Recently in the Fiber Category

We tend to think of the Internet as something that comes available in two speeds: slow and fast. The slow dial-up service is going the way of the rotary phone. As for the faster service, while the prudent comparative shopper in all of us may try to compare the merits of high-speed DSL versus cable Internet service, deep down we know they're really not all that different. Both provide reasonably quick connections most of the time, interrupted by occasional painfully slow periods that tend to happen smack in the middle of a work or a holiday shopping deadline.
But Internet speed may be more relative than we think. Comcast's recently announced plans to increase the speed of its broadband connections some ten-fold was not all that widely reported last week, perhaps because many critics are skeptical it will deliver. But if the cable provider makes good on its promise, it could be one of those watershed moments that dramatically changes the way we use computers in every day work and play.

The company says its superfast service will transport 160 megabits of data per second, compared with its current speed of 16 megabits per second. It says the higher speed will be sufficient to download a two-hour movie in just four minutes. But clearly, it's not just home entertainment that will benefit from such an ultra-fast connection speed.

Years ago when people like Bill Gates and Steve Jobs were prophesying about a PC on every desktop, most people had no idea what they would do with their own personal mini-mainframe. And not that long ago, many of us were content with dial-up Internet, which was more than sufficient for the occasional email we sent.
I'm not sure what the world will look like when Internet connections are ten, or even just five times faster than they are today, but I'm pretty sure it will lead to another wave of innovation that will make us look back nostalgically on today's status quo.

Yesterday the NYT ran a story on the new Intel chip that is designed to enable HD quality video. The other driver of web video is bandwidth and we are seeing significant strides in this as well.  The Washington Post reported that Verizon has more than 700,000 Fios subscribers and ATT 126,000 subsribers of its U-Verse product -- and they are just beginning to role these services out.  The combination of these new chips and the bandwidth that these services offer, could mean true web video will be available much sooner than we initially thought.   

Tim Carroll, Director of Marketing and Product Management with SmartCity shared with me many of the applications that they are currently providing to their customers over Fiber networks.  In addition, he provided some insight into the types of applications and customer requirements that he sees in the pipeline.   

In attendng the FTTH Conference and Expo in Orlando earlier this week, I hadthe chance to meet and talk with RVA President, Michael Render who shared some of the interesting data from a recent study they conducted on the number of homes with access to fiber and the take rate on the Fiber offerings. Listen to what Michael had to say.