suppose is some form of job creation.<br>
<br>
So John next time you are up on the hill ( The pajarito one ) go ask them how
much they spend on environmental data collection and utilization ( and how they
do it ) and what that costs them to get it right and wrong ? Then
dig deeper for other uses, will not even mention parametric modeling but
that again is huge $$$ return.<br>
<br>
Then think about what the transmission of this and similar data is worth.<br>
<br>
Love the Sacred Wind metaphor,<br>
<br>
Be well<br>
<br>
( : ( : pete<br>
<br>
-- <br>
--------------------------------------<br>
Pete Baston<br>
IDEAS "I" Quality Assurance - Due Diligence <br>
<a href="http://www.ideapete.com/" target="_blank">www.ideapete.com</a><br>
Cell: 303-579-6531<br>
Mailto:<a href="mailto:pete@ideapete.com" target="_blank">pete@ideapete.com</a><o:p></o:p></p>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal>On Thu, Mar 24, 2011 at 9:48 AM, John Badal <<a
href="mailto:jbadal@sacred-wind.com">jbadal@sacred-wind.com</a>> wrote:<o:p></o:p></p>
<div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><span
style='font-size:11.0pt;color:#1F497D'>Peter,</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><span
style='font-size:11.0pt;color:#1F497D'> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><span
style='font-size:11.0pt;color:#1F497D'>Correct me if I’m wrong, but doesn’t WDM
enable each strand of a fiber route to carry an OC192, which operates at a
capacity of nearly 10 Gigs? If that’s the case, the backhaul capacity
(which is what Kazakh’s system is) of only one of our national carriers can
ramp up to 1,440 Gigs. Multiply that by the number of national and
regional fiber routes commonly possessing 96 fiber strands or 144 fiber
strands, and we get a big number. The issue really is for us, and
certainly will be for the Kazakhs (except those pillaging on horseback), how
much of it will be lit and driven to the neighborhood node to be made locally
available. I think we’re witnessing the local telcos now making a mad
rush to the node in urban areas as a pure defensive move against the Cable TV
companies. </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><span
style='font-size:11.0pt;color:#1F497D'>As for rural areas, the Broadband
Stimulus program largely backed the middle mile and, I bet, a good chunk of
that goes to rights of way payments. Do we need fiber to every node in
rural areas? My take is no, but I’ll let the policymakers make that
decision since economics often play a minor role in such decisions. </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><span
style='font-size:11.0pt;color:#1F497D'> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><span
style='font-size:11.0pt;color:#1F497D'>John</span><o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><span
style='font-size:11.0pt;color:#1F497D'> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
<div style='border:none;border-top:solid windowtext 1.0pt;padding:3.0pt 0in 0in 0in;
border-color:-moz-use-text-color -moz-use-text-color'>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><b><span
style='font-size:10.0pt'>From:</span></b><span style='font-size:10.0pt'> <a
href="mailto:1st-mile-nm-bounces@mailman.dcn.org" target="_blank">1st-mile-nm-bounces@mailman.dcn.org</a>
[mailto:<a href="mailto:1st-mile-nm-bounces@mailman.dcn.org" target="_blank">1st-mile-nm-bounces@mailman.dcn.org</a>]
<b>On Behalf Of </b>peter baston<br>
<b>Sent:</b> Wednesday, March 23, 2011 3:35 PM<br>
<b>To:</b> David Breecker<br>
<b>Cc:</b> Richard Lowenberg; <a href="mailto:1st-mile-nm@mailman.dcn.org"
target="_blank">1st-mile-nm@mailman.dcn.org</a><br>
<b>Subject:</b> Re: [1st-mile-nm] FCC approves CenturyLink, Qwest merger with
conditions</span><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'> <o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;margin-bottom:12.0pt'>Shucks
even the Kiwis are talking 100 Gig <a
href="http://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/03/17/alcatel_bids_110g_kiwi_fibre/"
target="_blank">http://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/03/17/alcatel_bids_110g_kiwi_fibre/</a>
by the french no less and look whats happening in the fourth world<br>
<br>
" Valsecchi says. Elsewhere, Kazakhstan telco Kazakhtelecom recently
put a 100Gbps link in the backbone network between Alma-Aty and
Taldy-Kurgan." <br>
<br>
Yikes where does that leave the USA ?<br>
<br>
Nice one for Jason " Kazakhtelecom is XXXXXXXX faster than our
system "<br>
<br>
( : ( : pete<o:p></o:p></p>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'>On
Wed, Mar 23, 2011 at 4:14 PM, peter baston <<a
href="mailto:pete@ideapete.com" target="_blank">pete@ideapete.com</a>>
wrote:<o:p></o:p></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'>Its
here from the " National "sic plan although its a future goal so
dvide by year and political willpower<br>
<br>
<a
href="http://newamerica.net/publications/policy/broadband_speeds_in_perspective"
target="_blank">http://newamerica.net/publications/policy/broadband_speeds_in_perspective</a><br>
<br>
<a href="http://www.broadband.gov/" target="_blank">http://www.broadband.gov/</a><br>
<br>
<i>The U.S. National Broadband Plan sets a goal of <b><span style='color:red'>4
Mbps downloads (1Mbps upload) by 2020</span></b>, which, by comparison is a
minimum of a half-decade later and often substantially slower than other
countries. The concomitant goal of 100 Mbps access for 100 million households
by 2020 would cover an estimated 74-76% of the population.<a
href="http://newamerica.net/publications/policy/broadband_speeds_in_perspective#_ftn25"
target="_blank" title="">[25]</a> 10 years ago, the United States was a
leader in broadband penetration; however, the latest OECD ranks the U.S. 15<sup>th</sup>,
behind France, Sweden, Canada, and a dozen other countries.<a
name="12ee88f3fa995786_12ee4c8309547b34__ftnre"></a><a
href="http://newamerica.net/publications/policy/broadband_speeds_in_perspective#_ftn26"
target="_blank" title="">[26]</a> As our research clearly documents, even if
the U.S. achieves its current broadband speed targets by 2020, unless it
substantially raises its broadband goals, the country will remain substantially
behind many other countries. </i><br>
<br>
Why is this a too low Junk speed, simple speeds are measured in megabits
and storage in Megabytes ( 8 bits in a byte ) so the true target for 9 years
out is .5 megabyte per second down and .125 megabyte up which I am sure is what
the target in the FCC and agreement plan defines although today who knows,
cocombinet goal is per price fluctuaion so they wil not be giving you 100 mps /
12.5 megabytes per second at $10 a month in the future or today.<br>
<br>
The Jetsons must be laughing their heads of and thank goodness for smart
wireless and Steve Jobs<br>
<br>
For those of you who are interested this is what we missed 10 years ago <a
href="http://www.ideapete.com/leapfrog.html" target="_blank">http://www.ideapete.com/leapfrog.html</a>
and why the smoke and mirrors with speeds <a
href="http://www.ideapete.com/megaBS.html" target="_blank">http://www.ideapete.com/megaBS.html</a><o:p></o:p></p>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;margin-bottom:12.0pt'><br>
<br>
( : ( : pete<br>
<br>
--------------------------------------<br>
Pete Baston<br>
IDEAS "I" Quality Assurance - Due Diligence <br>
<a href="http://www.ideapete.com/" target="_blank">www.ideapete.com</a><br>
Cell: 303-579-6531<br>
Mailto:<a href="mailto:pete@ideapete.com" target="_blank">pete@ideapete.com</a><br>
<br>
<o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
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<div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'>On
Wed, Mar 23, 2011 at 3:24 PM, David Breecker <<a
href="mailto:david@breeckerassociates.com" target="_blank">david@breeckerassociates.com</a>>
wrote:<o:p></o:p></p>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'>Does
this rely on a standard FCC definition of what constitutes
"broadband"? And would someone please remind me of what that
too-low figure is?<o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'> <o:p></o:p></p>
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<div>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><span
style='font-size:9.0pt;color:black'>dba | David Breecker Associates, Inc.</span><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><span
style='font-size:9.0pt;color:black'>Santa Fe: 505-690-2335</span><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><span
style='font-size:9.0pt;color:black'>Abiquiu: 505-685-4891</span><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><span
style='font-size:9.0pt;color:black'><a href="http://www.BreeckerAssociates.com"
target="_blank">www.BreeckerAssociates.com</a></span><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><span
style='font-size:9.0pt;color:black'> </span><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'> <o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
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<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'> <o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'>On
Mar 23, 2011, at 1:23 PM, Richard Lowenberg wrote:<o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;margin-bottom:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></p>
<div>
<div>
<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><b><span
style='font-size:10.5pt'>FCC approves CenturyLink, Qwest merger with conditions</span></b><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<p>Mar 23, 2011 12:02 PM <o:p></o:p></p>
<p><a
href="http://broadcastengineering.com/news/fcc-approves-centurylink-qwest-merger-with-conditions-20110323/"
target="_blank">http://broadcastengineering.com/news/fcc-approves-centurylink-qwest-merger-with-conditions-20110323/</a> <o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'> <o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'>The
<a href="http://www.fcc.gov/" target="_blank">FCC</a> approved the merger March
18 of <a href="http://www.centurylink.com/" target="_blank">CenturyLink</a> and
<a href="http://www.qwest.com/" target="_blank">Qwest Communications
International</a>.<o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
<p>As a condition of the approval, the FCC imposed protections against the risk
of harm to competition and ensured the merged entity will live up to its
commitments to expand its network and launch a major broadband adoption program
for low-income consumers, an FCC statement said.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p>Based on the companies’ agreement to certain conditions, the FCC found that
the potential public interest benefits of the merger are likely to outweigh the
potential harms. <o:p></o:p></p>
<p>Among the conditions for approval were steps to improve broadband adoption
for low-income households. Specifically, the conditions include requiring the
launch of a major broadband adoption program focused on connecting the millions
of low-income consumers in the combined company’s 37-state territory.<o:p></o:p></p>
<p>The company also must offer qualifying households broadband starting at less
than $10 per month and a computer for less than $150 and keep the window open
for five years for qualifying consumers to sign up. And, the company must make
a significant annual commitment to marketing, outreach and digital literacy
training and include detailed reporting on outcomes and an independent analysis
of the program’s effectiveness.<o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'> <o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><span
style='font-size:9.0pt'>------------------------------------------------------------</span><o:p></o:p></p>
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<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><span
style='font-size:9.0pt'>Richard Lowenberg<br>
P. O. Box 8001, Santa Fe, NM 87504<br>
505-989-9110 off.; 505-603-5200 cell</span><o:p></o:p></p>
</div>
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<p class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto'><span
style='font-size:9.0pt'>------------------------------------------------------------</span><o:p></o:p></p>
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