volo broadband and the digital divide -- peter folk
TRANSCRIPT
Overview
• About me and Volo• How Volo works
– How the internet works – The big picture– Wireless last mile– Volo Topology
• The Federal Stimulus Package– The rural digital divide– Champaign County Backbone– Champaign County Volo
• Discussion
Volo: The Facts
• Local ISP—providing high speed internet to the Champaign-Urbana area
• Cutting-edge technology– 4x faster than DSL, Cable– 2x faster than T1– Covers most of C-U area
• Cutting-edge price (~$30/mo)• Unprecedented ease of use
– Multiple computers no-hassle– Automatic firewall protection
• Community-friendly– Supports free wireless initia-
tives for low-income areas– Free service to schools &
churches– High-tech School-to-work
Program
• Active in Chamber of Commerce and other local organizations
• Developing technology to help people meet their neighbors
Total user satisfaction / Total community support
-- Peter Folk, CEO and founder
Overview
• About me and Volo• How Volo works
– How the internet works – The big picture– Wireless last mile– Volo Topology
• The Federal Stimulus Package– The rural digital divide– Champaign County Backbone– Champaign County Volo
• Discussion
The Big Picture
Yahoo
CNN
NetworkAccessPoint
Tier 1Provider
(eg AT&T)
Tier 1Provider
(eg Sprint)
Your ISP
LocalWebsite
YourHouse
The Big Picture
Yahoo
CNN
NetworkAccessPoint
Tier 1Provider
(eg AT&T)
Tier 1Provider
(eg Sprint)
Your ISP
LocalWebsite
YourHouse
Connections can be fast (aka big) or slow (aka small),sending more or less information each second: Bandwidth
Pipes and Packets• Only one person can talk at a time on a given line• So you break up the conversation into little pieces
Their message:
Your message:
Your ISP
LocalWebsite
YourHouse
Four score and seven years ago, our forefathers…
We the people of the United States of America…
Internet
Pipes and Packets• Only one person can talk at a time on a given line• So you break up the conversation into little pieces
=> The Internet Protocol (IP) uses “packets” to allow many people to share one line
Their message:
Your message:
Your ISP
LocalWebsite
YourHouse
Four score and seven years ago, our forefathers…
We the people of the United States of America…
Internet
Four We th score e peo and
seven f the year
Pipes and Packets• Only one person can talk at a time on a given line• So you break up the conversation into little pieces
=> The Internet Protocol (IP) uses “packets” to allow many people to share one line
Their message:
Your message:
Your ISP
LocalWebsite
YourHouse
Four score and seven years ago, our forefathers…
We the people of the United States of America…
Internet
Four We th sc e peoore and
seven f the year
Some packets are bigger than others
Pipes and Packets• Only one person can talk at a time on a given line• So you break up the conversation into little pieces
=> The Internet Protocol (IP) uses “packets” to allow many people to share one line
Your message:
Your message:
Your ISP
LocalWebsite
YourHouse
Four score and seven years ago, our forefathers…
We the people of the United States of America…
Internet
Four We th sc e peoore and
seven f the year
Bigger pipes carry more pps (packetsper second) than the smaller pipe
More on Packets
A packet can contain any kind of information:
– Web text (about 1/3 page per packet)– Music (about 1/10th of a second)– Low-definition Video (1/5th of a second)– HD Video (1/200th of a second)– Digital photos (1/2000th of a high-resolution photo)– Phone (about 1/5th of a second fits in a big packet, but usually
phone uses small packets with 1/20th of a second or less)
One connection can carry different services to your home,so long as they all use the “Internet Protocol” (IP)
Streaming
Streaming is where you watch or listen to a program while it is being downloaded or uploaded:
– Packets are received, played, and discarded, instead of being saved to permanent storage (like a hard drive)
– Streaming a high-resolution TV episode requires 2mbps– Streaming a satellite-quality TV channel requires 8mbps or more– Streaming upload of low-definition video (eg, video chat)
requires .5 mbps or more– New services will require more bandwidth.
Streaming allows you to start watching or listening much sooner than if you had to download a whole program but you have to stream it again next time you want to watch it!
Bandwidth
The Bandwidth of your connection determines what content is usable
– “Upstream” bandwidth determines how quickly you can send something for someone else to look at, read, watch, hear, or play
– “Downstream” bandwidth determines how quickly your connection can receive something for you to look at, read, watch, hear, or play
– Bandwidth = packet size (in bits) * packets per second
Download Download Start videoSpeed Song Movie (Streaming) Upload
Photo1mbps 36 seconds 1.6 hours 5 seconds 24 seconds10mbps 3.6 seconds 36 mins .5 seconds 2.4 seconds100mbps .3 seconds 3.6 mins .05 seconds .2 seconds1gbps* .03 seconds 22 seconds .005 seconds .02 seconds
* 1gbps = 1000mbps. Orange indicates “good enough”—faster than most people would notice.
The Big Picture
Yahoo
CNN
NetworkAccessPoint
Tier 1Provider
(eg AT&T)
Tier 1Provider
(eg Sprint)
Your ISP
LocalWebsite
YourHouse
The Last Mile
YourHouse
Your ISP
Wireless Analogy
Wireless communication is like talking in a room
Wireless Analogy
Wireless communication is like talking in a room– You can talk fast or slow (fast = more BPS)
Wireless Analogy
Wireless communication is like talking in a room– You can talk fast or slow (fast = more BPS)– Harder to hear if
• You’re farther away• There are more people talking• There’s more background noise• You’re talking faster
Wireless Analogy
Wireless communication is like talking in a room– More data per second = talking faster– Harder to hear if
• You’re farther away• There are more people talking• There’s more background noise• You’re talking faster
– You can break people up into groups• They can talk quieter and faster to each other• The groups’ leaders can talk to each other
Wireless Topology Options
• Determines who can talk directly to whom
Wireless Topology Options
• Determines who can talk directly to whom– Dependant on physical topology (distance,
obstructions, etc)
Wireless Topology Options
• Determines who can talk directly to whom– Dependant on physical topology (distance,
obstructions, etc)
Compare Urbana (“Tree City USA”) to
Manhattan (big buildings)
Wireless Topology Options
• Determines who can talk directly to whom– Dependant on physical topology (distance,
obstructions, etc)– Dependant on radio characteristics (speed, power,
congestion control)
Wireless Topology Options
• Determines who can talk directly to whom– Dependant on physical topology (distance,
obstructions, etc)– Dependant on radio characteristics (speed,
power, congestion control)
• Options:– Star (aka “hub and spoke”)– Mesh– Volo
Star topology
CPE (CustomerPremise equip.)
RJ45 Ethernet Wall Jack
Radio Tower
Customer Site Customer Site
Customer Site
~2-5 Mbps Ethernet
Link
2.4 or 5.8ghz radio signal
2-30mbps
Internet
Star notes
• Cheap
• Simple
• BUT– Doesn’t scale well (>100 users)
Mesh topology
CPE (CustomerPremise equip.)
RJ45 Ethernet Wall Jack
Customer site
Customer Site Customer Site
Customer Site
~2-5 Mbps Ethernet
LinkCustomers access ‘net
through other customers
Internet
Mesh notes
• Organic
• Low overhead
• “Community” brownie points
• BUT– Very inefficient (slow)– Unpredictable (who is offline if a customer
quits?)– Short range (no towers)
Volo topology
Umbrellas of coverage
Volo notes
• Hierarchical cellular design
• Low overhead initially
• Wide coverage
• Unlimited scaling
• Predictable coverage
• BUT– More towers
Overview
• About me and Volo• How Volo works
– How the internet works – The big picture– Wireless last mile– Volo Topology
• The Federal Stimulus Package– The rural digital divide– Champaign County Backbone– Champaign County Volo
• Discussion
The Federal Stimulus Package
• $7.2 billion of Federal stimulus money is set aside for broadband
• Targeting unserved (no internet) and underserved (slow internet) areas
• Collaboration with and letters of support from Cities, townships, increases the likelihood of being funded
• Applications submitted in August, grants will be awarded in December
The Rural Digital Divide
• Infrastructure costs money• Time costs money• Rural areas have few people per unit area
– Fewer people per infrastructure dollar– More wasted $ in support logistics– Service providers make up costs with high rates, up-
front charges
=> Rural areas make less $$$, gets less infrastructure, and has high barrier to entry
Volo’s solution: CCBB
• Champaign County Broadband Backbone– Bring C-U backbone resources to towers in rural
areas– Requires a fiber backbone and 17 towers around the
county– Goal: encourage local providers to service rural
areas, provide better connections to schools– Cost: $1.5M for all of Champaign County
CCBB => Lower infrastructure costs => better ROILocal providers => lower support costs
Volo’s solution: CCV
• Champaign County Volo – A CCBB proof of concept– Deliver connections from the towers to households in
rural areas– The speed of the service would be 5-25/mbps– Cost per household with stimulus: $45/month– Cost per household without stimulus $300-500
Installation plus $45/month– Goal: Subsidize initial investment for 1200
subscribers, to allow future subscribers to have $0 up-front cost
Discussion