[1st-mile-nm] Los Alamos Fiber Considerations

[Richard Lowenberg]

Los Alamos City/County is once again considering 'wideband' fiber and wireless
networking needs and solutions for business and community.   The following
resident's letter to the editor appeared a couple of weeks ago in the Los
Alamos Monitor, and has also been reprinted on Dale Carstensen's blog, at:
http://fiberlanm.blogspot.com/
rl
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Los Alamos Monitor
Thurs. March 27, 2008
Letter to the Editor

Broadband access crucial to the Hill

By TJ Taub

Dear Editor,
I see the county is once again pursuing the possibility of broadband. I hope
this time, it will be an exercise that engages and educates the community about
broadband benefits, services and options.  Educating the community ?
prohibited in the last county study ?  is not, in and of itself, promoting a
concept.  Education allows for informed decision-making.
I would also hope that this time the investigating team includes individuals who
can and will speak for local business, medical and educational sectors as well
as county government.
Broadband could allow residents to avail themselves of many county services
online, from home or office, minus challenges of time, parking, weather and
accessibility.  It could allow the county to perform some services, such as
meter reading, as a remote function.
Medical tests (LARGE files) and records could be conveyed in real time to
specialists and clinics, near and far.
Local students could be positioned nationally in a more competitive light with
improved access to materials via the Internet, as well as the ability to take
real-time interactive courses from universities across the country.
Local retail and service businesses could expand their audiences and enhance
Internet-related services and capabilities.  The same is true for nonprofit
organizations related to recreation, history, culture, tourism, service
providers and more.
Los Alamos would become a much more competitive player in the economic
development arena.
Phone, Internet and television services could be bundled versus à la carte. 
Where offered, bundling saves consumers money on the services they engage.
Last ? and least ? movie downloads at home would be quick as a whistle.
The last county excursion into broadband suggested it would be relatively easy
to train county utility workers to repair and maintain fiber optic broadband. 
The county would maintain infrastructure while specific services, as requested
by subscribers, would be offered by specialized providers.
Incumbent providers, such as Qwest or Comcast, generally don?t promote their
broadband services in small communities, presumably due to limited profit
margins. It appears, however, their position sometimes changes when a community
demonstrates its determination to gain broadband and begins to consider other
providers.
I don?t know if we can make this work for Los Alamos.  Without it, I don?t
know how well we?ll survive as a community that must attract highly educated
workers and their families.

TJ Taub
Los Alamos


-- 
Richard Lowenberg
1st-Mile Institute
P.O. Box 8001, Santa Fe, NM 87504
505-989-9110;   505-603-5200 cell
rl at 1st-mile.com  www.1st-mile.com


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